BRIAN J. ALVARADO

Singing with "a liquid baritone of great charm," "a highly attractive legato," and "precise patter elocution" (Parterre Box), Brian J. Alvarado is an emerging interpreter of known, unknown, and new music. His portrayals have ranged from “vulnerable” (Opera News), “most moving” (Oberon’s Grove), and “one to fall in love with” (Petoskey News Review), to “sardonic” (Indie Opera Podcast), “the perfect foil” (Voce di Meche), and “the quintessential self-adoring snob” (Parterre Box).

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This summer, he covers Sulpice in La Fille du Régiment at Geneva Light Opera, sings the baritone solos in Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with both Riverdale Choral Society's Summer Sing and the Avanti Music Orchestra in Buffalo, and the bass solos in Mozart's Requiem as part of the Greater Philadelphia Choral Society and Orchestra Society of Philadelphia's Sing-In. His upcoming season includes world premieres of both William Grant Still’s Costaso with Opera Vermont and Laura Jobin-Acosta’s The Musicians of Brementown with Prelude Opera, and both a role and West Coast debut as Dr. Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro with Tacoma Opera. 

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​This past season, he reprised the Father in Hansel and Gretel with Prelude Opera, and debuted a "sensitive" Colline in La bohème with Opera Vermont (Rutland Herald), Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with Sotto Voce, Moralès and Le Dancaïre in Carmen with the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, and the Wolf in an abridged Into the Woods at Don't Tell Mama. His solo concert appearances included Handel's Messiah with the Bronx Concert Singers, and Mendelssohn's Die erste Walpurgisnacht with the Westchester Oratorio Society.

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The season previous, he appeared with Bronx Opera as Peter in Hansel and Gretel and Guglielmo in Cosí fan tutte, with Music on Site as Ivan Turgenev in the Kansas premiere of Michael Ching's Notes on Viardot, with Sotto Voce as Siméon in Debussy's L'Enfant Prodigue, and he covered Ponce in Teatro Grattacielo's world premiere of Daniel Asia's The Tin Angel. He appeared in concert with Opera Vermont, The Shivers Fund, The Green Room 42, at Carnegie Hall as a Vocal Mentor for the National Children's Chorus, and at the Montpelier Arts Center as a winner of their Classical Recital Competition. He also joined Saint George's Choral Society's Summer Sings as the bass soloist in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass.

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​​Within the traditional repertoire, he has “excelled vocally” (Voce di Meche) as an “appropriately sardonic” (Indie Opera Podcast) Leporello in Don Giovanni (Bronx Opera, Long Island Lyric Opera, Lighthouse Opera, Amore Opera, Off-Brand Opera, Light Opera of NJ), with other appearances including Dandini in La Cenerentola with Opera Theatre of Montclair and Bay View Music Festival, The Magic Flute’s Papageno with Opera Theatre of Montclair and the Speaker with Barn Opera, Schaunard in La bohème with Amore Opera and Regina Opera, Silvio in Pagliacci with New Rochelle Opera, Un ballo in maschera's Tom with Opera Project Columbus and Silvano with Amore Opera, Gianni Schicchi's Betto with SAS Concert Opera and Simone with Bronx Opera and at Susquehanna University, Tosca’s Angelotti and Jailer with Opera Vermont and Sciarrone with New Rochelle Opera, Long Island Lyric Opera, Garden State Opera, and Amore Opera, and Die Fledermaus’ Frosch with Eccentric Theater Company, Frank with New Rochelle Opera, and Dr. Falke in his International debut at Festival d’art vocal de Montréal.   

 

His early music repertoire includes Nettuno in La liberazione di Ruggiero with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble (for which Oberon’s Grove praised his "voice of power and warmth"), Melisso in Alcina with OperaRox Productions, Seneca in Killer Queen Opera's filmed production of L'incoronazione di Poppea, the Adonis cover in Venus and Adonis with New Camerata Opera, Caronte in L'Orfeo with the New York City Guitar Orchestra and Killer Queen Opera, and a forthcoming film appearance as Thésée in Phèdre: Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie with Brooklyn Telemann Chamber Society.

 

Roles within the realm of Operetta and Musical Theatre include the title role in The Sorcerer and Ludwig in The Grand Duke with Utopia Opera, Pish-Tush in The Mikado and The Earl of Mountararat in Iolanthe with Bronx Opera, Le Baron de Pictordu in Cendrillon with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Cascada in The Merry Widow at the Minuetto Music Festival, Lopez in El Barbero de Sevilla with New Camerata Opera, Magaldi in Evita at the Bay View Music Festival, Lieutenant Barri in Passion and Bob the Saw in Threepenny Opera at Susquehanna University, and the title role in Sweeney Todd with City Island Theatre. 

