Star baritone Russell Braun is one of Canada’s favoured artists, and next month, he’ll sing one of his signature roles at what he calls his home company. He has been singing Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro for twenty years, and he joins bass-baritone Josef Wagner and Canadian sopranos Jane Archibald and Erin Wall in Claus Guth’s production, at the Canadian Opera Company from February 4 to 27.

Russell made time between rehearsals to chat with us about singing a layered character like the Count, and why a career as a musician is worth the challenges.