Holder of the 2010 Leonard Ingrams Award from Garsington Opera, James Oldfield was born in Ipswich. He was a chorister at Leicester Cathedral and read Geography at Trinity College, Cambridge, furthering his studies as the Sir Thomas Allen Scholar at the Royal College of Music. He then studied for an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School supported by a Sybil Tutton Award (administered by the Musicians Benevolent Fund) and the inaugural RCM Independent Opera Scholarship, graduating in July 2009.
Operatic performances at the RCM included The Forester The Cunning Little Vixen, Figaro Le nozze di Figaro and Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress. Professional experience includes Ormonte (cover) Partenope for English National Opera, Figaro Le nozze di Figaro for Garsington Opera, The Sergeant Manon Lescaut for Chelsea Opera Group, Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress, for Gothenburg Opera, Gremin Eugene Onegin for Stanley Hall Opera, creating LuddLudd and Isis for ROH2, Simon Magus The Pilgrim’s Progress with the late Richard Hickox and The A – Z of Mozart Opera with the Classical Opera Company.
On the concert platform James Oldfield made his international debut in Handel Messiah at the Dublin Handel Festival. Other engagements include a tour of Handel Messiah with the London Festival Orchestra, Haydn Nelson Mass with the Manchester Camerata and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by the composer, Mendelssohn Elijah with Kurt Masur and the London Philharmonic, Mozart Requiem in Westminster Abbey, Monteverdi Vespers with the London Handel Orchestra, Carmina Burana with the Hallé, Purcell The Fairy Queen with the Retrospect Ensemble and Rossini Stabat Mater with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. He has also performed in the world premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s Martyr with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has broadcast for the BBC and his recordings include James MacMillan Seven Last Words from the Cross on Naxos and the Monteverdi Vespers 1610 on Signum CD. His recording of Messiah with the Huddersfield Choral Society and the Northern Sinfonia conducted by Jane Glover was released on Signum in April 2011.
Current engagements include Messiah and New Year’s Eve / New Year’s Day Galas for Raymond Gubbay Ltd, Hall, Mozart Masses with the Polski Chór Kameralny, Carmina Burana with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Verdi Requiem in Chichester Cathedral, and his début with Opera North as Achilla Giulio Cesare.
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