BRITTANY RENEE

Renowned for her “luminous tones” and “opulent voice,” and celebrated by Opera News for her “plush soprano bloom,” GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Brittany Renee is enchanting audiences with her exquisite artistry and radiant stage presence. Her performance is a masterclass in sophistication and finesse, affirming her status as a rising star destined for a luminous future.

In the past season, Ms. Renee captivated audiences with her role and house début at the San Francisco Opera as Julie in the groundbreaking opera Omar, a collaboration between Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. She also made a striking return to The Metropolitan Opera, where she portrayed Destiny, Loneliness, and Greta in Terence Blanchard and Kasi Lemmons’ Fire Shut Up in My Bones and covered Micaëla in Carmen. The season concluded with a stunning house début at Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Musetta in La Bohème. Additionally, she had the honor of performing in a special benefit concert at The Metropolitan Opera, celebrating Stephen Schwartz's 75th birthday alongside illustrious stars from Broadway, Hollywood, and the operatic world.

This season, Ms. Renee continues to shine, bringing her critically acclaimed portrayal of Musetta in La Bohème to The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Houston Grand Opera in her house début. She will also grace the Kennedy Center stage with Washington National Opera as Bess in Porgy & Bess and will be featured at National Sawdust as Esther in the world premiere of Paula Prestini’s Silent Light. Looking ahead, Brittany Renee is poised to continue dazzling the operatic world with anticipated returns to The Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera in leading roles, solidifying her position as one of the most compelling voices of her generation.

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Ms. Renee made her Lyric Opera of Chicago début in the leading roles of Destiny, Loneliness, and Greta in Terence Blanchard and Kasi Lemmons’ Fire Shut Up in My Bones, earning praise from Chicago Classical Review, which described her performance as “uniformly excellent from top to bottom.” This followed her Metropolitan Opera début as Evelyn in their acclaimed production of the opera. Critics lauded her portrayal of Evelyn, with Gabrielle Ferrari of Parterre Box noting it “offered an uplifting lightness, a lovely, crystalline soprano that was all youthful excitement—more from her, please!” and David Salazar of OperaWire acclaiming her performance as having “masterfully oozed vocal and physical sensuality.”

Renee also portrayed Annie in The Met’s historic production of Porgy & Bess, which won Best Opera Recording at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. In the summer of 2022, she performed in The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer Stage Recital Series in Central Park and gave a solo recital with The Florentine Opera as part of their Al Fresco Recital Series. Her other notable appearances at The Met include Sadie Griffith in a new production of Terence Blanchard’s Champion, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, and Ancella in David McVicar’s new production of Cherubini’s rarely performed Medea. She also participated in their new production of Don Giovanni and revivals of Rigoletto and Peter Grimes.

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Highlights of previous seasons include her role début as Micaëla in Carmen with Opera Orlando, the role of Bess in Porgy & Bess at the Teatro Regio Torino, and the soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah at Lincoln Center under the auspices of the National Chorale.

Despite myriad cancellations due to COVID-19, Brittany welcomed new and innovative virtual performances. Described by the Wall Street Journal as “an ingenious project,” Ms. Renee was blessed to stretch her contemporary wings in the award-winning world premiere opera series Tales from a Safe Distance with Decameron Opera. Through her voice she brought to life the illustrated role of BOSS in Resonance Works SourDough: Rise Up. In addition, in a new partnership with Thomas Hampson, The Hampsong Foundation, Courtney's Stars of Tomorrow, and the streaming platform IDAGIO, she headlined the concert series Feel the Spirit, dedicated to the study, preservation, and performance of the Negro Spiritual. She also had the pleasure to add vocals to Terence Blanchard's original film score for The Woman King starring Viola Davis and directed by Gina Prince Bythewood.

International débuts have included performances at the Semperoper Dresden, The Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Italy, The Magnetic Opera Festival in Elba, Italy, and Opera on the Avalon in Canada. US appearances have included performances with Opera San Jose, Knoxville Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Crested Butte Music Festival, The Handel Choir of Baltimore, and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra.

Concert engagements include performances as a guest artist and model representing the designer PYER MOSS at the CFDA Vogue Fashion Gala, collaborator and jazz soloist with the Minneapolis based group VOXSPEX, a featured artist with the Wynton Marsalis’ U.S. Tour of the Abyssinian Mass with Chorale Le Chateau and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, appearances with the critically acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble, guest artist with the American Pops Orchestra, and a tour with the Siena Chamber Orchestra in Italy. A frequent recitalist, Ms. Renee has performed in her hometown at the University of Minnesota’s Monday Guest Artist Recital Series at the Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall where she also had the privilege to conduct her own masterclass with the students. 

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