Brent Michael
Smith

Bass
Brent Michael Smith
(He/Him) Acclaimed by Opera News as „a standout...with a breathtakingly lush voice,“ American bass, Brent Michael Smith, has worked with major companies across the US and Europe.
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Brent Michael Smith

Acclaimed by Opera News as a "standout...with a breathtakingly lush voice," American bass, Brent Michael Smith is garnering international attention. 

This season includes performances as Lorenzo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, as Pietro in Simon Boccanegra, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Count Lamoral in Arabella and Pistola in Falstaff. In the Fall of 2020, Brent was a member of the International Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zürich. 

During the 2020-'21 season, he performed Jesuit in Boris Godonov, conducted by Kirill Karabits and directed by Barrie Kosky and as Pietro in Simon Boccanegra, conducted by Fabio Luisi and directed by Andreas Homoki. He was slated to perform as the Haufhofmeister in Capriccio conducted by Markus Poschner and directed by Christof Loy as well as Il Commissario in Madama Butterfly conducted by Marco Armiliato and directed by Ted Huffman, but both were canceled due to the pandemic. 

In the 2019-'20 season, Brent made his role debut as Figaroin Le nozze di Figaro at the Academy of Vocal Arts where he was in residence for three years. In the February 2020, he sang the role of Balthazar in La favorite, also at AVA. He then competed in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Semifinals. His last performance stateside before the COVID Pandemic lockdown was with four other Opera Philadelphia Emerging Artists in recital with Mikael Eliasen at the piano.

 Brent debuted at Opera Philadelphia in February of 2019 playing Peter Quince in a remount of Robert Carsen's classic production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, conducted by Corrado Rovaris. Brent returned to Opera Philadelphia in the Fall of 2019 to sing Tchelio in The Love For Three Oranges conducted by Corrado Rovaris and directed by Alessandro Talevi as a part of the Festival O19. 

Brent made his mainstage debut with The Santa Fe Opera in the summer of 2018, singing the Lakey in Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by James Gaffigan and directed by Tim Albery, while an Apprentice Artist. Brent returned as an Apprentice Artist to The Santa Fe Opera in the summer of 2019 to cover Colline in La bohème and Drokan in the world premiere of Poul Ruders's The Thirteenth Child. 

During the 2018-'19 season at the Academy of Vocal Arts, Brent sang Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte conducted by Christofer Macatsoris and directed by Dorothy Danner. He also performed Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette conducted by Stephen Mosteller and directed by Jeffrey Buchman. 

In autumn of 2017, Brent joined the roster of Resident Artists at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. During his first year there, he sang Fafner in Das Rheingold and Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos. He also made his debut that season with Arizona Opera singing The God of Evil and Procrustes in Hercules vs. Vampires, by Patrick Morganelli that is synchronized to the 1961 cult classic film Hercules in the Haunted World. Brent debuted with The Glimmerglass Festival as Ariodate in Serse, conducted by Nicole Paeiment and directed by Tazewell Thompson in the summer of 2017. He also starred as The Commentator in Derrick Wang's Scalia/Ginsburg. 

Brent previously was a Resident Artist at Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT). His roles at MOT in the 2016-17' season included: Zuniga in Carmen, the British Major in the Pulitzer Prize winning opera, Silent Night, by Kevin Puts, Friedrich Bhaer in Little Women, Ashby in La fanciulla del West and Marquis de Brisaille in David DiChiera's Cyrano. In February 2017, Brent made his debut with Toledo Opera, performing Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro. 

During his first season ('15-'16) as a Resident Artist with MOT, Brent made his debut as Colline in La bohème. Other notable roles that season were the Second SS Officer in The Passenger, Grandpa Moss in The Tender Land, the Doctor in Macbeth and the Speaker in The Magic Flute. As a former Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, his performance as Billy Jackrabbit in La fanciulla del West received critical acclaim from Opera News as well as Colorado Music Buzz, who praised him for “making the most of his brief appearances.” In May of 2015, Brent sang Harry Hopkins in the world premiere of Daron Hagen’s A Woman in Morocco, as a part of Kentucky Opera’s American Opera Initiative. Brent has also been a young artist with Sarasota Opera and Central City Opera. 

Brent is the Third Prize winner in the Concorso Lirico Internationale di Portofino (2021), a Finalist in the Queen Sonja International Music Competition (2021), a grant recipient of the Zachary L. Loren Society (2021), a National Semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2020), an encouragement award winner for the Young Patronesses of the Opera Competition (2019), the Second Prize winner in The Giargiari Bel Canto Competition (2019), a major prize winner of the Opera Index Competition (2018), the Third prize winner in the Opera Birmingham International Competition (2018) and First Prize winner of the Grand Rapids Opera Competition (2012).

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