Praised for his “outstanding” (The Guardian), “flawless” and “captivating” (TheArtsDesk) performances across opera, concert and theatre stages worldwide, countertenor James Hall is known for his distinctive artistry in both baroque and contemporary repertoire, and appears regularly with many of the world’s leading ensembles and opera companies.
Renowned for his mellifluous singing and masterful interpretations of Bach, Purcell, and Handel, he works with such leading conductors as Philippe Herreweghe, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, John Butt, Harry Bicket, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Peter Whelan, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Laurence Cummings, Christian Curnyn, Ottavio Dantone, Richard Egarr, Sir Donald Runnicles and Masaaki Suzuki. He has been invited to perform in some of the world’s most prestigious opera and concert halls, including Glyndebourne, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsoper, Wigmore Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Tonhalle Zürich, and Carnegie Hall.
On the operatic stage, James’s roles range widely across the baroque and beyond. He has sung Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lichas in Handel’s Hercules for Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Goffredo in Rinaldo and Guildenstern in Brett Dean’s Hamlet for Glyndebourne on Tour, and the title role in Handel’s Tamerlano for Oper Bielefeld. His work in contemporary and staged repertoire includes The Boy in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin at the Venice Biennale, Strumpet Ginger in Opera North’s eco-Purcell project Masque of Might, and Pisandro in Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria with Robert Carsen for the Maggio Musicale. He also created the role of Farinelli alongside Mark Rylance in the Olivier- and Tony-nominated play Farinelli and the King, on Broadway at the Belasco Theater in New York.
On the concert platform, James has toured Europe with the Monteverdi Choir as alto soloist in Handel’s Israel in Egypt, appeared with The English Concert and the Dunedin Consort at Wigmore Hall, and made his Carnegie Hall debut in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo with Sir John Eliot Gardiner. His oratorio and concert work ranges across Bach’s B Minor Mass at the Bayerische Staatsoper München, the St John Passion with Harry Bicket and the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Christmas Oratorio with Concerto Copenhagen, and the St Matthew Passion with Collegium Vocale Gent, alongside Mozart’s Requiem with Masaaki Suzuki and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Sir George Benjamin’s The Dream of the Song conducted by the composer at the Royal Festival Hall, and Unsuk Chin’s Cantatrix Sopranica with Asko|Schönberg. He has also given recitals with the guitarist Sean Shibe, the pianist Dylan Perez, and lautten compagney BERLIN.
A passionate advocate of contemporary music, James has created a number of new roles: Leon in Laurence Osborn’s The Mother, I-Becoming-You in Rolf Hind’s Sky in a Small Cage with Mahogany Opera Group and Riot Ensemble, Nathaniel in Na’ama Zisser’s Black Sand, and Johan in the world premiere of David Bruce’s Nothing for Glyndebourne.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and a Council Member of the Independent Society of Musicians, James has recorded for Hyperion, Phi, and Vivat. His debut solo recording Elegy, made with fellow countertenor Iestyn Davies, was nominated for a Gramophone Award.
