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 and was selected by OPERA NOW as amongst ‘Who’s Hot’ in Opera Now for his performance as Nerone Agrippina at the London Handel Festival.
James Laing has appeared for companies including the Classical Opera Company, the Early Opera Company, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Grange Park Opera, Opera North and OTC, Dublin, his repertoire including Oberon A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Giuliano Eliogabalo, Coachman / Fox The Adventures of Pinocchio, Refugee Flight, Raphael Tobias and the Angel, Medoro Orlando, Armindo Partenope, Bertarido Rodelinda Andronico Tamerlano, Pastor L’Orfeo, Zephyrus Apollo and Hyacinthus,Ascanio Ascanio in Alba, Spirit Dido and Aeneas and Zelim La verita in cimento. He also appeared in Jonathan Miller’s production of the St Matthew Passion at London’s National Theatre.
He appeared in Other Shakespearean Dreamers at The Liceu, Barcelona, and his concert highlights have further included performances with the Academy of Ancient Music, Les Agrémens, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Hallé, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Camerata, the Netherlands Bach Society and the Polski Chór Kameralny.
He recently sang Tolomeo Giulio Cesare for Opera North, and his current engagements include Fourth Innocent The Minotaur for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The Firework Maker’s Daughter for The Opera Group, Apollo Death in Venice and further performances as Oberon A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Opera North, Nireno Giulio Cesare for English National Opera, Cristiano Mago Rinaldo for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, J. S. Bach B Minor Mass with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and St Matthew Passion with the Academy of Ancient Music, Israel in Egypt with Le Concert Lorrain, Messiah with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Saul on tour with the Israel Camerata and Purcell Hail Bright Cecilia at the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music.
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).
James Laing is delighted to be returning to Nottingham Harmonic Society.
Please note that this biography is not to be used for programmes. Current information is available on request.