Brian Cheney is emerging as one of opera’s most versatile, and exciting tenors. The protégé of legendary tenor, Jerry Hadley, Brian is quickly gaining national acclaim for his portrayal of characters such as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Rodolfo in La Boheme, the Duke in Rigoletto, Candide in Candide and Don José in Carmen . “Tenor Brian Cheney's portrayal of Don José was the most effective dramatic and vocal realization of character in the production.....this excellent singer revealed a voice of amazing power and great beauty. Cheney's booming tenor voice and effective dramatic realization of the passionate Don José soon made him the audience's favorite character." Classical Voice of North Carolina Following Brian's debut at Carnegie Hall in 2007, he has been performing concert works and oratorio throughout the country. The Daily Gazette in Albany, NY had this to say about his recent performance of the Messiah, “Tenor Brian Cheney was a revelation. Cheney's voice was like spun gold. He seemed to dwell on his notes, basking in their loveliness. Each phrase was sculpted, each word was cleanly enunciated. Not just a gorgeous voice, Cheney showed imagination as he altered his colors or use of vibrato." He has performed numerous times as a soloist at Carnegie Hall with his most recent performance in 2013 performing a world premiere and US premiere of Hungarian music with the American Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Leon Botstein. In 2011, Brian also made his Lincoln Center debut as tenor soloist for the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 at Avery Fisher Hall appearing with acclaimed soprano, Jessye Norman. He will be featured as tenor soloist in the popular televised New Year’s concert Salute to Vienna at Lincoln Center on January 1 2014. Visit his website, BrianCheneyTenor, to watch the captivating six part documentary chronicling Brian's journey as a singer from the early stages of his career to the release of this exciting debut album. Conductor, Franz Vote Franz Vote has been called one of the finest conductors of his generation. Named a “singer's conductor” by reviewers, his rapport with musicians, both on stage and in the pit, elicits music-making of the highest level. Regarding his premier of Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera, one reviewer noted, "... during the curtain call, a very unusual thing happened. Usually half or more of the musicians have left the orchestra pit by the time the conductor gets to take his curtain call, and he then has to stand there and extend his gratitude to an almost empty pit. Not this time. Last night most, if not all of the musicians stayed in their spots, and what's more, they stood up and avidly applauded Franz Vote." Maestro Vote began his professional career in 1979 as a conductor at The Eastman School of Music and The Aspen Music Festival. In 1982 he was engaged at the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where he conducted Le nozze di Figaro, L'elisir d'amore, Giulio Cesare, Xerxes and L'Orfeo. His successes there led to productions of Gianni Schicchi and Hans Werner Henze's Don Chisciotte de la Mancia in Aachen. In Germany he also conducted with the Gärtnerplatz Theater in Munich and Berlin. Maestro Vote’s approach to conducting is informed by extensive experience in German opera houses and his 1989 engagement at the Bayreuth Festival as Assistant Conductor to Daniel Barenboim and James Levine. In 1990 he was invited by James Levine to join the Metropolitan Opera, conducting performances of Elektra, Madama Bufferfly, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Les contes d'Hoffmann, and the 1996 New Year's Eve Gala. Placido Domingo invited him to lead Tokyo's Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra for the Operalia Vocal Competition.