BIO

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Staufenbiel: Tenor
Staufenbiel: Opera

Tenor

Brian Staufenbiel sings frequently throughout the Bay Area and has appeared at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Rochester Bach Festival, and the Sherbrooke Summer Music Festival. He is well known for his dramatic interpretation of the Evangelist role in Bach’s Saint Matthew and Saint John Passions, as well as his comically gruesome depiction of the Roasted Swan in Orff ’s Carmina Burana.

As a tenor, he has sung the leading roles in Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri; Britten's The Rape of Lucretia; Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirèsias; Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges; Kurt Weill's Mahagonny; and Mechem's Tartuffe.

Staufenbiel is the Director of the opera program at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where his productions have won first prize in the National Opera Association’s Opera Competition. He has also served as Director-in-Residence at Ensemble Parallèle since 2007, where he has helmed the direction and design of the Ensemble’s critically acclaimed productions.

He has recorded the music of Stradella, Schütz, Lou Harrison, and Paul Bowles for Musical Heritage Society, Koch International Classics, and Helicon Records. His most recent album on Kleos Records features the world premiere recordings of tenor arias from Harrison’s opera Young Caesar and the Saint Cecilia Mass. The Staufenbiel/Scharrón Duo has performed from coast to coast, Argento's Letters from Composers set as a one-man opera. The duo recently completed a CD recording of works by Britten, Argento, and Adler. Staufenbiel holds a doctorate degree in vocal performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music.