James Oldfield
Encyclopedia
James Oldfield is an English bass-baritone
. In 2008 he was awarded a Sybil Tutton Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and in 2010 he was given the Leonard Ingrams
Award from Garsington Opera
.
whilst a pupil at Leicester Grammar School
. He then became a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge
under Dr Richard Marlow
, where he read Geography. From 2006-2009 he studied at the Royal College of Music
, including two years in the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. He studied singing with countertenor
Ashley Stafford.
Oldfield made his international debut singing Handel
Messiah
in the Dublin Handel Festival, and his operatic debut in Purcell
The Fairy Queen with the Retrospect Ensemble, conducted by Matthew Halls. In 2010 he made his UK operatic debut as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro for Garsington Opera
. In November 2010 he sang the role of Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress
for Gothenburg Opera
, followed by his debut with the Royal Opera House
as Ludd in Ludd and Isis by Stephen Taylor.
He has performed in the Royal Festival Hall
, the Royal Albert Hall
, the Barbican
, St John's Smith Square, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Bridgewater Hall
and the Wigmore Hall
. Oldfield has appeared as a soloist with the Hallé
, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
, London Symphony Orchestra
, and the Philharmonia
.
, Duruflé and Saint-Saëns, the passions of J.S. Bach, and oratorios by Handel
. Oldfield also regularly performs Orff
Carmina Burana
, Elgar Dream of Gerontius, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle
and Puccini Messa di Gloria (Puccini).
.
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
. In 2008 he was awarded a Sybil Tutton Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and in 2010 he was given the Leonard Ingrams
Leonard Ingrams
Leonard Victor Ingrams was a merchant banker and opera festival founder/impresario.Leonard Ingrams was the youngest of four sons. His parents were Leonard St Clair Ingrams and Victoria . His mother was very musical and he started to learn the violin at the age of six...
Award from Garsington Opera
Garsington Opera
Garsington Opera is an annual open air summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. For twenty one years it was held in the gardens of Leonard Ingrams' home at Garsington Manor in Oxfordshire. Since 2011 the festival is now held in Wormsley Park, the home of the Getty family near High...
.
Biography
James Oldfield was a chorister at Leicester CathedralLeicester Cathedral
Leicester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Martin, Leicester is a Church of England cathedral in the English city of Leicester, and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester...
whilst a pupil at Leicester Grammar School
Leicester Grammar School
Leicester Grammar School , is an independent secondary school situated in Great Glen, Leicestershire, England. It was founded in 1981, after the loss of the city's state-funded grammar schools....
. He then became a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
under Dr Richard Marlow
Richard Marlow
Richard Kenneth Marlow is an English choral conductor and organist. He was Organ Scholar and later Research Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge. He studied with Thurston Dart, writing a doctoral dissertation on the 17th-century virginalist, Giles Farnaby...
, where he read Geography. From 2006-2009 he studied at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, including two years in the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. He studied singing with countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
Ashley Stafford.
Oldfield made his international debut singing Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
in the Dublin Handel Festival, and his operatic debut in Purcell
Purcell
Henry Purcell was an English composer.Purcell may also refer to:*Purcell, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Johnson Township, Knox County, Indiana*Purcell, Missouri, a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States...
The Fairy Queen with the Retrospect Ensemble, conducted by Matthew Halls. In 2010 he made his UK operatic debut as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro for Garsington Opera
Garsington Opera
Garsington Opera is an annual open air summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. For twenty one years it was held in the gardens of Leonard Ingrams' home at Garsington Manor in Oxfordshire. Since 2011 the festival is now held in Wormsley Park, the home of the Getty family near High...
. In November 2010 he sang the role of Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
for Gothenburg Opera
Gothenburg Opera
The Gothenburg Opera, , is an opera house in Gothenburg, Sweden. In marketing, the name is often spelled as "GöteborgsOperan", which however is not grammatically correct.- History :...
, followed by his debut with the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
as Ludd in Ludd and Isis by Stephen Taylor.
