Johnny Herford

Johnny Herford was the winner of the Song Prize at the 2013 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, and of the Jean Meikle Duo Prize at the 2013 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music, is a Samling Scholar and an alumnus of the Britten-Pears School, and studied with Thomas Quasthoff at the Verbier Festival.

Johnny Herford’s current engagements include his debut at English National Opera and he will create the central role in the World Premiere of Peter Eötvös’s The Golden Dragon for Music Theatre Wales at the Buxton Festival and on tour throughout the United Kingdom. He will also undertake engagements with Welsh National Opera in The Merchant of Venice and he will return to Opera de Dijon for a new production.

Johnny’s recent engagements have included the Traveller The Curlew River in a new production for Opera de Dijon; his debut with Scottish Opera in their Highlights Tour and Biedermann and the Arsonists by Šimon Voseček for Independent Opera at Sadlers Wells, London.

In October 2014, Johnny created the role of Josef K in the World Premiere of The Trial, an operatic adaption by Phillip Glass of the Kafka novel, at the Royal Opera House, in a co-production with Music Theatre Wales, this role also marked Johnny’s German debut at Magdeburg Oper in 2014 and 2015, he also performed the role in Craiova, Romania. Other appearances in the 2014/15 season included Emireno Ottone for English Touring Opera and his French operatic debut in a new production of Katya Kabanova for Opera de Dijon.

Johnny created the role of Hans Scholl in the world premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ opera, Kommilitonen! Other performances include Papageno/Sprecher Die Zauberflöte, Edmund Mansfield Park, Officier Dialogues des Carmélites, Sid Albert Herring, Gendarme Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Lieutenant de Verbois Fortunio, Chao Lin A Night at the Chinese Opera and Danilo The Merry Widow, as well as roles in operas by Kim Ashton and Danyal Dhondy.

On the concert platform, Johnny recently performed The Muir  with the Mark Morris Dance Group at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, he has also appeared with the English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players and with the Orchestra of St John’s. His concert repertoire extends from Monteverdi to the present day including: Bach St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, B-Minor Mass and Christmas Oratorio, Haydn Seasons, Mendelssohn Elijah, Brahms German Requiem, Mahler Rückert-Lieder, and Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs.

In recital Johnny has appeared at the Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, at the Oxford Lieder Festival and on BBC Radio 3. He recently recorded Mendelssohn Lieder with Malcolm Martineau, and performed Die Schöne Müllerin at the Machynlleth Festival with William Vann. He recently appeared with Simon Lepper at St John’s Smith Square and at  the Oxford Lieder Fesitval as part of their “Schubert Project.”