Robert Breault-Tenor

Tenor Robert Breault, who enjoys an international career that encompasses opera, oratorio, recital, and concert work, is known for his warm and flexible voice and dramatic acting skills.  He has been praised by Opera News for making “an excellent impression, his mellifluous tenor boasting clarity of both tone and diction; clearly reveling in high notes, he sang with notable dynamic variety,” and by the San Francisco Chronicle for having a “tenor of unwavering resonance.”

During the 2007 – 2008 season, the tenor portrays Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with both Opera Arizona and Madison Opera, and Grimoaldo in Rodelinda with Portland Opera.  He sings Messiah with Eugene Concert Chorale, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts, The Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts with the National Philharmonic, Britten’s “Les Illuminations” with Richmond Symphony and offers recitals at the Cummer Museum and at Brenau University. 

The 2006 – 2007 season found Mr. Breault portraying Jupiter and Apollo in a new production of Semele with New York City Opera for which he was honored with the company’s “Kolozsvar Award”, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Utah Opera, Sam in Susannah with Arizona Opera, and the critically-acclaimed title role of Werther with Chautauqua Opera.  On the concert stage he sang Elijah with the Jacksonville Symphony and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Messiah with the Omaha Symphony, Carmina Burana with the Pacific Symphony and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, and Plump Jack with the Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes in Mazatlan, Mexico. 

During the 2005 – 2006 season, the tenor debuted with the Arizona Opera as Don Jose in Carmen, a role he also sang for a return engagement with New York City Opera that same season.  He was Alfredo in La Traviata with the Ft. Worth Opera, the title role of Idomeneo with Opera Lafayette in Washington DC, and Cavaradossi in Tosca for his debut with Festival Opera.  In concert, he sang Elijah for his debut with the San Diego Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Delaware Symphony, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria with the Santa Fe Symphony, and Bach’s Magnificat, Cantata 106, and Mozart’s Requiem all for a return engagement with the Florida Bach Festival.   

Highlights of Mr. Breault’s operatic performances from the last several years include Alfredo in La Traviata for his debut with New York City Opera as well as with the New Orleans Opera, Steva in Jenůfa with Utah Opera, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in La Bohème and the title role in Verdi’s Stiffelio along with many others all with Chautauqua Opera, and Roland in Esclarmonde with the Washington Concert Opera.  Robert portrayed the leading tenor role of Célestin de Pontalba in the world premiere Thea Musgrave’s Pontalba: A Louisiana Legacy with New Orleans Opera, Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia for his debut with Opera Grand Rapids and also with the Madison Opera, and Tom Norman in Petitgirard’s Joseph Merrick dit “Elephant Man” with Opéra de Nice.  Numerous engagements with the Atlanta Opera over the course of his career include performances in Verdi's Macbeth, Nabucco, and La Traviata, Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing, and Puccini's Turandot.  Performances with the Utah Opera include roles in Britten's Turn of the Screw, Prodigal Son, and Verdi's Falstaff.   In addition, he has appeared in productions with Madison Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Canada's Opera Atelier, Hamilton Opera, and toured with the San Francisco Opera Western Opera Theater.

Robert’s numerous important engagements on the concert stage include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Atlanta Symphony a, Milwaukee Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Utah Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra, Plump Jack with the Puerto Rico Symphony, and London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, B Minor Mass and Haydn’s Creation, and Elijah all with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  He has performed Handel’s Messiah with numerous orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, University Musical Society (Ann Arbor), the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under Nicolas McGegan, the Colorado Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Eugene Concert Choir, and with the St. Louis Symphony.  His performances of Verdi’s Requiem include appearances with the Elora Festival, Florida Philharmonic, with the Tucson Symphony.  He has been heard in Elijah with the Virginia Symphony and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, San Diego Symphony, the Jacksonville Symphony, National Orchestra of Taiwan, Florida Orchestra.  His appearances as the roasted swan in Orff’s Carmina Burana have thrilled audiences with numerous orchestras including the Pacific Symphony, Utah Symphony, Elora Festival, California Symphony, Baltimore Choral Arts. Conspirare Choir (TX) and the Houston Masterwork Chorus, Creation with the Winter Park Bach Festival, Virginia Symphony, and Eugene Concert Choir, Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with the Utah Symphony and Opera, and Gounod’s Missa Solennelle with the Vancouver Bach Choir.

In constant demand on the concert stage, Mr. Breault has also performed with the Montreal Symphony, The American Bach Soloists, The Oregon Bach Festival, Madison Symphony, Washington's National Symphony, Lansing Symphony, L'Orchestre Métropolitan du Grand Montréal, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony.   Engagements at New York’s Carnegie Hall include the demanding role of Argirio in Rossini’s Tancredi with the Opera Orchestra of, as well performances of Rossini's Armida, Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Second Symphony, and Mozart’s Requiem.  Of particular interest are his performances with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under Nicholas McGegan for Handel's Messiah, Hercules, and Solomon, and the role of Christ in Beethoven’s demanding Christus am Olberg.  The San Francisco Chronicle called his performance, “a heroic Jesus, his clarion tenor registering with precision and emotional vigor.” 

Mr. Breault's recording credits include Laurent Petitgirard's World Premier recording of Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man with The Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo.  A DVD of Elephant Man recorded live at Opéra de Nice is also available on the Marco Polo label.   Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with the Choeur St. Lawrence and Montreal Symphony, DeMars' American Requiem with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Berlioz Requiem with the Jerusalem Symphony and Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and three volumes of Pachelbel's Organ Works as the cantor with organist Marilyn Mason.  His performance with the Utah Symphony and Mormon Tabernacle Choir of Vaughan Williams’ Hodie with Keith Lockhart was broadcast nationally on PBS.  Born and raised in Wisconsin, Robert serves as Professor of Music and Director of Opera at the University of Utah and received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan in 1991.