James
Harrison graduated with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland,
New Zealand. He has just completed studies with Margaret Kingsley in the
Benjamin Britten International Opera School at the Royal College of Music
where he won the prestigious Lies Askonas Prize, the McCulloch Prize for
Opera and a special Director’s Prize. James is now studying at the
National Opera Studio where his studies are supported by British American
Tobacco. Before leaving New Zealand James was a Dame Malvina Major Emerging
Artist with the NBR New Zealand Opera, singing principal roles in various
operas, including Frank Die Fledermaus and de Bretigny Manon.
He also received several scholarships including the Tower Opera Scholarship
and the Royal Over-Seas League New Zealand Society Scholarship.
On the
concert platform James has sung with Sir David Wilcocks (Messiah)
at the Royal Albert Hall; the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
(Creation) also at the Royal Albert Hall; the Classical Opera
Company at the Barbican; and Peter Schreier (Weihnachts Oratorium)
at St John’s Smith Square; as part of the Lincoln Choral Festival
and in recitals in London, Belfast and Cardiff; as well as in concerts
for the Young Songmakers series.
His operatic
roles in the United Kingdom include Starvling Midsummer Night’s
Dream at the Royal College and the Edinburgh Festival Theatre;
Christus in the London Handel Festival’s world premiere staging
of Handel’s Brocke’s Passion; Pallante Agrippina
and Altomaro Sosarme; also for the London Handel Festival;
Der Sprecher Die Zauberflöte and the Marquis de la Force
Dialogues des Carmelites for the Benjamin Britten International
Opera School; Conte Alamaviva Le Nozze di Figaro for Southbank
Sinfonia; Marcello La Boheme for the Mannanan Festival and
extracts from Don Giovanni with the London Mozart Players.
James wishes
to gratefully acknowledge the support of the Countess of Munster Musical
Trust and New Zealand’s Circle100 group.
