- Le Nozze di Figaro – Don Basilio
From Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, has had a long, varied and most enjoyable career.
He has sung with all the major opera companies in the UK, and in many cities throughout Europe, including Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Antwerp, Venice and Berlin.
Early repertoire includes Almaviva (Il barbiere di Seviglia) for Opera North, Scottish Opera, New Israeli Opera and Pjazza Teatru Real, Malta, Vašek (The Bartered Bride) for Welsh National Opera, New Israeli Opera and Oper Köln, Ramira (Cenerentola) for Scottish Opera and City of Birmingham Opera, Peter Quint, (The Turn of the Screw), Gonsalve (L’heure Espagnole), Pedrillo (Il Seraglio) and Rodrigo (Otello).
Some favourites over the years have been Monsieur Triquet (Eugene Onegin), Sellem (The Rake’s Progress), The Simpleton (Boris Godunov), Nanki-Poo (The Mikado), Pirelli (Sweeney Todd) the title rôle in Rameau’s Platée, and, of course. Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro).
More recently he has been a regular guest artist with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, singing roles in Le nozze di Figaro, Boris Godunov, Cendrillon, Carmen, La Fanciulla del West and Die Zauberflöte.
He created the principal tenor rôles in world premières of Judith Wier’s The Vanishing Bridegroom, Michael Nyman’s Facing Goya and Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Coraline, and later this year he will sing in the première of Anthony Bolton’s Island of Dreams for Grange Park Opera.
“I am so pleased to be returning to Saffron Walden after thirty years or so; some of you may remember me singing with the Choral Society in the ‘80s and ‘90s – Stainer’s Crucifixion, Carmina Burana, Mathias’ This World’s Joy, Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Berlioz’ Te Deum”.