Brian Schexnayder was born in Port Arthur, TX and was raised in Lafayette, Louisiana and graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.  He continued his training as a singer at Juilliard Music's America Opera Center on a full scholarship and made his debut in New Orleans in 1978 singing in Tosca. 

 

He debuted in New York at the Metropolitan Opera as Silvio in Pagliacci. He became a leading baritone of the Met; appearing with Placido Domingo in La Boheme during the 1990-91 season.  He sang many roles in subsequent Metropolitan seasons, including Enrico in La Bohème, Lescaut in Manon Lescaut, Mercutio in Roméo and Juliette, the Theatre Director in Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Guglielmo in Cosi fan Tutte, Ping in Turandot, Germont in La Traviata, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Valentin in Faust, Posa in Don Carlos, and many more.

 

He has performed in leading opera houses in the United States, Europe, and South America.  Brian has also starred in many international opera and performing companies, including the Paris Opera, Nice Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Bonn, Frankfurt, San Francisco Opera, New Orleans Opera, Edmonton Opera, Winnipeg, Calgary, Cincinnati Opera,

Santiago, Caracas, Cagliari, and Sardenia.  He was a principle artist for over 20 years and retired to teach voice lessons in the Dallas, Texas area.