Evan Bravos
Greek-American Baritone Evan Bravos has been praised for his strong singing and acting and marked as “a young talent to watch” by the Chicago Tribune. He has received international acclaim for his expressivity, standout stage presence and artful interpretations of opera, oratorio and art song repertoire.
Upcoming engagements include premiering the role of Clay ( The Puppy Episode) in a principal debut with Chicago Opera Theater in a world premiere by Matthew Recio, the company's Vanguard Composer-In-Residence; the role of Mr. Brook (Little Women) with Opera Santa Barbara; Manfred Lewin (Two Remain) in the opera's Chicago premiere with Chicago Fringe Opera; and Claudius (Hamlet) in a unique co-production between Boston's The Shakespeare Company and Ruse Opera, in Ruse Bulgaria.
Last season, Mr. Bravos made his professional debut in the roles of Maximilian, Sea Captain and Grand Inquisitor in Bernstein's Candide at The Ravinia Festival. Earlier in the summer of 2019, he sang the role of Inman in the West Coast premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain at the Music Academy of the West.
His 2018-19 season included a return to Virginia Opera, performing as George Jones in Kurt Weill's Street Scene and as Masetto in Don Giovanni. He spent the winter months covering the roles of Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Count Gil (Il Segreto di Susanna) and Gasparo (Rita) at Sarasota Opera.
During the 2018 summer season, Bravos made a return to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and debuted as a Vocal Fellow at the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute Program for Singers. At the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, he created the roles of Pvt. Johnson and Sgt. Brown in the world premier of Huang Rao’s An American Soldier, and performed the role of John Bagtry in Regina alongside famed mezzo-soprano Susan Graham. He was featured in the festival's annually celebrated Center Stage concert with the Saint Louis Symphony, performing as Count Almaviva in the Act IV Finale of Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Andrès in the Trio du Joli Geolier from La Périchole.
His 2017-18 season included two roles in Don Giovanni: Masetto at Opera on the James in Lynchburg, Virginia and as the title character at The Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. As a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, he covered the role of Tom Joad in Ricky Ian Gordon’sThe Grapes of Wrath.
He spent the 2016-2017 season as an Opera Santa Barbara Mosher Studio Artist, where he sang Dancairo, covered Escamillo (Carmen), and was praised for providing "a charming gem of characterization with the folk-tinged hunting calls of Harashta" in The Cunning Little Vixen.
Previously at Virginia Opera as an Emerging Artist, he covered the roles of Paris/Gregorio (Roméo et Juliette) on the main stage in Norfolk, Richmond and Fairfax. Other notable performances include the roles of Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Prison Guard 2 (Dead Man Walking) and Herr Zeller (The Sound of Music) at Central City Opera; Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) with Lyric Opera of Chicago's Outreach and covering the role of Enrique (El Pasado Nunca se Termina), with "Lyric Unlimited" Mariachi Opera debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Diego Opera. He sang Martin (Candide) and Fisherman (Peter Grimes) at the Aspen Music Festival and with Northwestern University Opera Theater, Sid (Albert Herring), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus) and Tom Joad in the Chicago premiere of The Grapes of Wrath.
On the concert stage, Mr. Bravos has sung with both regionally and internationally. In the 2019-2020 season, he will make debuts with the Richmond Symphony, (Carmina Burana), Altoona Symphony (Brahms Requiem) and the Chippewa Valley Symphony (Beethoven's Ninth Symphony).
In 2019, Mr. Bravos appeared as a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony (Mendelssohn Elijah); in 2017 he performed with the Madison Symphony (Copland Old American Songs) and in 2016, with the Colorado Symphony Chorus as soloist on Faure Requiem on tour in Paris, Strasbourg and Munich. An avid recitalist, Bravos has appeared at a number of Music Festivals including Music Academy of the West, The Ravinia Festival, and the Horto and Naxos Music Festivals in Greece. In 2018, he was also featured on the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago's concert series alongside collaborative pianist, Shannon McGinnis in a production of The Fine Things of Youth, a music-drama based on Willa Cather's cherished novella , Lucy Gayheart.
In 2017 he was a finalist in the National Opera Association Dominic Argento competition and a winner of the Pasadena Opera Guild competition. As an Apprentice Artist at Central City Opera in 2014, he received the Apprentice Artist Award. He was also the recipient of an Encouragement Award in the 2014 Metropolitan National Council auditions.
A native of St. Charles, IL, Evan Bravos studied at Lawrence University Conservatory (B.M.) and Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music (M.M.). He resides now in Chicago. Learn more about this artist at www.evanbravos.com
BIOGRAPHY | evan-bravos-baritone (evanbravos.com)
