James Laing studied at Uppingham School and was a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge. He furthered his studies at the Royal College of Music with Robin Blaze. He was selected by OPERA NOW as amongst ‘Who’s Hot’ for his performance as Nerone Agrippinaat the London Handel Festival. His broadcast work includes Sports Personality of the Year for BBC TV, In Tune for Radio 3 and Midweek for Radio 4. A feature interview appeared in the JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2008 edition of OPERA NOW.
James Laing’s engagements have included Oberon A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Coachman / Fox The Adventures of Pinocchio, Pastor L’Orfeo and Spirit Dido and Aeneas for Opera North, Oberon A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Raphael Tobias and the Angel for English Touring Opera, Raphael Tobias and the Angel at the Young Vic and for the Oundle Festival, Refugee Flight for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Nerone Agrippina and John Brockes Passion at the London Handel Festival, Medoro Orlando for the Early Opera Company, Armindo Partenope for Les Azuriales Opera, Andronico Tamerlano for opera by definition, Zephyrus Apollo and Hyacinthus for OTC, Dublin, and the Classical Opera Company, Ascanio Ascanio in Alba and the Opening Concert at Kings Place for the Classical Opera Company, the St John Passion with the Irish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Stephen Layton, Messiah with Choeur de Chambre de Namur and Les Agrémens in Brussels and Nantes and the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Paul Daniel, the William Byrd Festival with Pacific Northwest Viols in the USA, The Scarlatti Dynasty at the Blumenthal International Music Festival, Israel, Vivaldi Cantatas with the Ten Tors Orchestra and Other Shakespearean Dreamers at The Liceu, Barcelona.
James Laing’s engagements have further included Oberon A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Zelim La verita in cimento for Garsington Opera, Giuliano Eliogabalo for Grange Park Opera, Guido Flavio and Alessandro Tolomeo for English Touring Opera, Bertarido Rodelinda for Iford Arts, the title role in Orfeo ed Euridice with The Cannons Scholars at St John’s, Smith Square, Armindo Partenope for Les Azuriales Opera, Andronico Tamerlano for opera by definition, Ascanio Ascanio in Alba and the Opening Concert at Kings Place for the Classical Opera Company, the Actus Tragicus with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the B Minor Mass with the Netherlands Bach Society, the St John Passion with the Academy of Ancient Music, Messiah with the Choeur de Chambre de Namur and Les Agrémens in Brussels and Nantes as well as on tour with the Israel Camerata, Mozart Masses with the Polski Chór Kameralny and Toivo Tulanv’s Songs with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir conducted by Daniel Reuss.
Current engagements include Fourth Innocent The Minotaur for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Nireno Giulio Cesare for English National Opera, Tolomeo Giulio Cesare for Opera North, J. S. Bach B Minor Mass with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cantatas with the Netherlands Bach Society, Jonathan Miller’s production of the St Matthew Passion at the Royal National Theatre, London, and Saul on tour with the Israel Camerata. His performance with Opera North in The Adventures of Pinocchio is now available on Opus Arte Blu Ray / DVD and his recording of Tobias and the Angel is available on Chandos CD (and was selected as a GRAMOPHONE CD of the Month for September 2010).
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