Saskatchewan born bass Brenden Friesen has captured audiences with his powerful resonance, exceptional diction, enormous comedic presence, and incredible interpretation of text (Opera Canada). Brenden is a recent graduate of the esteemed L’Atelier lyrique young artist program at l’Opéra de Montréal. His studies include a Bachelor of Arts in Voice Performance from Briercrest College while studying with Dr. Ron de Jager, followed by completing University of Toronto’s MMus Opera degree while studying with Professor Lorna MacDonald. Brenden is now a current student of Ariane Girard in Montréal, Québec.
After debuting with Opéra de Montréal in 2018 with Verdi’s Rigoletto as Count Ceprano under the baton of Maestro Carlo Montanaro, he has since performed notable roles such as Colline in Puccini’s La bohème with both Saskatoon Opera (2018) and Highlands Opera Studio (2018), Ernest Hemingway in Ricky Ian Gordon’s Canadian debut of 27 (2019), Truffaldino in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos (HOS2019), and Zaretski in Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece Eugene Onegin (Opéra de Montréal 2019). Brenden has also undertaken such roles as Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (2018), Leporello and Il Commendatore (UofT Opera), and Masetto (Saskatoon Opera 2017) in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.