Hyperion Records

One of Britain’s most outstanding young singers, Simon Keenlyside was born in London and studied zoology at Cambridge University and singing with John Cameron at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. As winner of the Richard Tauber Competition, the Walther Grüner International Lieder Competition and the Elly Ameling Competition, he enjoys extensive recital work both in Britain and abroad. Recent engagements include appearances in Paris, Edinburgh, London, Geneva and Lisbon. Mr Keenlyside began his operatic career in Graz in 1987 and was subsequently invited by Rolf Liebermann to join the Hamburg State Opera. His British debut was as Marcello (La Bohème) for Scottish Opera, where his many roles include Danilo (Die lustige Witwe), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), the title role in Billy Budd, Belcore (L’elisir d’amore) and Papageno (The Magic Flute). He has appeared with the Welsh National and English National Operas. He made his début at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1989 as Silvio (Pagliacci). Future operatic engagements include Marcello and Count Almaviva at Covent Garden, Guglielmo for the Paris Opera, Papageno at La Scala, Milan, with Muti, Guglielmo at the Glyndebourne Festival, Hamlet in Geneva, Pelléas in San Francisco, Marcello with the Deutsche Staatsoper and his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, as Belcore. Recent concert appearances included his debuts at the BBC Promenade Concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra under Rostropovich, the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Welser-Möst, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras, and the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh Festivals. In 1995 Simon Keenlyside received the Singer of the Year Award both from the Critics’ Circle and the Royal Philharmonic Society.