Born in
Windsor, Ontario, Braun initially studied geology at the
University of Western Ontario (UWO) before deciding to pursue a singing career. While a student at UWO he began studying voice privately with Lillian Wilson in London, Ontario in 1954. In 1956 he entered
The Royal Conservatory of Music where he studied singing with
George Lambert and
Weldon Kilburn. That same year he became a member of the chorus of the
Canadian Opera Company (COC). He made his professional solo debut with the company in 1957 as Sciarrone in Puccini's
Tosca. He remained committed to the COC for the next five years where he was heard in mainly secondary parts. However, his profile with the company was considerably raised when he gave a much lauded portrayal of Escamillo in
Georges Bizet's
Carmen in 1961; a role he performed with the company again in 1964. Another critical success for him at the COC was the part of Monterone in Verdi's
Rigoletto (1962). In 1963 Braun left Canada for Europe after having won a stipend to study singing further in Vienna. Just a few months after his time there, he drew international attention for the first time when he won the grand prize at the 1963 Vienna International Mozart Competition. This accomplishment drew the attention of
Wieland Wagner who took it upon himself to get Braun a contract with the
Frankfurt Opera. He remained a resident artist in Frankfurt for the next five years singing a variety of roles, including Count Almaviva in
The Marriage of Figaro and Ottone in
Monteverdi's ''
L'incoronazione di Poppea among others. During his time in Frankfurt, he began to appear regularly as a guest artist with other important opera houses in Europe. He sang at the Cologne Opera (1965-1966), Deutsche Oper am Rhein (1966-1968), La Scala (1967, as Wolfram in Tannhäuser''), and the
Staatsoper Stuttgart (1967-1969) among others. In 1968 Braun left Frankfurt to become a resident artist at the
Bavarian State Opera where he made his debut that year as Almaviva. He remained a contracted member of that house for more than two decades, singing such roles as the Count in
Capriccio, Enrico in
Lucia di Lammermoor, Ford in
Falstaff, Giorgio Germont in
La traviata, Golaud in
Pelléas et Mélisande, Marcello in
La Bohème, Posa in
Don Carlos, Scarpia in
Tosca, and the title roles in
Don Giovanni and
Rigoletto among others. At the same time, his career continued to expand internationally with leading roles at the
San Francisco Opera (1968 debut as the Count di Luna in
Il trovatore) and the
Royal Opera, London (1969 debut in the title role of
Eugene Onegin). He continued to appear at major opera houses throughout the remainder of his career, including performances with the
Berlin State Opera, the
Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the
Lyric Opera of Chicago, the
Metropolitan Opera, the
New Orleans Opera, the
Opera Company of Boston,
Opéra de Nice, the
Paris Opera, and the
Santa Fe Opera among others. His final opera appearance was in 2000 at the
Salzburg Festival as Calchas in
La Belle Hélène. Braun leaves behind several children - his son
Russell Braun is also a
Canadian opera singer, his daughter
Adi Braun is a professional jazz singer, his son Torsten is the lead vocalist with the band Defective by Design, his son Tim Braun is a baritone living in Cologne and son Lars is a computer analyst living in
Düsseldorf, Germany. ==References==