Local Opera Singer Robert Breault

There’s nothing quite like the human voice. Musical instruments can create a unique tone, but a person’s vocal chords not only deliver notes but also a slice of their personality. The human voice is integral to our identity. And so, it’s even more impressive to hear someone like Robert Breault, whose delivery can carry the dramatic arc of an opera.

Opera News described Breault’s voice as such: “Besides a ductile tenor that allows him to negotiate a full dynamic span, from silvery head tone to ringing forte, even within a single phrase, Breault offers truly superb diction.”

Professor of Music and Director of Opera at the University of Utah, Breault has been blessed with time off to travel and perform in operatic productions, and his credits are some of the most impressive companies in the world, spanning the entire operatic repertoire.

His performances on the concert stage include Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9” with the Atlanta Symphony, 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” all with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He has performed Handel’s “Messiah” with 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 at the Elora Festival, Florida Philharmonic, and with the Tucson Symphony. His appearances as the roasted swan in Orff’s “Carmina Burana” have elated audiences in performances with the Pacific Symphony, Utah Symphony, Elora Festival, California Symphony, Baltimore Choral Arts, Conspirare (TX) and the Houston Masterwork Chorus. He has sung Haydn’s “Creation” with the Winter Park Bach Festival, Weill’s “Seven Deadly Sins” with the Utah Symphony and Opera, and Gounod’s “Missa Solennelle” with the Vancouver Bach Choir.

Breault has also performed with Montreal Symphony, American Bach Soloists, Oregon Bach Festival, Madison Symphony, Washington’s National Symphony, Lansing Symphony, L’Orchestre Métropolitan du Grand Montréal, the Hamilton Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony. Engagements at New York’s Carnegie Hall include the role of Argirio in Rossini’s “Tancredi” with the Opera Orchestra of New York, as well as performances of Rossini’s “Armida,” Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” “Messiah,” Mendelssohn’s Second Symphony, and Mozart’s “Requiem.” Performances with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under Nicholas McGegan for Handel’s “Messiah,” “Hercules,” and “Solomon,” and no less than the role of Christ in Beethoven’s “Christus am Olberg.”

Several years ago, Breault served as a judge for local tryouts for American Idol, and was less than impressed by the entrants. His tenet is the old adage, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” Originally from Michigan, he’s a vociferous Green Bay Packer fan, worries about contracting a Utah accent from over a decade living here, and musically could have almaost come up with any kind of wild card on his iPod, from Carmen to Captain Beefheart, as he explains that his musical tastes include “anything good.”

He begins, “An apologia of sorts to start. I am an opera singer. I sing for a living, I teach singing, and I don’t keep two iTunes libraries. The majority of my library is devoted to pieces I’ve worked on—or, is it?”