James Oldfield Bass Baritone
Recipient of INDEPENDENT OPERA Vocal Scholarship at the Royal College of Music
James Oldfield was a Choral Scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read Geography, and was subsequently a Lay Clerk at St John's College, Cambridge. James continued his studies at the Royal College of Music, where he was the Sir Thomas Allen Scholar, and at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School, where he studies with Ashley Stafford. His studies at the BBIOS have been supported by the Josephine Baker and Rosemary Bugden Trusts.
Operatic roles have included Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Polyphemus (Acis and Galatea), Achilla (Giulio Cesare) and most recently Simon Magus (The Pilgrim's Progress) with the Philharmonia and Richard Hickox. At the BBIOS he has played Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Nick Shadow (The Rake's Progress) and Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen), and has performed in opera scenes from Falstaff and Pelléas et Mélisande. James has participated in masterclasses with Robert Tear, Jonathan Viera, Gerald Finley, Sarah Walker and Peter Harvey.
Recent concert engagements include Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with Sir David Willcocks, Mozart’s Requiem with Charivari Agréable, Sibelius’ Kullervo at King’s College, Cambridge, Mozart’s Krönungsmesse with Southern Sinfonia, Handel's Samson with the Orchestra of St John's, Handel's Messiah with Hanover Band, Schütz’s Musicalisches Exequien with His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts and Bach’s St John Passion at Southwark Cathedral, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and a tour of Handel’s Messiah to China and Korea.
James' recordings include the solo Monteverdi Vespers, released on the Signum label, MacMillan Seven Last Words from the Cross (Naxos; Dmitri Ensemble) and Schöenberg Six Songs with Israeli pianist Ido Ariel.
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