Bass-Baritone Brian Banion’s combination of physical and vocal acting combined with his versatile, warm, well-projected bass-baritone voice are demonstrated in a variety of roles including Leporello in Don Giovanni, Basilio Il barbiere di Siviglia, Figaro and Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Escamillo and Zuniga in Carmen, Baron Douphol, Marquis and the Doctor in La Traviata, Doctor in Vanessa, Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress, Dick Deadeye in HMS Pinafore, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Nourabad in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, and Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette.
This season includes a return to Piedmont Opera as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Handel’s Messiah with The Symphony Orchestra of Virginia Beach and The Boise Philharmonic, a return to The Princeton Festival as Simone in Gianni Schicchi, as well as recitals in Philadelphia and Montreal. Recent engagements include Zuniga in Carmen with Asheville Lyric Opera, Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Columbus, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro and Dick Deadeye in HMS Pinafore with Piedmont Opera, and a debut with The Princeton Festival as Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Mr. Banion recently created the role of Reverend Arthur Baines in the world premiere of Robert Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry, making his Nashville Opera debut. He reprised Baines in Montclair, New Jersey. Additional engagements include a debut with the Spoleto Festival USA as Leporello in the internationally acclaimed Gunter Kramer production of Don Giovanni, Verdi's Requiem on tour throughout France, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain with The Robert Page Festival Singers, a debut with The Lyric Opera of Kansas City as the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro, as well as returns to Opera Columbus in La Traviata, The Merry Widow, and as Leporello in Don Giovanni. Brian returned to kick off the finals of The 2010 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Bodybuilding Competition, singing the National Anthem for the fourth straight year.
Brian has collaborated with a number of major opera companies, symphony orchestras and has been a featured soloist at festivals here and abroad. These include the Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Columbus, Kentucky Opera, Greensboro Opera, Nevada Opera, Berkshire Opera, Opera Roanoke, Columbus Light Opera, the Cincinnati May Festival, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Halle Symphony Orchestra, the Mansfield Symphony, the Carmel Symphony, and the Anderson Symphony. His concert performances include Mendelssohn's Elijah, Beethoven Ninth Symphony, Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Fauré Requiem, Bach Passions, and Schubert Mass in A-flat and G.
Brian Banion has won awards in several important vocal competitions, including those of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation, Opera Index Grant, Opera Columbus Vocal Competition, and the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship. Brian performed graduate work at Indiana University, where he studied with the legendary Metropolitan Opera bass-baritone, Giorgio Tozzi. He completed his undergraduate degree from Capital University, where he studied Trombone.