Brenden began the 2023/24 season with a revival of the title role in Peter Grimes at Oper Leipzig, a role he had previously sung in the opera’s Leipzig premiere. His groundbreaking performance was described as “shattering”, with critics saying “it stayed in the memory long after the opera ended” (Das Opernglas). In autumn 2023, Brenden took on the role again, this time in Frederic Wake – Walker’s production for the Cologne Opera under the direction of Duncan Ward.

In the 2022/23 season, Brenden made his debut with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and sang both “Das Lied von der Erde” with Matthias Foremny and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Andris Nelsons. His concert engagements in the 2023/24 season include “Das Paradies und die P eri” with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra/Sylvain Cambreling and “Das Lied von der Erde” with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Alpesh Chauhan. In the coming season, Brenden will make his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Boston Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall, where he will perform the role of Sergei in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Brenden Gunnell CV deutsch.docx under the baton of Andris Nelsons. The concert will be recorded for release on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

Brenden has been a member of the Leipzig Opera ensemble since the 2022/202 3 season. His upcoming roles with the company include Siegmund Die Walküre and Sergei Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, among other role debuts.

Recent operatic roles include Herod’s Salome at the Leipzig Opera; Erik Der fliegende Holländer for the Komische Oper Berlin; the title role in Lohengrin for the Bolshoi Theatre; Duke of Kent in Reimann’s Lear and Hüon in a new production of Oberon for the Bavarian State Opera; Prince Rusalka for the Glyndebourne Festival and Bergen National Opera; Loge Das Rheingold for the Birmingham Opera Company and for Gothenburg Opera; Jimmy Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; Jenik Die verkaufte Braut for Garsington Opera; the title role in Peter Grimes at the Staatstheater Saarbrücken and the title role in Idomeneo at the Opéra National de Lorraine.

On the concert platform, he is particularly known for his interpretation of Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius”, which he debuted with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra/Sir Jeffrey Tate. He subsequently sang the work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Dortmund Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Ryan Wigglesworth and for the Rheingau Music Festival. The Guardian commented that his performance was “sung sensitively but never excessively, his heldentenor voice resonant and clear”.

Other current concert highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Filarmonica della Scala/Riccardo Chailly and at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Fabio Luisi; Verdi’s Messa di Requiem with the Staatskapelle Halle/Hartmut Haenchen and a concert performance of Die Walküre with the Philharmonie Zuidnederland/Haenchen.

After completing his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 2006, Brenden Gunnell was a member of the ensemble at the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck under the artistic direction of KS Brigitte Fassbaender from 2007 to 2011 and a member of the ensemble of Den Norske Oper und Ballett from 2011 to 2013.

Brenden sings on 24 August 2024