Bradley Christensen enjoys a busy multi-faceted career as a baritone, voice teacher, and guest clinician. He is the holder of four degrees: a BMUS (Hons) in Vocal Performance and a BA in Italian, both from the University of Auckland, and a MMus and a DMA in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Toronto. In 2016, he was invited by The Royal Conservatory of Toronto to hold one of seven positions in its prestigious Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program. He also furthered his development as a young artist with Opera on the Avalon, Highlands Opera Studio, and Opera North.
On the concert stage, Bradley has appeared in Canada as a soloist with the Grand Philharmonic Choir of Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph Chamber Choir, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra Toronto, Ottawa Choral Society, Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, and Thirteen Strings to name a few. Other recent performance highlights include solo appearances in New Zealand with the Hamilton Civic Choir, Auckland Choral Society, and a performance in Auckland of Brahms’ song cycle, Die schöne Magelone, conceptualized with Aria Umezawa.
In opera, Bradley has performed across North America with numerous organizations. In a recent performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo with Opera Atelier, Stephen Bonfield of Opera Canada wrote, "And then there was striking baritone Bradley Christensen as the High Priest lending essential dramatic lower tessitura counterbalance to the opera’s preference for upper register roles. Christensen is an excellent singer and actor and I look forward to seeing him in more roles with OA.” Bradley made his US debut in 2017 performing the role of Agamemnon with Opera North in Offenbach’s La belle Hélène, while also covering the role of Fred/Petruccio in Cole Porter’s Kiss me Kate. Read more…
ENSEMBLE (ANGEL’S BONE)
by Du Yun
LOOSE TEA MUSIC THEATRE, SOUND THE ALARM, & ARRAY MUSIC
March 22-23, 2024
7:30pm
Harbourfront Centre Theatre
Toronto, Canada
CHORUS (MEDEA)
by Cherubini
CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY
May 3-17, 2024
7:30pm & 2:00pm
Four Seasons Centre
Toronto, Canada
BARITONE (ALZHEIMER’S STORIES)
by Cohen
CHOR AMICA
June 1, 2024
7:30pm
Oakridge Presbyterian Church
London, Canada
Bradley Christensen as the High Priest and Colin Ainsworth as Idomeneo
Photo: Bruce Zinger
REVIEW: Opera Atelier’s Idomeneo A Feast For The Eyes And Ears
LUDWIG-VAN | 5 APRIL 2019 | Joseph So
"Finally, the young New Zealand baritone Bradley Christensen showed off his fine voice and imposing stage presence as the High Priest."
Stephanie DeCiantis as Nedda and Bradley Christensen as Silvio.
PAGLIACCI / GIANNI SCHICCHI
OPERA CANADA | 3 MARCH 2018 | DAWN MARTENS
"Baritone Bradley Christensen (Silvio) was both vocally rich and a good actor, particularly convincing during the Nedda/Silvio duet which DeCiantis and Christensen sang with the lush musical ebb and flow that Leoncavallo’s score demands."
From left to right: Karine White (Laetitia), Bradley Christensen (Bob), Timothy Cheung (piano), Renée Salewski (director).
Photo: Karen E. Reeves
TEACHING ARTIST AT THE CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY
Last year, Bradley was invited by the Canadian Opera Company to be a ‘Teaching Artist’ for the 2022/23 season. Teaching Artists deliver interactive workshops in various settings, and in this season, I partook in two workshops.
The most recent workshop was on March 15 as part of Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw amphitheater, and featured Karine White (Laetitia), Renée Salewski (director), Timothy Cheung (piano) and myself, leading the audience in an interactive workshop inspired by Gian Carlo Menotti’s 1939 opera The Old Maid and the Thief. Navigating through dramaturgy, with the performance of a couple of its most famous arias as well as scenes, this workshop provided an educational exploration of the well-loved radio opera.
Previously, on January 23, The Canadian Opera Company presented its second Youth Opera Lab (YOL) in conjunction with The Marriage of Figaro dress rehearsal. Karine Whie, Hyejin Kwon and Bradley Christensen along with Madeleine Smith, manager of community partnerships and programs at the COC, developed and executed a 90-minute interactive workshop focused on the music and history of The Marriage of Figaro. They also discussed how opera singers prepare for the stage. Musical excerpts were featured - Bradley performed “Se vuol ballare” and “Hai già vinta la causa…”