He has performed in the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, the Barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
, St John's Smith Square, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Bridgewater Hall
Bridgewater Hall
The Bridgewater Hall is an international concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build and currently hosts over 250 performances a year....
and the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
. Oldfield has appeared as a soloist with the Hallé
Halle
Halle is a noun that means hall in the German language. It may also refer to:-In Germany:* Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, official name Halle , also called Halle or Halle an der Saale...
, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, and the Philharmonia
Philharmonia
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
.
Operatic repertoire
- Zuniga in CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
by Bizet - Bottom in A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
by Britten - Noye in Noye's FluddeNoye's FluddeNoye's Fludde is an early 15th century mystery play from the Chester Mystery Cycle. It was set to music by Benjamin Britten in 1957 based on an edition by Alfred W. Pollard...
by Britten - Swallow in Peter GrimesPeter GrimesPeter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
by Britten - Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia by Britten
- Polyphemus in Acis and GalateaAcis and GalateaAcis and Galatea is a musical work by George Frideric Handel with an English text by John Gay. The work has been variously described as a serenata, a masque, a pastoral or pastoral opera, a "little opera" , an entertainment and in the New Grove Dictionary of Music an oratorio...
by HandelHANDELHANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed.... - Clito in AlessandroAlessandro (opera)Alessandro is an opera written for the Royal Academy of Music composed by George Frideric Handel in 1726. Paolo Rolli was the librettist and based the story on Ortensio Mauro's La superbia d'Alessandro...
by Handel - Achilla in Giulio CesareGiulio CesareGiulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
by Handel - Ormonte in PartenopePartenopePartenope is an opera by George Frideric Handel, first performed at the King's Theatre in London on 24 February 1730.-Background:...
by Handel - Forester in The Cunning Little VixenThe Cunning Little VixenThe Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
by JanáčekLeoš JanácekLeoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by... - Seneca in L'incoronazione di PoppeaL'incoronazione di PoppeaL'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian baroque opera comprising a prologue and three acts, first performed in Venice during the 1642–43 carnival season. The music, attributed to Claudio Monteverdi, is a setting of a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello...
by Monteverdi
- Alfonso in Così fan tutteCosì fan tutteCosì fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
by Mozart - Sarastro in The Magic FluteThe Magic FluteThe Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
by Mozart - Figaro in The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
by Mozart - Aeneas in Dido and AeneasDido and AeneasDido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
by PurcellPurcellHenry Purcell was an English composer.Purcell may also refer to:*Purcell, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Johnson Township, Knox County, Indiana*Purcell, Missouri, a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States... - All the bass roles in The Fairy Queen by Purcell
- Bruschino padre in Il Signor BruschinoIl signor BruschinoIl signor Bruschino, ossia Il figlio per azzardo is a one act operatic farce by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa, based upon the play Le fils par hasard, ou ruse et folie by Alissan de Chazet and E.T.M. Ourry...
by Rossini - Nick Shadow in The Rake's ProgressThe Rake's ProgressThe Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
by Stravinsky - Gremin in Yevgeny Onegin by Tchaikovsky
Concert repertoire
Oldfield has performed most of the standard concert repertoire for basses and baritones. He is well known for his interpretations of the requiems of Brahms, Mozart, FauréFaure
Faure or Fauré is a French family name and may refer to:People:* Edgar Faure, French politician* Élie Faure, French art historian and essayist* Émile Alphonse Faure, lead battery pioneer* Cédric Fauré, French football striker...
, Duruflé and Saint-Saëns, the passions of J.S. Bach, and oratorios by Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
. Oldfield also regularly performs Orff
Orff
Orff can refer to:*Carl Orff, a German composer, known for his teaching method, the Orff Schulwerk.**Orff Schulwerk encompasses the Orff instruments and teaching methods for children....
Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana , Latin for "Songs from Beuern" , is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces were written principally in Medieval Latin; a few in Middle High German, and some with traces...
, Elgar Dream of Gerontius, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle
Petite Messe Solennelle
Gioachino Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle was written in 1863, "the last", the composer called it, "of my péchés de vieillesse" .....
and Puccini Messa di Gloria (Puccini).
Discography
Oldfield has recorded Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 for Signum Records and James Macmillan Seven Last Words from the Cross for NaxosNaxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
.