Brett Colby-Noorigian

Tenor

    Armenian-American character tenor Brett Noorigian Colby is garnering acclaim throughout the US and Europe for his strong comedic and vocal skills. In his European debut, he joined Theater Görlitz (Germany), singing the roles of Nathanaël and The Four Servants (The Tales of Hoffmann), for which German papers wrote that he "mastered his diverse roles vocally, theatrically, and with immaculate diction".
    He will perform Baron Zsupan in Countess Maritza with Liederkrantz Opera in New York in April. Mr. Colby recently sang Spoleta in Tosca with Opera New Jersey. His recent performances were Goro in Madama Butterfly at the El Paso Opera and again at the Algonquin Playhouse, NJ, Beppe in Pagliacci with the Westfield Symphony Orchestra and Lamberto in Il Maestro di Musica with Boheme Opera. Previously Brett sang the roles of Basilio/Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro at Green Mountain Opera. He also sang Goro in Madama Butterfly at Boheme Opera in New Jersey, where he also performed Handel’s Messiah. Other engagements include Goro (Madama Butterfly) with Westfield Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Opera, Anchorage Opera, Opera Illinois, Midland Symphony, Metro Lyric Opera and Cedar Rapids Opera; Beppe (I Pagliacci) with Opera Delaware; Spoletta (Tosca) and Blind (Die Fledermaus) with Opera Illinois; Basilio/Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Connecticut Grand Opera; Camille (The Merry Widow) with Rimrock Opera; Piquillo (La Perichole) with West Bay Opera; El Remendado (Carmen) with Mobile Opera; Bardolfo (Falstaff), Little Bat (Susannah), and Basilio/Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Cedar Rapids Opera. As an Apprentice Artist at Utah Festival Opera and Sarasota Opera, Brett was seen as Little Bat (Susannah), Professor (South Pacific), Florenze (Naughty Marietta), and Tanzmeister (Ariadne auf Naxos).
    Equally at home on musical theatre stages, Brett has starred in and recorded albums for two original musicals in New York: Vivianna (a re-telling of La Traviata) and My Heinous Life, for which NYC papers said, “Brett’s commanding tenor voice and sure stage presence kept the nonsense moving briskly”, and dubbed him, “sweet candy”. Other musical theatre roles include Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, and a modernized version of The Pirates of Penzance at NYC's South Street Seaport. Brett spent two summers in Elmira, NY and Hartford, CT, portraying Young Mark Twain in Mark Twain: The Musical. He was featured in the independent comedy film The War on the War on Drugs, and has been heard frequently on Power 105.1 FM's "Dr. Dre in the Morning" Show, singing operatic renditions of popular Rap songs in a segment called "Hip-Hopera". Most Recently, he played the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show at the ReVision Theatre of New Jersey in October of 2010.
    A resident of Asbury Park, NJ, Brett currently serves as President of the Arts Coalition of Asbury Park (www.artscap.org).

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