Biography

Bryan Bennett is an Irish-American Bass-Baritone currently in his second year of the Maryland Opera Studio’s Masters program, studying under Kevin Short. His 2025-26 season sees him as Nardo in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, and Paul in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You.

Raised in El Paso, Texas, Bryan’s musical journey began at a very young age. With a natural love of singing, he participated in the children's choirs of Tosca and Carmen, as well as performing the child’s solo in La boheme with El Paso Opera. His passion drove him to pursue a professional career in Opera, and in 2024, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, studying under Sari Gruber. His principal credits include Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Father (Hansel and Gretel), Le Fauteuil (L’enfant et les Sortilèges) and Don Alphonso (Cosi fan tutte). In addition to principal roles, Bryan has also been in several choruses, including Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte and Nikkolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor. Most recently, Bryan was a resident artist with Opera North, where he performed the roles of Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro), A baobab (The Little Prince) and Dr. Carrasco (Man of La Mancha), which saw him praised by the Rutland Herald as “sympathetic” and “magnificent.”

One of Bryan’s many passions is engaging with the communities he lives in. During his undergrad, he participated as an outreach artist with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, bringing Opera to elementary schools of all levels, and performed local composer Nancy Galbreith’s Smoke and Steel, which told the stories of the struggles Pittsburgh steel workers faced. He has also been engaged as a guest teaching artist with the Youth Opera of El Paso, helping to encourage the next generation of performers in the community he grew up in. In his free time, he works to advocate for his communities and colleagues, and is passionate about mixology and coffee.