Jonathan BRYAN
Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Jonathan Bryan has been praised for his “beautifully resonant baritone” and “substantial sound,” and has performed leading roles on stages throughout the United States and abroad. This season’s performances include reprising Silvio in Pagliacci with Piedmont Opera, making his role debut as Curly McClain in Oklahoma! with Pensacola Opera, and appearing in the company’s fall jukebox gala. He also joins the roster of the Metropolitan Opera covering Harry in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. In the summer, he will perform with Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre for the titles of 1776 as Edward Rutledge and Pirates of Penzance as Samuel. Next season, he sings Lt. Gordon in Silent Night with the Atlanta Opera and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus with Inland Northwest Opera.
In the 2024–2025 season, Mr. Bryan appeared as Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera Louisiane, Count Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music with St. Petersburg Opera, Robert in a concert version of Iolanta with the Russian Chamber Art Society, Escamillo in Carmen excerpts with the Carolina Philharmonic, and Nicholas, the Major-Domo, in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa with the National Symphony Orchestra. In 2023-2024, Mr. Bryan developed the titular role of Egon Schiele, a new opera by composer Jared Schwartz. Passionate about developing new works, he also sang the role of Safety Observer in The Metropolitan Opera’s workshop for Jeanine Tesori’s new opera, Grounded. Mr. Bryan also returned to Lyric Opera of Kansas City to finish out his season as Count Paris in Matthew Ozawa’s celebrated production of Roméo et Juliette.
Highlights from past seasons include Baron Douphol in La traviata (Lyric Opera of Kansas City), Captain von Trap in The Sound of Music (Arizona Opera), Wyatt in UnShakeable (Charleston Opera Theatre), Anthony in Sweeney Todd and Le Baron de Pictordu in Viardot’s Cendrillon (Wolf Trap Opera), the Ranger in The Barrens (Washington National Opera’s AOI), Ophémon in The Anonymous Lover, Erster Nazarener in Salome, Zaretsky/Captain and Eugene Onegin cover in Eugene Onegin, and Motorcycle Cop/Prison Guard 1 and De Rocher cover in Dead Man Walking (The Atlanta Opera), and Beaumarchais in The Ghosts of Versailles, Ravenal cover in Showboat, Lieutenant Gordon in Silent Night, and Forester cover in Cunning Little Vixen (The Glimmerglass Festival). He also completed a residency with the Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist Program where he made his Kennedy Center debut as Escamillo and Moralès in Francesca Zambello's production of Carmen.
Mr. Bryan has frequently appeared as a concert soloist in a number of masterworks, including Handel’s Messiah, Haydn's Missa in angustiis, Rossini's Petite messe solennelle, and sung with orchestras including Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. He has also found success in competitions, winning the Georgia district of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2019 and the Los Angeles district in 2020. Other roles include the title role in Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Danilo in The Merry Widow, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking, and Rambaldo in La rondine.
Mr. Bryan is an alumnus of the Atlanta Opera Studio, Wolf Trap Opera, and The Glimmerglass Festival Young Artist Program. He received his Master of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with world-renowned baritone, Wolfgang Brendel, and he holds a Bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Louisiana State University.