James Gilchrist

Tenor James Gilchrist began his working life as a doctor, turning to a full-time music career in 1996. His extensive concert repertoire has seen him perform in major concert hallsthroughout the world with renowned conductors including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Roger Norrington, Bernard Labadie, Harry Christophers, Harry Bicket, Masaaki Suzuki and Richard Hickox.

A master of English music, he has performed Britten’s Church Parables in St Petersburg, in London and at the Aldeburgh Festival, Nocturne with the NHK Symphony in Tokyo and WarRequiem with the San Francisco Symphony and the National Youth Orchestra of Germany. Recent highlights have included the role of Rev. Adams in Deborah Warner’s award-winningproduction of Britten’s Peter Grimes at the Teatro Real in Madrid and for his company debut atthe Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as well as with Bergen Philharmonic cond. Edward Gardner at the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Festival Hall, Grieghallen and Den Norske Opera.

Further notable appearances include Haydn’s Creation in a staged production with Garsington Opera and with Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Elijah with Goteborgs Symfoniker cond. Masaaki Suzuki, and Bach’s St Matthew Passion at King’s College, Cambridge as part ofStephen Cleobury’s final Easter week as Director of

Music. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and the St John and St Matthew Passion feature prominently in James’ schedule, and he is celebrated as perhaps the finest Evangelist of his generation; as one review noted, “he hasn’t become a one-man Evangelist industry by chance”.

Highlights of the 2023-24 season include Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Richard Egarr, Mozart’sRequiem with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Handel’s Messiah with the Hallé Orchestra and Stephen Layton and with the OrquestaSinfónica de Castilla y León, Valladolid, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio on tour in Austria with L’Orfeo Barockorchester. Future plans include a reprise of the role of Rev. Horace Adams in Deborah Warner’s acclaimed production of Britten’s Peter Grimes in his housedebut at the Opera di Roma.

Updated: 4/10/2023