Neal Davies

Born: Newport (Gwent), South Wales, United Kingdom

The Welsh bass-baritone, Neal Davies, studied at King's College, London, and the Royal Academy of Music. He continued his studies at the International Opera Studio, Zurich, under the patronage of Dame Gwyneth Jones. His professional debut was with the Coburg Opera and he subsequently appeared with the Opera de Marseille, Welsh National Opera, and Scottish Opera. He has been a regular guest at the Edinburgh Festival (performing under Rozhdestvensky, Runnicles and Charles Mackerras). He won the Lieder Prizae at the 1991 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

Recordings include Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream under Sir Colin Davis for Philips, Messiah and Theodora under Paul McCreesh for Deutsche Grammophon, Antonio Vivaldi cantatas and Georg Frideric Handel's L'Allegro under Robert King for Hyperion, Henri Dutilleux songs under Yan-Pascall Tortelier for Chandos and he takes part in the Collins Classics English Song series and the Hyperion complete Schubert Edition.

Neal Davies' concert engagements have included the Philharmonia and von Dohnanyi, the Gabrieli Consort and Paul McCreesh, the Oslo Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons, the BBC Symphony under Boulez, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Altrichter, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Raymond Leppard, the King's Consort, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Neville Marriner, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and de Waart, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Frans Brüggen and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Neal Davies' recent operatic appearances have included Rameau's Platée under Nicholas McGegan (in London and at the Edinburgh Festival), G.F. Handel's Giulio Cesare under Ivor Bolton and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro all for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, his debut with English National Opera in G.F. Handel's L'Allegro and "Guglielmo" in Cosi fan tutte for Welsh National Opera. He has taken part in La Clemenza di Tito and Le Roi Arthus at the Edinburgh Festival, G.F. Handel's Orlando with the Gabrieli Consort, and "Leporello" in Don Giovanni for Scottish Opera.

Neal Davies makes his North American debut in May 2001 as bass soloists in J.S. Bach's B Minor Mass (BWV 232) at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Nicholas McGegan, followed later that month by Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and Mozart's Requiem with Les Violons du Roy and Bernard Labadie. In addition to his appearance with H&H, other upcoming engagements include appearances with New York's Mostly Mozart Festival in The Seasons, Messiah with the Minnesota Orchestra under Paul McCreesh, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Cleveland Orchestra and at Carnegie Hall under von Dohnanyi.