Briana Hunter has been hailed by Opera News as “a mesmerizing mezzo-soprano with a fiery theatrical presence and dynamic vocalism.” Following her acclaimed performances creating the role of Mother in Jeanine Tesori’s Blue at the Glimmerglass Festival, she reprised the role for her debut at the Washington National Opera. A graduate of the Gerdine Young Artist Program, she returned to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for her role debut as Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus.
Ms. Hunter recently debuted under the auspices of New York City Opera and American Opera Projects as Hannah Before in Laura Kaminsky’s As One at the Kaufman Music Center in New York. Additional recent performances include creating the role of Dee Dee Reyes in Hillard and Boresi’sThe Last American Hammer with UrbanArias in Washington, D.C.; Annie and Strawberry Woman in Porgy and Bess at the Glimmerglass Festival; and Giovanna in Rigoletto and Gertrude Stein in Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 at Michigan Opera Theatre, for which she won the EncoreMichigan award for Best Performance in an Opera. At the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, she performed the role of Flora in La Traviata for Patricia Racette’s directorial debut, as well as Pvt. Stanton in the world premiere of An American Soldier. She made her Lincoln Center Theater debut in a gala performance of Camelot starring Lin Manuel Miranda, and a few months prior joined LCT for a workshop of Intimate Apparel by Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage, directed by Bartlett Sher.
Additional roles include the title role of Carmen with the Music Academy of the West and Mercédès at Michigan Opera Theatre, El Paso Opera and Knoxville Opera; Jo in Little Women, Wowkle in La fanciulla del West, and Madeleine Audebert in Silent Night at Michigan Opera Theatre; Rachel in the world premiere of Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom with American Opera Projects; Play by Play in the world premiere ofBum Phillips: An All-American Opera at LaMama Experimental Theater; and Ida in Die Fledermaus at Sarasota Opera. As an Apprentice Artist with Santa Fe Opera, she covered the roles of Lucinda in the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain and Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, and performed the roles of Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Ruggiero in Alcina for the Apprentice Artist scenes.
More information can be found on herwebsite.