 

Additional roles include the Baritone in The Four Note Opera at Le Festival d'art vocal de Montréal, Farář/Jezevec in Příhody lišky Bystroušky with dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with West Side Opera, Filiberto in Il Signor Bruschino, Kuno and the Ottokar cover in Der Freischütz, and Corporal Nym and the George Page Cover in Sir John in Love with Bronx Opera, Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Amore Opera, Truffaldin in Ariadne auf Naxos, the Sheriff in Martha, Jacob in The Ballad of Baby Doe, and the Captain and Zaretzky in Eugene Onegin with Utopia Opera, Vergil’s Ghost in Rachmaninoff’s Francesca da Rimini with Garden State Opera, the Tsarevich Afron cover in Zolotoy Petushok with New Opera NYC, the Alcade/Chirurgo cover in La forza del destino with New Amsterdam Opera, the Console cover in La Vestale with Teatro Grattacielo, and all of the bass clef comprimarios for Empire Opera's concert Macbeth. 

 

He has premiered the soloist role in the virtual premiere of Steven Sérpa's American Prize finalist micro-opera these wings are meant to fly with Thompson Street Opera Company, Le Grand Ecuyer/Secretary of Commerce in Whitney George's opera film Julie with Camerataworks, Billy Eckstine in Richard Thompson’s Jazz opera Sassy with Trilogy Opera Company at the NJPAC, Donald Wilkinson in Francine Trester’s chamber opera Keepers of the Light at the Nahant Music Festival, Mark Greene in Transportation Transformation during WNYC/WQXR's 10th anniversary celebration at Greene Space, the Wizard in Alon Nechushtan's Set in Stone for young audiences, and the Murdered Man in Kris McCormick’s chamber opera In a Grove with the Susquehanna New Music Ensemble. He also appeared as Eugene Johnson in the Colorado premiere of Scott Davenport Richards' Blind Injustice at Opera Theatre of the Rockies, and Rey 3 in the American premiere of Jose Luis Gonzalez Moya’s nativity opera El Rey Nacio. He appeared chorally in Center for Contemporary Opera's workshop of Niloufar Nourbakhsh's We, the Innumerable at National Sawdust, in the American premiere of Emmanuel Dubois' Requiem for the Fallen at Carnegie Hall, and in the East Coast Premiere of Scott Ordway's The End of Rain at Lincoln Center. He has additionally workshopped multiple roles in Cecil Price Walden’s The Contract Player, Alicia Lieu's Unwrapping Fortune, Jim Ford's Ruby, and Nick Scarim’s Sick!, and covered the 90th birthday premiere of Thea Musgrave’s baritone monodrama La Vida es Sueño.

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In concert, he has sung bass solos in Handel’s Messiah (Susquehanna University Symphony Orchestra; Brooklyn Contemporary Chorus; Bronx Concert Singers), Bach’s BWV 147 (St. Peter’s Bach Collegium), Keiser’s Markuspassion (Nahant Music Festival), Haydn’s Nicolaimesse (Musikapiphany), Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore (Continuo Arts Symphonic Choir), Pastoralmesse (Schola Sine Nomine), Spatzenmesse and Kleine Credomesse (St. Josaphat's Schola Cantorum), Schubert's Mass in G (Susquehanna University Choir), and Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass (Collegiate Singers).

 

Chorally, he has sung with Teatro Nuovo, Teatro Grattacielo, Juilliard Opera, New Amsterdam Opera, Orchestra of the Bronx, Riverside Choral Society, Civic Chorale of NJ, Continuo Arts Symphonic Choir, Collegiate Singers, St. Peter’s Bach Collegium, Lyrica Classic, MuSE Chorus, Sonaré, Kingsborough Musical Society Chorus, Susquehanna University’s Choir, Chorale, and Chamber Singers, and with the Philadelphia Chorale in support of Andrea Bocelli at the MSG, Total Mortgage and UBS Arenas. He is a current roster member of the New York Philharmonic Chorus.

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Straight theatre credits include an “excellent” Davey Battle in Take Me Out (OnstageBlog), and Aide Turkle/Technician in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at the Bijou Theatre, a Venticelli in Amadeus, Bill in Sure Thing, and Mark in The Chalky White Substance at the Degenstein Theatre, and Feste in Twelfth Night.

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Brian has been an Apprentice Artist at Teatro Nuovo, a Voice Fellow at L'Institut Canadien d'Art Vocal, a Young Artist with dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, a Vocal Apprentice at the Nahant Music Festival, a Student Artist at the Bay View Music Festival, an Emerging Artist at the Minuetto Music Festival, and has participated in outreach performances for children with Bronx Opera, Opera Theatre of Montclair, and Prelude Opera. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing at Susquehanna University, and currently resides in his native New York City.