Described by The New York Times as having an “ample and pleasing tone,” tenor Brian Vu is an exciting performer recognized for his vocal and dramatic abilities. In the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Vu joined Minnesota Opera as Bryce in Paola Prestini and Mark Campbell’s Edward Tulane, returned to The Metropolitan Opera as Sergio in Fedora, sang Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni for his Sarasota Opera debut, joined Minnesota Opera as the tenor soloist for their 60th Anniversary Gala, and he made his debut as Rinuccio in Hawaii Opera Theatre’s production of Gianni Schicchi. In the summer of 2023, Mr. Vu joined the Glimmerglass Festival to sing the title role in CANDIDE and sang Tancredi in a combined production of Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Lament of the Nymph. The upcoming 2023-2024 season is filled with exciting role and concert debuts. Mr. Vu joins Opera Omaha to sing Alfredo Germont in La traviata and will portray Rodolfo in La bohème with Intermountain Opera Bozeman. On the concert stage, he makes his debut with the Phoenix Symphony as the tenor soloist in Messiah.
 

In the fall of 2021, he debuted the role of Manrico in Il trovatore at Opera in the Heights and was scheduled to appear as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Grand Bend Center for Music (COVID19) and join Hawaii Opera Theatre for a concert of operatic favorites (COVID19). Later in the 2021-2022 season, he starred in a short film entitled QUANDO featuring works by Verdi which was co-produced by Long Beach Opera and Heartbeat Opera, returned to Pittsburgh Opera covering The Beloved/Horus in The Rose Elf, made his Opera Columbus debut singing Timothy Laughlin in Fellow Travelers and made his company debut with Madison Opera as Pluto in Orpheus in the Underworld. During the 2020-2021 season, Mr. Vu made his tenor debut with The Atlanta Opera as Soldier in Der Kaiser von Atlantis and in a concert of Kurt Weill repertoire and joined Opera Omaha/LA Opera for their new recording of David Hertzberg’s The Rose Elf as The Beloved/Horus. He was also slated to return to The Metropolitan Opera to sing the Journalist in Lulu (COVID19), and cover the Huntsman in Rusalka and Novice's Friend in Billy Budd (COVID19). In the summer of 2021, Mr. Vu was a fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.​

 

In the winter of 2020, Mr. Vu made a company and role debut with Kentucky Opera as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and was slated before COVID19 to make company debuts with Minnesota Opera as Bryce in the world premiere of Edward Tulane, MidAmerica Productions as the baritone soloist in Vaughn Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Austin Opera as Ping in Turandot while also returning to Des Moines Metro Opera as Count Tomsky in The Queen of Spades. In the fall of 2019, Mr. Vu joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera covering Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly and making his debut as Waiter 2 in Der Rosenkavalier. 

 

The 2018-2019 season marked Mr. Vu’s debuts with Lyric Opera of Kansas City and The Atlanta Opera as Riff in Francesca Zambello’s new production of West Side Story; a role he premiered at Houston Grand Opera and the Glimmerglass Festival. Mr. Vu then made two company/role debuts: as Alcée in Charles Gounod’s Sapho with Washington Concert Opera and Moralès in Carmen with San Diego Opera. In the summer of 2019, Mr. Vu made his Des Moines Metro Opera debut as Schaunard in La bohème and 2nd Apprentice in Wozzeck. 

 

A favorite of The Glimmerglass Festival, Mr. Vu has performed as Schaunard in La bohème, The Happy Prince in Wilde Tales, Jazz Trio Baritone in Trouble in Tahiti and covered the roles of Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd and Maximillian/Martin in Candide. As an Apprentice with Santa Fe Opera, Mr. Vu performed selections as Ramiro in L'heure espagnole and Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd.

 

Mr. Vu is a recent graduate of the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist program, where over two seasons he performed Baron Douphol in La traviata, Second Nazarene in Salome, Berardo in Handel’s Riccardo Primo, Hannah before in As One, Calvin Griffith in The Summer King, John Brooke in Little Women, Leo Stein in 27, Figaro (student matinee) and Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Mr. Vu also covered the roles of Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Ping in Turandot.

 

Equally at home on the concert stage, Mr. Vu made his Carnegie Hall debut singing Mitch Leigh’s Impossible Dream with the composer in attendance.  Mr. Vu made a return to Carnegie Hall performing songs from the Frederich R. Koch Collection of Yale's Beinecke Library.  Mr. Vu has also sung the role of Gee-tar in West Side Story with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, selections from The Merry Widow with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and performed as baritone soloist with the Yale Glee Club and Symphony Orchestra's performance of Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem. In January of 2019, Mr. Vu sang the role of the Prisoner in the workshop of David Lang’s prisoner of the state with the New York Philharmonic.

 

Mr. Vu has participated as an Apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera, Young Artist at the Glimmerglass Festival, Vocal Fellow in Marilyn Horne’s Music Academy of the West and is a former member of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio. He has received numerous accolades including being named the first place winner of the Lotte Lenya Competition, a Grand Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a recipient of the Sullivan Foundation Award, third prize in the Gerda Lissner Lieder competition, and a major prize winner in the Opera Index Competition, among others.  

 

Mr. Vu holds a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance and Music Education from University of California, Los Angeles and both a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music.