Jeremy Ovenden

Jeremy Ovenden (Tenor)

Born: England

The English tenor, Jeremy Ovenden, studied at the Royal College of Music and Drama in London with Norman Bailey and Neil Mackie. In 1994 he won an award from the Ian Fleming Trust which enabled him to continue his studies with Nicolai Gedda. He was a finalist in the 1998 Kathleen Ferrier Competition.

After his studies, Jeremy Ovenden started a successful concert career which brought him to collaborate with the most important orchestras and musical institutions throughout the world, among them: the City of London Sinfonia, the English Concert, Barbican Hall of London, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Swiss Radio of Lugano. His repertoire ranges from Bach to Mozart, from Haydn to Schubert, and includes works by Monteverdi, Georg Frideric Handel, Felix Mendelssohn, Rossini, Benjamin Britten.

Jeremy Ovenden's concert work has included Mozart’s Requiem with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in Japan, J.S. Bach’s St John Passion (BWV 245) with Trevor Pinnock and the St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) with Richard Hickox, G.F. Handel’s Acis and Galatea with Ton Koopman at the Concertgebouw and in Lugano for the Swiss Radio, G.F. Handel's Messiah sung with The City of London Sinfonia conducted by Richard Hickox, as well as Theodora, Judas Maccabeus and various Cantatas. He has also sung works by Jommelli, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques in Paris, Lisbon, Leipzig and Brugges; Mozart's Krönung Messe and Requiem for the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome under the baton of Myung-Whun Chung and on tour in Japan; Karl in Holzbauer's Günter Von Schwarzburg with Ton Koopman for ARVO Radio,, Schubert's Lazarus, Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise and F. Mendelssohn's Elijah. He recently appeared in Rossini's Cantata La Riconoscenza, recorded for the Italian Swiss Radio, Petite Messe Solennelle and B. Britten's Serenade with Tivoli Orchestra in Copenaghen.

After his operatic debut as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, conducted by Corrado Rovaris and directed by Daniele Abbado in Pavia, Cremona, Brescia, Como (a role that he would later re-propose in Detroit and Philadelphia), Jeremy Ovenden quickly established himself as one of the world's finest interpreters of Mozart. He appeared as Ferrando in Così fan Tutte at the Festival of Aix-En Provence and Beaune, at the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen, at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées de Paris, at the Festival Mozart in La Coruña and for Scottish Opera in Glasgow; as Emilio in Il Sogno di Scipione in the Montreux Festival, Freiburg and Paris; as Soliman in Zaide at the Mozart Festival of La Coruna, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini; in the title role of La Clemenza di Tito in Brescia, Como and Cremona. Following his successful American debut in Don Giovanni at the Opera Company in Philadelphia, he went on to make his long awaited debut as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte in Bozen and Cagliari.

Additional roles in his repertoire include G.F. Handel's Samson (title role) performed at the Festival d'Ambronay with Ton Koopman, Saul e David (Jonathan), sung at the Théâtre de la Monnaie with René Jacobs, Il sogno di Scipione, Samson and the Male Chorus in B. Britten's The Rape of Lucretia performed in the highly acclaimed production conducted by Jonathan Webb at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova and at the Teatro Comunale del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Recent concert appearances include Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) and St. John Passion (BWV 245) (Evangelist) at the Barbican in London, for the BBC at St. David's Hall in Cardiff, for the Swiss Radio in Lugano conducted by Diego Fasolis, with The English Concert under Trevor Pinnock and in a staged version by Jose Carlos Plaza at Teatro Regio di Torino with Christophe Rousset. He performed Bach Cantatas with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Ton Koopman as well as in Milan with Europa Galante conducted by Fabio Biondi; Weinachts-Oratorium (BWV 248) in Tel Aviv with the Israeli Chamber Orchestra, in Copenhagen and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Magnificat (BWV 243) and B minor Mass (BWV 232) with Nicholas Kraemer in Tel Aviv and London. He made his BBC Proms debut singing Haydn's Nelson Mass conducted by Richard Hickox, performed Die Jahreszeiten in Lugano (SwissTV and Radio Broadcast) and Die Schopfung with the Freiburger Barockorchester conducted by René Jacobs.

At the beginning of the 2002-2003 season, Jeremy Ovenden made his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and at the Teatro Regio di Torino, on both occasions in Così fan tutte. He then sang in Opera seria by Gassmann at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris and in Theodora at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera under the direction of Peter Sellars and conducted by Harry Bicket. He also performed Haydn's Harmoniemesse with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Sir Simon Rattle. He began last season (2003-2004) with Don Giovanni performances in Italy, Lille and Luxembourg, followed by The Rape of Lucretia in Reggio Emilia. Other engagements included St John Passion (BWV 245) with the City of London Sinfonia, Arbace / Idomeneo in Naples, and Bach's B Minor Mass (BWV 232) with the Festival Sacré de Nice. This was followed by work with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre in G.F. Handel's Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno. He then appeared in European tours of both G.F. Handel`s Saul and Solomon conducted by René Jacobs.

Engagements this season (2004-2005) include Nerone / Poppea at Opéra National du Rhin and a return to Scottish Opera for the role of Jupiter / Semele. He made his La Scala Milan debut in Salieri's L'Europa riconosciuta, for the opening of the season in 2004-2005 and will return there in 2005-2006 as Ferrando in a new production of Cosi fan tutte, both conducted by Riccardo Muti. In the summer of 2006 he took part in the Salzburg Festival in Mozart'rarely performed opera L'oca del Cairo.

Available recordings include J.S. Bach's Cantata BWV 201 and Biber's Missa Salisburgensis and Vespers (live at the Salzburg Festival) with Ton Koopman for Erato, Holst's Morning of the year for Hyperion and the role of the Evangelist in J.S. Bach's St. Mark Passion (BWV 247) with the Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge for ASV. He has also recorded the St. John Passion (BWV 245) for ARTS, (broadcast on Swiss Radio and Television at Easter 1999), Cantatas and Arias by Casper Kittle for Harmonia Mundi , Mozart's Il sogno di Scipione for Astrée and Monteverdi's Madrigali for Harmonia Mundi. Future recordings for Harmonia Mundi include G.F. Handel's Saul and The Messiah under René Jacobs