Brittany Renee, Soprano

Hailed for her “luminous tones” and “lush voice,” and praised by Opera News for her “plush soprano bloom,” Grammy Award winning American soprano Brittany Renee is amazing audiences with her finesse and shimmering stage presence.

This season includes her début with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as the lead role of Destiny/Loneliness/Greta in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones. Earlier in the season, she débuted with the American Pops Orchestra as a guest soloist and made her Metropolitan Opera début as Evelyn in the new production of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones. Praised by critics, her portrayal as Evelyn “offered an uplifting lightness, a lovely, crystalline soprano that was all youthful excitement, more from her please!” – (Gabrielle Ferrari, Parterre Box), and “masterfully oozed vocal and physical sensuality.” – (David Salazar, OperaWire) She also performed Annie in The Metropolitan Opera’s historic production of Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess, which won Best Opera Recording at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, and made her Carnegie Hall début as the Soprano Soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Musica Sacra Chorus & Orchestra, under the baton of Kent Tritle.

Highlights from her past season included her role début as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen with Opera Orlando, reprising the role of Bess in Porgy & Bess at the Teatro Regio Torino, and the Soprano Soloist in Handel’s Messiah Sing-In at Lincoln Center presented by the National Chorale.

Despite many cancellations due to COVID-19 Brittany welcomed new and innovative virtual performances. Described by the Wall Street Journal as “an ingenious project,” Brittany 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.

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, Salt Marsh Opera, Piedmont Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Crested Butte Music Festival, The Handel Choir of Baltimore, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, 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, guest artist with The Guelph Symphony Orchestra, appearances with the critically acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble, and a tour with the Siena Chamber Orchestra in Italy. As a frequent recitalist, Brittany 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.

Brittany’s prestigious awards include Senior Grand Prize Winner: Young Patronesses of the Opera, Audience Favorite: Harlem Opera Theater Competition, Scholarship Recipient: The Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition Award, Rosalind Jackson Memorial Award: Crested Butte Music Festival, The Miriam Goodman Award: Chautauqua Opera, and Regional Finalist: Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.