John Herford
Johnny Herford, baritone, is studying on the Opera Course at the Royal Academy of Music. He studied Music at Cambridge University, graduating with a First. At Cambridge he also appeared in various opera productions, as Nero and Quintus in Three Portraits of Nero and as Directeur in Poulenc\’s Les Mamelles de Tiresias. More recent operatic performances have included the role of \‘Der Mann\’ in the UK premiere of Hindemith\’s Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen (for Ardente Opera), Count Gil in Wolf-Ferrari\’s Susanna\’s Secret (Little Opera Company), Morales in Bizet\’s Carmen in Oxford (Oxford International Links), Demetrius in Britten\’s A Midsummer Night\’s Dream (Opera Links), Aeneas in Purcell\’s Dido and Aeneas, and King Albanact in Orpheus Britannicus, a staged performance of Purcell\’s theatrical music at Cadogan Hall (Mercurius Company). For Royal Academy Opera he has created the role of Hans Scholl in the world premiere of Peter Maxwell\’s Opera Kommilitonen, covered the role of Delfa in Cavalli\’s Giasone, and this May he will sing the role of Peachum in Weill\’s Die Dreigroschenoper. In June will sing the bass part in Stravinsky\’s Les Noces in the Bath Festival. He is an active recitalist and has sung a wide range of repertoire in German, French and English. Highlights have included a programme of Fauré songs at a recital at Kings Place, London, Schumann\’s Myrthen at the Holywell Music Room for the Oxford Lieder Festival, and an appearance in the inaugural London English Song Festival with William Vann. He was the winner of the 2010 Major Van Someren-Godfrey Competition for English Song and of the 2010 Joan Chisell Schumann Prize at the RAM. Solo performances with orchestras include Haydn\’s Seasons, Mahler\’s Rückertlieder, Handel\’s Israel in Egypt and Messiah, Bach\’s Passions and Christmas Oratorio, Tippett\’s The Child of Our Time, Vaughan Williams\’ Five Mystical Songs, Brahms\’ German Requiem and Mendelssohn\’s Elijah. Johnny is a Sickle Foundation Scholar, and has also been generously supported by the John Lewis Partnership, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Josephine Baker Trust. He studies with Mark Wildman, Iain Ledingham and Audrey Hyland.
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