Original Television Soundtrack

An American tenor in Athens

 1.  One Alone
2.  Addio fiorito asil (Butterfly)
3.  Amor Ti Vieta
4.  Auch kleine dinge
5.  Aus meinen traenen
6.  Be Not Afeared
7.  Core ngrato
8.  Deh Miei Bollenti Spiriti
9.  Die rose die lilie die taube
10. Ideale
11. Im wunderscheonen
12. Nuit de decembre
13. O, is there not one maiden
14. Pourquoi me reveiller
15. Rondine al nido
16. Shall we gather by the river
17. The little horses
18. Che Gelida Manina
19. Parigi o cara
20. Ah, Prenez garde
21. Benedetto Sia 'l Giorno - Petrach Sonnet 2
22. Der Mond hat eine schware
23. Und willst du
24. Hoehffartig seid
25. I Vidi in Terra - Petrach Sonnet 3
26. Ich hap' in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen
27. Schon Streckt
28. Serenade Francaise - Joyez troubadour
29. Star-Spangled Banner

International Opera and light opera star Joseph Michael Brent was born on March 30, 1987 in Brooklyn, NY to Jeannine (a special education instructor with the NY Board of Education) and William (a Film Historian and radio DJ). Joseph is best known for his roles as Roldolfo in Puccini's La Boheme and for the title role in the 2012 production of "Les contes d'Hoffmann" (The Tales of Hoffmann) an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. A role he is to reprise in the summer of 2013 under the auspices of the Martina Arroyo Foundation and Prelude to Performance.

Formal arts education
Joe is a product of the NY Public School system, including being a member of the first full graduating class of  the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (The school, created by Tony Bennett, opened its doors on 2001-09-11). From there he moved “up-state” to the State University at Purchase where he studied with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Principal Double Bassist Timothy Cobb and graduated Magnum cum laude in 2009. While his core discipline was, and remains classical bass, he was accepted into the University Of Georgia at Athens (UGA) for both his Bass and Vocal talents. He received his masters in 2011 and is currently pursuing his doctorate.

Professional life
Since 2009 he has performed as a substitute member of the Symphony Orchestra Augusta. His powerful voice and stage presence has earned him leading roles in Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, Pirates of Penzance [Frederick], Die Fledermaus [Eisenstein], The Merry Widow [Camille], HMS Pinafore [Ralph Rackstraw], Tales of Hoffman [Hoffmann], and the operas La Traviata [Gaston/Alfredo’s cover] (in Greece) and Puccini’s La Boheme [Rodolfo] (in both the USA and Italy) He has performed at Symphony Space in NYC (appearing on stage with Leonard Limoy and Richard Thomas), Carnegie Hall, The Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland, The Festival of the Aegean in Greece and La Musica Lyrica in Italy.

Italian Television
During his 2012 Italian tour, he appeared on two telecasts; performing solo on a telethon to assist the local earthquake victims, and as part of a quartette with the cast members from Musica Lyrica’s production of La Boheme [Quartette]. Back in the States in August of 2012, Joe was brought from Georgia to San Francisco by the SF Giants, to sing the National Anthem,  having been recommended by an early mentor, Tony Bennett.

Life before the arts
While Joe’s life has been filled with music (his father maintains a record collection numbering into the 10’s of thousands) – early on he exhibited a special prowess for sports, particularly basketball, baseball and soccer.
During his teen years he began to study and play the guitar and electric bass – briefly touring with a rock band including a performance at NYC’s CBGB’s. In the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007 Joe interned at the International Center for Photography in mid-town New York City.

Academic performances and exploring the arts
As he entered High School he concentrated on developing his voice - singing with the school at the United Nations, the World Trade Center memorials and a televised retrospective on Irving Berlin’s While Christmas. It was about this time that he put down the electric bass and began private lessons on the upright (or double) bass. It was with this instrument he began his college studies, studying with Timothy Cobb for four years in NY, then continuing his studies with Milton Masciadri at the University Of Georgia (UGA). While auditioning for the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, he was introduced to Frederick Burchinal, with whom he was to begin his vocal training in earnest.

The recordings in this collection are from a one hour television documentary dedicated to this amazing performer and were completed in May of 2013 for broadcast in the Autumn of that year.

All recordings are from the original soundtrack under the direction of Professor Frederick Burchinal except as noted (*) recorded live in performance...(#18. in Italy, #19-28. in Georgia, USA & #29. in San Francisco (Giant's Stadium))