Biography
Irish-American baritone Brian Mulligan is in high demand worldwide as a dramatic baritone, performing with many of the world's finest opera houses and orchestras.
Download Press PackHe begins the 2024/25 season in the title role of Der fliegende Holländer at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with Jaap van Zweden conducting the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest. He then returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Don Pizarro in Fidelio, after which he makes his role debut as Der Wanderer in Siegfried at the Hangzhou Philharmonic in China with Markus Stenz conducting. Mulligan then makes another role debut, as Alberich in Das Rheingold with Pablo Heras-Casado conducting a new production by Calixto Bieito at the Opéra National de Paris. Next, he returns to the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli as Jochanaan in Salome with Dan Ettinger conducting, after which he again sings Holländer with the Philharmonie Luxembourg for performances in Luxembourg and Brussels. Mulligan then makes his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra as Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, before returning to the San Francisco Opera for their Pride Gala. He finishes the season again as the Dutchman, in his debut with the Taiwan Philharmonic in Taipei.
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A voice that is rich, secure and really, really big
The New York Times
Mr. Mulligan opened his 2023/24 season as Telramund in Lohengrin at San Francisco Opera, before heading to Toulouse to sing Barak in Die Frau ohne Schatten. Together with the Rotterdam Philharmonic under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, he toured amongst others to Baden-Baden and Paris singing Wotan in Die Walküre. He also performed and recorded Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem with the Bergen Philharmonic under Edward Gardener. At the Teatro Regio Torino, he gave his role debut as The Flying Dutchman, a role that he is set to sing also with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic and others. Other upcoming productions include Fidelio (Pizarro) at Chicago Lyric Opera and Salome (Jochanaan) at Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
In the season 2022/23 Brian Mulligan could be seen as Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) in Naples and at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Additional highlights of the season were Heerrufer in a new production of Lohengrin under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Faninal in the new Rosenkavalier under Simone Young, both at the Metropolitan Opera. He performed in the 100th Anniversary Concert of San Francisco Opera conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles, Patrick Summers and Eun Sun Kim.
Brian Mulligan’s 2021/22 season was marked with his role debut as Wotan in Das Rheingold at the Bregenz Festival, and his role debut as Wotan in Die Walküre in a new production at Stuttgart State Opera with Cornelius Meister conducting. Another role debut that season was Jochanaan at the Dutch National Opera in the Ivo van Hove production of Salome, under the baton of Lahav Shani. He had house debuts at the Opéra national de Paris (Crèon in Enescu’s Œdipe, new production by Wajdi Mouwad under the baton of Ingo Metzmacher) and and the Irish National Opera in Dublin (Don Pizzaro in Fidelio). At the beginning of the season Mulligan was the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Antonello Manacorda and the Munich Philharmonic. He ended his season with returns to the Opéra National de Paris as Amfortas (Parsifal) and to Bregenz, where he sang Sharpless in Andreas Homoki’s new production of Madama Butterfly under Enrique Mazzola.
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In the previous season, he gave his debut as Mandryka in Arabella at San Francisco Opera, Zurga in Les Pêcheurs de Perles at Zurich Opera, Guglielmo in Puccini’s Le Villi with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and his house debut at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande. In summer 2019 Brian Mulligan made his debut at the Salzburg Festival as Créon in Oedipe by George Enescu.
Amfortas (Parsifal), Gunther (Götterdämmerung), Donner (Das Rheingold), Wotan (Das Rheingold/Die Walküre), Don Pizzaro (Fidelio) Peter (Hänsel und Gretel), Der Heerrufer (Lohengrin), Mandryka (Arabella), Barak (Die Frau ohne Schatten), Jochanaan (Salome) and Tadeus (Die Passagierin) are among the roles in his German repertoire.
His Italian repertoire encompasses the roles of Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor), Renato (Un ballo in Maschera), Paolo Albiani (Simon Boccanegra), Conte di Luna (Il trovatore), Macbeth (Macbeth), Amonasro (Aida), Ford (Falstaff), the title role of Rigoletto, Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) and Marcello (La Bohème).
Download Press PackBrian Mulligan is riveting…a fine, strong, open baritone
The Financial Times of London
Valentin (Faust), Golaud (Pélleas et Mélisande), Chorèbe (Les Troyens), Nélusko (L’Africaine), and the eponymous role in Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet are some of his French roles.
With parts such as Balstrode (Peter Grimes), Sweeney Todd, Prospero (The Tempest), Nixon (Nixon in China), Klinghoffer (The Death of Klinghoffer), and John Proctor (The Crucible), Brian Mulligan is also a proponent of English-language opera. The artist has also created several successful world premieres, including James Primosch’s Songs for Adam with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Greg Spears’ song cycle Walden at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Critics praised him for his outstanding performance as Jack Torrance in Paul Moravec’s The Shining at Minnesota Opera in 2016.
The internationally renowned artist performs regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Houston Opera, the opera houses in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Frankfurt, and Zurich, as well as at major festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, the Wiener Festwochen, the Saito Kinan Festival in Japan, the Wexford Opera Festival and the Aspen Music Festival.
Brian Mulligan’s critically acclaimed debut album, recorded for Naxos in 2017, includes two song cycles by Dominick Argento. His second album “Old Fashioned”, consisting of American and British songs of the early 20th century, has been released in 2019. Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel is available on DVD (Deutsche Gramophone).
Early 2022 saw the release of Brian Mulligan’s third solo record, titled Alburnum. It is comprised of songs and cycles from the 21st century, with pianist Timothy Long and music from Mason Bates, Missy Mazzoli and Greg Spears.
Mulligan received his education at Yale University and the Juilliard School in New York.
September 2024. No changes without permission.
Contact: [email protected]
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Repertoire
Adams
The Death Of Klinghoffer
Klinghoffer
Nixon in China
Nixon
Adés
The Tempest
Prospero
Bellini
I Puritani
Riccardo
Berlioz
Les Troyens
Chorèbe
Bizet
Les Pêcheurs De Perles
Zurga
Braunfels
Die Vögel
Prometheus
Britten
Peter Grimes
Balstrode
The Rape of Lucretia
Tarquinius
Debussy
Pélleas et Mélisande
Golaud
Donizetti
Lucia di Lammermoor
Enrico
Gounod
Faust
Valentin
Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel
Peter
Massenet
Werther
Albert
Meyerbeer
L’Africaine
Nélusko
Moravec
The Shining
Jack Torrance
Mozart
Le nozze di Figaro
Count Almaviva
Puccini
La bohème
Marcello
Madama Butterfly
Sharpless
Le Villi
Guglielmo
Sondheim
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Strauss
Arabella
Mandryka
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Barak
Tchaikovsky
Pique Dame
Yeletsky
Thomas
Hamlet
Hamlet
Verdi
Aida
Amonasro
Un ballo in maschera
Count Anckarström
Falstaff
Ford
Simon Boccanegra
Paolo
Il trovatore
Conte di Luna
Wagner
Das Rheingold
Donner
Der fliegende Holländer
Holländer
Götterdämmerung
Gunther
Lohengrin
The King's Herald
Ward
The Crucible
John Proctor