Brian Schexnayder was born in Port Arthur, Texas, raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, and graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He continued his vocal training at Juilliard’s American Opera Center on a full scholarship and made his operatic debut in New Orleans in 1978, singing in Tosca.

​

He later debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Silvio in Pagliacci and soon became one of the Met’s leading baritones. During the 1990–91 season, he appeared with Plácido Domingo in La Bohème. Over the years, Schexnayder performed an extensive list of roles at the Met, including Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Lescaut in Manon Lescaut, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, the Theatre Director in Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Ping in Turandot, Germont in La Traviata, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Valentin in Faust, Posa in Don Carlos, and many others.

​

Schexnayder also appeared in major opera houses throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. His credits include performances with the Paris Opera, Nice Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Bonn, Frankfurt, San Francisco Opera, New Orleans Opera, Edmonton Opera, Winnipeg, Calgary, Cincinnati Opera, Santiago, Caracas, Cagliari, and Sardinia.

​

After more than 20 years as a principal artist, he retired from the stage and began teaching voice in the Dallas, Texas, area.