Allan Clayton
Allan Clayton has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting and sought-after singers of his generation. A consummate actor and deeply sensitive musician he has already made a huge impact on the international operatic and concert scene. Highlights include George Benjamin's opera Written on Skin at the Netherlands Opera, the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, the Royal Opera House, Wiener Festwochen, and the Bayerische.
Staatsoper, following on from the world premiere of the work at the 2012 Festival de Aix-en-Provence. Concerts include Act 3 of Wagner's Die Meistersinger (David) with Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé, Britten's Spring Symphony with both the Philharmonia and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Ed Gardner.
On stage, Allan's other roles have included Ferrando/Così fan tutte at the New York City Opera, Royal Opera House, Opera North, and the Glyndebourne Festival; Bénédict/Béatrice et Bénédict for Opéra Comique, Paris; Castor/Castor et Pollux and Lysander/A Midsummer Night's Dream for English National Opera; Belmonte/Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Lampwick in the world premiere of Jonathan Dove's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and Camille/The Merry Widow for Opera North; the title role in Albert Herring for the Glyndebourne Festival and Opéra Comique, Paris.
Recent concert appearances include Mendelssohn's Elijah with the New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert, Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ with the Britten Sinfonia and Sir Mark Elder; Verdi's Otello (Cassio) with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis and Il Tabarro in concert at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda.
Allan has given lieder recitals at the Cheltenham Festival, the Perth International Arts Festival in Australia, the Aldeburgh Festival, and London's Wigmore Hall. He has been fortunate to work with many outstanding pianists including Paul Lewis, Graham Johnson, Malcolm Martineau, Roger Vignoles, Julius Drake, James Baillieu, Simon Lepper and Joseph Middleton, on repertoire such as Schubert's Winterreise and Die Schöne Müllerin, Vaughan Williams' On Wenlock Edge and the songs of Strauss, Wolf, Britten, Duparc and Tippett amongst others.
His recordings include a Gramophone-nominated Otello for LSO Live, a CD and DVD of Handel's Messiah for EMI (which was also broadcast live to cinemas worldwide), a DVD of Dove's The Adventures of Pinocchio, Britten's Michelangelo Sonnets with Malcolm Martineau, and Joshua (London Handel Society/Laurence Cummings). For Hyperion he has recorded Lukaszewski's Via Crucis, Messiah with the Britten Sinfonia, and Britten's St Nicolas.