CAST BIOS




JAMES CLEVERTON


Appearing in: Barcelona, Lisbon and Milan

In April 2009 James made his ENO debut to critical acclaim, singing the role of Oppenheimer in Penny Woolcock’s joint production with the Met of Dr Atomic (Adams). In October 2010 he will be making his Royal Opera Covent Gardendebut as Grigorio in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. In April 2010 he will be singing the title role in Schweizer's opera Jakob von Gunten at the St Gallen Opera in Switzerland and during the summer he will be Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly for Grange Park Opera.

James Cleverton was born in Kent and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Zürich Opera’s International Opera Studio. His awards include the prestigious Texaco Award for Opera, the Veitch Ibler Award for Oratorio and a Susan Chilcott Scholarship. He is an international ambassador for the Concordia Foundation.

James made his international opera début as Escamillo Carmen for the Spier Opera Festival in South Africa. He appeared as the Pirate King The Pirates of Penzance with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company at the Savoy Theatre. Other roles include Count Asdrubale La Pietra del Paragone at L'Opera de Rennes and Zürich Opera, John Sorel Der Konsul for Zürich Opera, Silvio Pagliacci in Hanoi Vietnam, Harum The Wondrous Tale of Fanferlizzy Sunnyfeet for Broomhill Opera, Eugene Onegin and Don Giovanni with Opera by Definition, Figaro Le nozze di Figaro for Clonter Opera, Silvio / Pagliacci with ETO, Enrico Lucia di Lammermoor for Iford Festival, Malatesta Don Pasquale for Stanley Hall Opera and Alfio Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio Pagliacci for Burry Port Opera.

Recently James has performed the roles of Ford Falstaff for Grange Park/Nevill Holt Festival, Der Sprecher Die Zauberflöte and Jim Larkens Fanciulla del West at Grange Park Opera, Schaunard La Bohème for Mid-Wales Opera, Escamillo for Bacchanale Opera, Grosvenor Patience, Captain Corcoran HMS Pinafore, Giuseppe The Gondoliers, Florian Princess Ida, The Pirate King, Pish Tush The Mikado and Strephon Iolanthe at the Buxton Gilbert and Sullivan Festival and Sweeney Todd for Pimlico Opera.

Last year’s engagements, apart from Dr Atomic at ENO include the roles of Eisenstein Die Fledermaus for Castleward Opera in Northern Ireland and in Wexford Opera House, The Forester Cunning Little Vixen for the Oundle music festival and created the role of The King The Opera Show for Kilworth House Theatre, Danilo in Lehár's The Merry Widow for Lakeland Opera and Giuseppe in The Gondoliers for Zurich Pocket Opera.

James regularly performs with the English Mozart Ensemble and has given series’ of concerts in Kenya & Tanzania and toured with the Bel Etage Orchestra in Estonia. He has given solo recitals across Europe in English, French and German song and was a principal artist on the QE2’s Millenium Cruise. As a Concordia Ambassador, he recently gave a concert and masterclasses in Havana, Cuba. He has worked with orchestras including the English Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Basel Sinfonietta, the Zürcher Kammerorkester, the Northern Sinfonia and both the Royal Scottish National and Chamber Orchestras.

James has performed Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt and Haydn’s Creation in Glasgow Cathedral, Verdi’s Requiem in the Caird Hall, Dundee, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius in Edinburgh Cathedral, Mendelssohn’s Paulus in the Oban Cathedral, Orff’s Carmina Burana for the Isle of Wight Festival and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the swiss chamber orchestra, Ensemble Classique.

National television and radio credits include Gloria’s Open House on Channel 5 as The Pirate King, This Morning on ITV1 as The King in Mitch Sebastien’s The Opera Show, Raphael in The Creation, French song masterclasses with Regine Crespin and In Tune on BBC Radio 3.

James Cleverton