Ben johnson tenor biography of michael jordan
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He also features on Malcom Martineau’s recorded surveys of Britten and Fauré. Most recently he has enjoyed collaborating with the British pianist Martin James Bartlett. He has worked with conductors including Sir Mark Elder, Andris Nelsons, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jiři Bělohlavek, Nicholas Kraemer, Thomas Dausgaard, Francesco Corti, Rory Macdonald, Leo Hussain, Richard Egarr and Harry Bicket.
In recital he works regularly with Graham Johnson.
He is the Festival Director of Cambridge Summer Music, founder and Chief Conductor of the Southrepps Sinfonia as well as joint Artistic Director of the Southrepps Classical Music Festival. Equally active on the concert platform, Johnson recently performed Händel’s Messiah with La Nuova Musica, and Bach’s St John Passion with the Oxford Bach Soloists.
Current releases include Szymanowski's Love Songs of Hafiz and Symphony No.3 with Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for Chandos, a recording of sonnet settings with Graham Johnson for Champs Hill and a collection of Victorian English songs with James Baillieu for Rosenblatt Recitals, recently released by Opus Arte.
Recent operatic highlights include Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, both for Opera Holland Park, a celebrated run as Alfredo in a new production and subsequent revival of La Traviata, Tamino in a new production of The Magic Flute by Simon McBurney, and Nemorino L’elisir d’amore, all for English National Opera, Lysander in Britten’s A Midsummer Night's Dream for Bergen National Opera, Novice in Michael Grandage's production of Billy Budd at Glyndebourne and Copland's The Tender Land at Opéra de Lyon.
Upcoming engagements include performances of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia with the Salzburg Camerata at de Doelen in The Netherlands, a return to Grange Festival as Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a tour of South East Asia as Camille in Lehár’s The Merry Widow.
In addition to a busy performing schedule, Johnson will also be recording a selection of Sullivan Songs with Sarah Connolly for Chandos Records.
Photograph: Chris Gloag
Find out more about Ben and the Southrepps Classical Music Festival.
He has worked with such conductors as Sir Charles Mackerras, Harry Bicket, Peter Schreier, Andrew Parrott and Neil Thompson. They performed together at the Wigmore Hall, the Ruhr Klavier Festival in Germany, Aldeburgh Music, and have recorded songs by Poulenc for Hyperion records. He is a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London.
He represented England in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2013 and won the Audience Prize.
He made his debut singing Edward Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius with the National Philharmonic of Lithuania and has recently sung George Frideric Handel’s Messiah with the English Chamber Orchestra at Cadogan Hall and at the Hexagon in Reading, J.S. Bach’s B minor Mass (BWV 232) at the Three Choirs Festival and G.F.
Handel’s Samson with Harry Bicket in his BBC Proms debut.
In 2005 Ben Johnson made his operatic debut in G.F. Handel's Rodelinda for Opera de Baugé and returned in 2006 to sing his first Don Ottavio. In 2020 he was invited by Maria João Pires to perform Schubert with her in Portugal. Visit website
Faculties / departments: Vocal Studies
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The English tenor, Ben Johnson, studied at the Royal College of Music graduating with First Class Honours in 2006, and at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School.
With Graham Johnson he has given several performances at Wigmore Hall, the Klavier Festival Ruhr in Germany, Aldeburgh Music, and the duo have recorded songs by Poulenc for Hyperion Records and a disc of sonnet settings for Champs Hill. Other recent engagements have included his debut with Scottish Opera as Tonik in Smetena's The Two Widows, Aceste in Ascanio in Alba at Kings Place with the Classical Opera Company, the world premiere of Das Babylonexperiment by Matthew King at the Internationales KammermusikFestival Nürnberg (September 2007) and covering roles in English National Opera’s Dido & Aeneas and Glyndebourne’s The Fairy Queen.
He has also appeared at City of London Festival, Rosenblatt Recitals, Kings Place, Lake District Summer Music and a Kathleen Ferrier celebrations concert at the Wigmore Hall.
BMus, PGDip Opera (Adv)
Vocal Studies professor
Acclaimed tenor Ben Johnson represented England in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2013 and won the Audience Prize.
In 2011/12 season, he has sung Britten Canticles at deSingel, Antwerp with Roger Vignoles. He also performs regularly with guitarist Sean Shibe, together completing an extensive and much acclaimed tour with Music Network Ireland in 2019.
Johnson’s close relationship with English National Opera has included two celebrated runs as Alfredo in Peter Konwitschy’s La Traviata, Tamino in the British premiere of Simon McBurney’s Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, directed by Rufus Norris and a notable debut as Nemorino in Jonathan Miller’s L’elisir d’amore.
Ben is a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, 2008 winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award, 2011 Wigmore Hall Emerging Talent, and a 2013-2015 English National Opera Harewood Artist.
Passionate about all areas of performance, his career encompasses the concert repertoire, opera and recital as well as conducting and artistic direction. Previous highlights include Nielsen’s Springtime in Funen at the BBC Proms, Britten’s War Requiem on Remembrance Sunday under Marin Alsop at the Royal Festival Hall, Tippett’sA Child of Our Time with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri for Festival de Saint-Denis, several performances and tours of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with the CBSO and Andris Nelsons as well as with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Royal Northern Sinfonia, Berlioz’s Romeo et Juliettewith Bergen Philharmonic, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with BBC Scottish Symphony, Evangelist in St John and St Matthew Passions with the RTÉ National Symphony; St Matthew Passion with The Bach Choir and Residentie Orkest, Bach’s Magnificat and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with Britten Sinfonia, and Messiah with the Academy of Ancient Music and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
In September 2007 he played the title role in BYO's acclaimed production of Albert Herring and sang his first Tom Rakewell in the BBIOS production of The Rake’s Progress. He has also performed Mendelssohn’s Lobegesangwith the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the Residentie Orkest and at the BBC Proms.
Baillieu accompanied his acclaimed debut album of the Britten Canticles with Signum Records and a Rosenblatt Recitals disc of English song (as well appearing together in two live Rosenblatt Recitals). He also works with Roger Vignoles, Malcolm Martineau, and James Baillieu. Winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards in 2008, he is also a prizewinner at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the Gerald Moore Awards (singer’s prize).
His opera engagements include Nemorino The Elixir of Love for English National Opera, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni for Opera National de Bordeaux, Benedict Béatrice et Bénédict for Chelsea Opera Group, Shepherd and Sailor in concert performances of Tristan und Isolde with the CBSO, Novice in Michael Grandage’s new production of Billy Budd at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Copland’s The Tender Land at Opera de Lyon and productions for Scottish Opera and the Classical Opera Company.
On the concert platform Ben Johnson has sung Messiah with the Academy of Ancient Music and the English Chamber Orchestra, Samson with the English Concert at the BBC Proms, Elgar Caractacus at the Three Choirs Festival, Mozart Requiem with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Mozart concert arias, Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Rückert Lieder and Frank Bridge with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Britten Our Hunting Fathers and Strauss Lieder with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Les Illuminations with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, Evangelist in St Matthew Passion with Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Haydn Paukenmesse and Britten St Nicolas Cantata at De Doelen in Rotterdam.