Praised by The New York Times for his “unflagging stamina and impetuous abandon” during his 2012 Metropolitan Opera debut as Énée in Les Troyens, Bryan Hymel went on to be awarded the Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Artist Award for his achievements in the production. Hailed for his “range of expression and vocal power combined with the subtle art of characterization,” he is also the winner of the 2013 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for his trio of performances in Les Troyens, Robert le diable, and Rusalka at London’s Royal Opera House. An exclusive recording artist for Warner Classics, his first solo album Héroïque debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Classical Music chart, and earned Hymel the coveted Georges Thill Prize by the Académie Nationale du Disque Lyrique and the Newcomer of the Year Award from ECHO Klassik.
Hymel’s career highlights include debuts and return engagements at the world’s most accomplished opera houses and festivals. Hymel made his Covent Garden debut in 2010 as Don José in Carmen and has since returned for performances in Rusalka, Les Troyens, Robert le diable, Les Vêpres siciliennes, Don Carlo, Cavalleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci, and Tosca. Hymel made his widely anticipated debut in 2015 at the Opéra National de Paris for performances of La Damnation de Faust, and returned later in La Traviata and for the famed Paris’s Bastille Day celebration concert. He made his Teatro alla Scala debut as Don José in 2010 (later reprising the role with the Canadian Opera Company and in his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper) and he returned for opening night for performances of B.F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. His Metropolitan Opera debut came in 2012 with Les Troyens, and he returned in subsequent seasons for Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Arnold in Rossini’s final opera Guillaume Tell, and Faust in La Damnation de Faust. He made his house and role debut as Percy in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s staging of Anna Bolena, as well as his San Francisco Opera debut in his renowned rendition of Énée in Les Troyens and his Washington National Opera debut as Don José in Carmen. Additional appearances include debuts with the Vienna Staatsoper and English National Opera in Madama Butterfly; De Nederlandse Opera in Les Troyens; Deutsche Oper Berlin in Rigoletto; Oper Frankfurt in Edgar; Teatro Municipale di Salerno in Robert le Diable; Oper Desden in Der Rosenkavalier; Houston Grand Opera in La Traviata; Santa Fe Opera as the title role in Faust; and his role debut as Arnold in a new production of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell at the Bayerishe Staatsoper.
After completing his Master’s in Vocal Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College in 2023, he was invited to join their faculty; first as a guest artist, then as a full-time visiting faculty teaching voice.