Brian Cheney

Brian Cheney is an American opera tenor who has built a career across leading roles, including Radamès in Aida, Don José in Carmen, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Rodolfo in La bohème and Canio in Pagliacci. A protégé of tenor Jerry Hadley, he debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2007 and has since performed widely in concert and oratorio repertoire alongside opera. Here he sings the tenor solos in Verdi's Requiem.

The tenor solo in Verdi's Requiem is one of the part's hardest assignments, especially the 'Ingemisco,' a short, exposed prayer that asks for a gentle, almost intimate tenderness right after the terror of the 'Dies irae.' Verdi wrote the Requiem only a few years after completing the operas Aida and Otello, and its vocal writing draws on the same sense of theater, long melodic lines, sudden dynamic swings, and a tenor part that rewards a singer used to carrying an opera stage rather than blending quietly into an ensemble. Cheney's background in dramatic roles such as Radamès and Cavaradossi points toward a full, projected sound for the 'Ingemisco' rather than a lighter, purely liturgical approach.

Cheney studied under the American tenor Jerry Hadley, an early mentor. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2007 and has since performed leading tenor roles at opera companies around the country, including Radamès in Aida, Don José in Carmen, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Rodolfo in La bohème, the Duke in Rigoletto and Canio in Pagliacci. In 2011 he sang as tenor soloist alongside soprano Jessye Norman at a 10th anniversary concert for September 11 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. He has also worked as a concert and oratorio soloist, and in recent years has narrated audiobooks.