Allan Clayton

The breadth of Allan Clayton’s vocal and dramatic range is demonstrated by his acclaimed performances in title roles ranging from Britten’s Albert Herring and Brett Dean’s Hamlet to Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust and Bernstein’s Candide.

Highlights of the 2020/21 season inlclude his debut as Peter Grimes at the Teatro Real Madrid in a new production by Deborah Warner.

He has worked at leading opera houses around the world, appearing as David (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Bavarian State Opera, Ferdinand (Miranda) at the Opéra Comique in Paris and in several of Barrie Kosky’s productions at the Komische Oper in Berlin, including Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Castor (Castor et Pollux), Jupiter (Semele) and the title role in Candide.

Allan Clayton has appeared at the BBC Proms several times since his debut in 2008, including in Britten’s War Requiem, Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ and the title roles in Handel’s Jephtha and Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex. His world premiere performance of Gerald Barry’s Canada from 2017 was shown as part of the revised 2020 BBC Proms, when he also sang Britten’s Nocturne in a live broadcast.

He performs regularly at Wigmore Hall, including as part of a recent Britten Series he curated, and has given song recitals worldwide. Several composers have written song cycles with his voice in mind, including Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Refugee and Josephine Stephenson’s Une Saison en enfer. An advocate of contemporary music, he appeared in the world premieres of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin, Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio and Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground.

Recent concert appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra include Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius under Mark Elder and Britten’s Spring Symphony under Simon Rattle, as well as Mendelssohn’s Elijah with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo.

His discography includes Handel’s Messiah, Joshua, Acis and Galatea and Belshazzar, Britten’s Saint Nicolas and Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, the album Songs to the Moon with the Myrthen Ensemble, Mozart’s Zaide and Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots as well as the world premiere recording of Benjamin’s Written on Skin.

Allan Clayton won the WhatsOnStage Award for excellence in opera and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s singer award in 2018. He is an associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied after St John’s College, Cambridge.