Brian Jagde

Heralded internationally as a “thrillingly emotive” artist (The New York Times), American tenor Brian Jagde brings his dynamic vocalism and captivating dramatic presence to inter-national stages in the 2026/27 season, beginning with a return to the Bayerische Staatsoper to sing the Tenor / Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos.

This December, he will open the season at the Teatro alla Scala for a second time, starring in the title role of Verdi’s Otello in a new production by Damiano Michieletto and conducted by La Scala’s music director Myung-Whun Chung. The opening night will receive a live in-ternational video and radio broadcast.

To start the new year, he reunites with Anna Netrebko for concerts in Salzburg, Barcelona, Paris, Athens, Freiburg, Mannheim, Essen, Sevilla, and Monte Carlo, with baritone George Petean, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Mr. Jagde and Ms. Netrebko reunite for Puccini’s Turandot at the Wiener Staatsoper, as well as further concerts in the 2027/28 season, in-cluding one in Baden-Baden with baritone Ludovic Tézier.
In the spring, Jagde returns to The Metropolitan Opera for Otello, which will receive a Live in HD international cinema broadcast and radio broadcast. Additionally, he is a featured soloist on the Met’s 60th Anniversary at Lincoln Center Diamond Jubilee Gala Concert.

He reprises Otello for his debut at Greek National Opera in May, followed by another de-but, with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and music director Daniel Harding, singing Canio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci in concert. He is the tenor soloist for Bee-thoven’s Ninth Symphony in his return to the New York Philharmonic, conducted by music director Gustavo Dudamel in his inaugural season. As the 26/27 Artist-in-Residence at Staatstheater Hanover, Jagde will present a new solo recital program with pianist Nelson Calzi in May, and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in June. In the summer he will debut at the Festival Puccini at Torre del Lago, and returns to the Arena di Verona stage.
Last season, Mr. Jagde opened the Teatro Real season in his greatly anticipated debut in the title role of Otello, which he embodied with “unfailing valor” (Première Loge). He then sang Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, followed by Canio in Pagliacci to open the season at Palermo’s Teatro Massimo. He debuted on Carnegie Hall’s main stage for a Christmas Night Opera Gala, and at the Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino for Pagliacci, followed by his first Wagnerian title role debut, as Lohengrin at Teatro La Fenice, and debuted in Taiwan with the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He returned to The Metropolitan Opera to star as “a Calaf for the ages” (New York Classical Review) in Puccini’s Turandot, and sang two roles with the Teatro di San Carlo- Calaf and Maurizio in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, as well as a duo concert with Ludovic Tézier.

In 2024 Jagde made his house debut at Teatro alla Scala as Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavaller-ia rusticana, followed by two new productions there when he starred in Turandot and later in Forza to open the 24/25 season with international broadcasts, where he was lauded as a “thrillingly virile Don Alvaro armed with a powerful middle range and ringing top notes” (Financial Times). Recent seasons have also included the role of Don Alvaro in Verdi’s La forza del Destino at London’s Royal Opera House, The Metropolitan Opera, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and his debuts in Japan on tour with the Royal Opera and later in South Korea, all as Calaf.
Additional highlights from past years include Canio for his Teatro dell’Opera di Roma de-but where he “established himself as an extremely compelling link between the great leg-ends of the past and also in a more modern characterization of the role” (Connessi all’Opera); Samson in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila at the Teatro di San Carlo (later revisit-ed for his debut at the Staatsoper Berlin); the title role in Verdi’s Don Carlo at London’s Royal Opera House; Cavaradossi at Opéra national de Paris, Opernhaus Zürich, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Santa Fe Opera; Turiddu at the Wiener Staatsoper; Maurizio in Madrid, Vi-enna, and London; Des Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at San Francisco Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, and Deutsche Oper Berlin; and Pinkerton at The Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. He starred as Calaf at the Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Opéra national de Paris, and the Caracalla Festival; Don José in Bizet’s Carmen at San Francisco Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Royal Opera House; and Houston Grand Opera and Staatsoper Berlin as the Prince (Dvořák’s Rusalka). He was also seen as Bacchus (Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos) with Minnesota Opera and Palm Beach Opera.

Mr. Jagde made his principal role debut at The Metropolitan Opera in 2021, singing Cava-radossi in critically acclaimed performances of Tosca: “… his enormous, vibrant voice was capped by exciting top notes ... ” (New York Times). New productions of note have included Tosca and Aida at San Francisco Opera, Carmen at the Teatro di San Carlo and Arena di Ve-rona, Madama Butterfly and Turandot at the Teatro Massimo, and Aida at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Role debuts in recent seasons include Enzo Grimaldi in Ponchielli's La Giocon-da in his debut at the Liceu, followed by an acclaimed debut with Opéra national de Paris as Don Alvaro in Verdi's epic La forza del Destino, where he was lauded as “a revelation” (Ôlyrix). Concert appearances have featured performances at the Teatro La Fenice in their annual Capodanno concerts with an international television broadcast, the Het Concertge-bouw in Amsterdam as the tenor soloist for a radio broadcast of Verdi's Requiem, and as Froh (Wagner’s Das Rheingold) in his debut with the New York Philharmonic. He also gave a "radiant" and "glorious" (San Francisco Classical Voice) solo recital debut at the Mondavi Center in Davis, CA, with pianist Craig Terry.

Jagde’s discography includes a Deutsche Grammophon release of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Luigi in Puccini’s Il tabarro and Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana on Pentatone, and a future solo recording (TBA). DVD / Blu-ray releases include his debut as Der Fremde in a new production of Korngold's Das Wunder der Heliane at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Turiddu in a new production of Cavalleria rusticana at Dutch National Opera.
In addition to his stage career, Mr. Jagde advocates for arts education worldwide. He is an Ambassador for Opera for Peace, an international non-profit organization promoting equity and social justice through artistic collaboration, mentorship, and cultural exchanges. He al-so serves on the vocal faculty of Vincerò Academy. Jagde’s accolades include top prize at the Loren L. Zachary Competition (2014), as well as second prize and the Birgit Nilsson Prize from the Operalia Competition (2012). He is a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Adler and Merola Programs.