Irish Baritone Brendan Collins began his training at the Cork School of Music under Robert Beare, the D.I.T. Conservatory in Dublin and in 2007 he was granted a scholarship to study at the Opera Studio of Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels under renowned bass-baritone José van Dam. In 2005 he was one of only 12 Irish singers to take part in the 1st Wexford Festival Young Artists programme under tenor Dennis O’Neill.
He has also studied privately or in masterclasses with Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Sir Thomas Allen, Robert Dean, Susanna Eken, Veronica Dunne and John Elwes.
As a soloist he has performed across Ireland, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, China and America working with leading conductors (Sir Mark Elder, Sir Andrew Davis, Rafael Payare, Matthew Halls, Christian Curnyn, Jonathan Coen) and directors (Oliver Mears, Graham Vick, Annalise Miskimmon, Olivier Tambosi, Michael Grandage).
Opera engagements include Irish National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Scottish Opera, English Touring Opera, Opera Theatre Company, NI Opera, Longborough Festival Opera, Anna Livia Festival, Opera Collective Ireland, Cork Operatic Society, Regents Opera and Iford Opera.
His roles include the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Marcello (La Boheme), Escamillo (Carmen), Germont (La Traviata), Tonio (Pagliacci), Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana), Paolo Albiani (Simon Boccanegra), Masetto (Don Giovanni), Pietro de Wisants (L'Assedio di Calais), Jupiter (Orpheus in the Underworld), Marullo (Rigoletto), Elviro (Xerses), Aeneas (Dido & Aeneas), Fiorello (The Barber of Seville), Yamadori (Madama Butterfly) and Count Gil (Il segreto di Susanna) amongst others.
A regular performer on the concert platform his repertoire includes Handel Messiah (Pro Cathedral, Dublin), Handel Birthday Ode for Queen Anne (St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin), Mozart Requiem (National Concert Hall, Dublin), Mozart Vespers (Kajetanekirche, Salzburg), Mozart Coronation Mass (St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna), Mozart Mass in C Minor (Ulster Hall, Belfast), Mozart Spatzenmesse (Westminster Cathedral, London), Haydn Creation Mass (Clonard Monastery, Belfast), Haydn Nelson Mass (St Finbarr’s Cathedral, Cork), Fauré Requiem (St. Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent) Schubert Mass in G (St Nicholas, Galway), Puccini Messa di Gloria (Cork City Hall), Orff Carmina Burana (National Concert Hall, Dublin), Mendelssohn Elijah (Wexford Opera House) and Beethoven 9th Symphony (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels).
Highlights include his debuts at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and in the B.B.C. Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in Billy Budd under Sir Andrew Davis, his New York debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music under Sir Mark Elder, his Swiss debut at Opéra de Lausanne under Monica Huggett, his debut at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg in Donnacha Dennehy's The Last Hotel and his Chinese debut in concert at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre under Maestro Henry Shek.
He has also studied privately or in masterclasses with Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Sir Thomas Allen, Robert Dean, Susanna Eken, Veronica Dunne and John Elwes.
As a soloist he has performed across Ireland, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, China and America working with leading conductors (Sir Mark Elder, Sir Andrew Davis, Rafael Payare, Matthew Halls, Christian Curnyn, Jonathan Coen) and directors (Oliver Mears, Graham Vick, Annalise Miskimmon, Olivier Tambosi, Michael Grandage).
Opera engagements include Irish National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Scottish Opera, English Touring Opera, Opera Theatre Company, NI Opera, Longborough Festival Opera, Anna Livia Festival, Opera Collective Ireland, Cork Operatic Society, Regents Opera and Iford Opera.
His roles include the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Marcello (La Boheme), Escamillo (Carmen), Germont (La Traviata), Tonio (Pagliacci), Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana), Paolo Albiani (Simon Boccanegra), Masetto (Don Giovanni), Pietro de Wisants (L'Assedio di Calais), Jupiter (Orpheus in the Underworld), Marullo (Rigoletto), Elviro (Xerses), Aeneas (Dido & Aeneas), Fiorello (The Barber of Seville), Yamadori (Madama Butterfly) and Count Gil (Il segreto di Susanna) amongst others.
A regular performer on the concert platform his repertoire includes Handel Messiah (Pro Cathedral, Dublin), Handel Birthday Ode for Queen Anne (St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin), Mozart Requiem (National Concert Hall, Dublin), Mozart Vespers (Kajetanekirche, Salzburg), Mozart Coronation Mass (St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna), Mozart Mass in C Minor (Ulster Hall, Belfast), Mozart Spatzenmesse (Westminster Cathedral, London), Haydn Creation Mass (Clonard Monastery, Belfast), Haydn Nelson Mass (St Finbarr’s Cathedral, Cork), Fauré Requiem (St. Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent) Schubert Mass in G (St Nicholas, Galway), Puccini Messa di Gloria (Cork City Hall), Orff Carmina Burana (National Concert Hall, Dublin), Mendelssohn Elijah (Wexford Opera House) and Beethoven 9th Symphony (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels).
Highlights include his debuts at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and in the B.B.C. Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in Billy Budd under Sir Andrew Davis, his New York debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music under Sir Mark Elder, his Swiss debut at Opéra de Lausanne under Monica Huggett, his debut at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg in Donnacha Dennehy's The Last Hotel and his Chinese debut in concert at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre under Maestro Henry Shek.
