Known for combining both the vocal accumen of a lyric tenor with the multi-layered characterizations and physical skill of a classically trained actor, Brian Frutiger is much in demand as a singing actor, having appeared in over 100 roles in opera, operetta, music theater and theater. In the 2008-2009 season, Brian made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Poisson in Adriana Lecouvreur with Placido Domingo and Maestro Marco Armiliato. Brian returns to the Met in 2009-2010 to sing several roles as a part of the Ensemble in Shostakovich’s The Nose. In addition, he will cover roles in four other productions including Skuratov in Janecek’s From the House of the Dead and Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos.
Mr. Frutiger has sung many of the great character and spieltenor roles across the United States. Highlights include El Remendado at San Francisco Opera; Goro at Sarasota Opera, Opera Memphis and Opera Coeur d’Alene; Tanzmeister at Sarasota Opera; Bardolfo at Opera Omaha; and Pang at Connecticut Opera and Sacramento Opera.
In recent years Mr. Frutiger has added to his operatic repertoire by venturing outside of the standard character and spieltenor repertoire to include such roles as Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni - Sacramento Opera, Festival Opera at Walnut Creek, Pacific Repertory Opera), Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance - Lamplighters Music Theatre), Don Jose (Carmen - Vallejo Symphony), Abolitionist Tappan (Amistad - Spoleto Festival, USA) and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus - Thessaloniki Concert Hall in Greece).
In addition to his opera roles, Brian regularly returns to the professional theater where he has appeared as Robert Steele and Mr. Oscar in the critically acclaimed west coast premiere of Ahrens and Flaherty’s Dessa Rose at TheatreWorks, Metellus Cimber (Julius Caesar) with Shakespeare’s Motley Crew in Chicago, Jamie (My Fair Lady) and Anselmo (Man of La Mancha) with Music Theatre of Wichita, and the ensemble of The Student Prince with Paper Mill Playhouse.
Equally at home on the concert stage Mr. Frutiger has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony as Le Troisième Messager in Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, and Der Jüngling in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri under the baton of Ingo Metzmacher. Brian has also appeared as Tenor Soloist with Fresno Philharmonic (Coronation Mass in C Major), St. Olaf College (Elijah), Wichita Choral Society (Messiah), San Francisco’s Old First Concerts (Brahms’ Ziguenerlieder), Normandale Lutheran (St. John Passion) and the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis (Magnificat). In addition, Brian has sung many of Bach’s liturgical cantatas.
A native Kansan, Mr. Frutiger has won several awards including a Kansas Cultural Trust Enabling Grant, 2nd Place at the Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actor Awards (sponsored by Orlando Opera), the Mann Fellowship, and he has competed at the Regional Level of the Metropolitan National Council auditions. Mr. Frutiger has pursued doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota and holds degrees in music from Wichita State University and theater from Drake University.