Robert Forrest is a versatile and accomplished young British tenor. He holds a BMus(hons) from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, an MPerf from the Royal College of Music, an Adv Artist Diploma from the Royal Academy of Music, and an MPhil in Music Studies from Girton College, University of Cambridge.
He made his operatic debut in 2015 with the Netherlands Reisopera as King Kaspar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. Since then, he has performed a variety of roles, including Malcom in Verdi’s Macbeth (Dorset Opera Festival), Don Curzio in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (New Generation Festival, Florence), Jupiter in Handel’s Semele, Vaudemont in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, and Captain Ricardo in Massenet’s Cherubin (Royal Academy Opera). With the Royal Academy Song Circle, Robert made his Wigmore Hall debut in 2020, performing a selection of songs by Clara Schumann.
Through opportunities as a cover, Robert has developed his repertoire, learning and performing many challenging roles, including Flamand in Strauss’s Capriccio, Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw (Garsington Opera Festival where, as an Alvarez Young Artist, he received the Helen Clarke Award), Lensky in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (Dorset Opera Festival), Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, and Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (New Generation Festival, Florence).
Highlights of his work in 2023 include performing Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Boheme with Hurn Court Opera’s spring tour, Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with the European Opera Centre, Bryn Terfel and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Philippe in Lenox Berkeley’s A Dinner Engagement with Opera Cameratina. He has been a member of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Tour Chorus since autumn 2021, where he has understudied La Journalist and L’Aumonier in Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias and Dialogue des Carmelites, and Sellem in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress.
Robert is always eager to explore new repertoire and to collaborate with other artists. He is dedicated to bringing opera to a wider audience and inspiring the next generation of singers and composers. As well as singing, Robert is passionate about great cheese and wine, as well as being an avid follower of Liverpool Football Club and a keen squash player.
Updated July 2023. This biography should not be reproduced without asking permission from the National Opera Studio.