Alex Banfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alexander James Banfield 17 February 1990 Morpeth, Northumberland, England |
| Occupation | Opera singer (tenor) |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Website | alexbanfield |
Alex Banfield (born 1990) is a British opera and concert tenor.
Banfield grew up in Morpeth, Northumberland, and performed in local choral[1] and operatic[2] productions in Northern England in his early twenties, while obtaining a degree in Sociology from Leeds University. He then trained at the Royal Northern College of Music[3] in Manchester, receiving a Master of Music (Voice). While a student in Manchester, he was a lay clerk at Manchester Cathedral.[4] In 2013, he was a scholar with the Samling Institute (Samling Academy Opera), and made his debut with the title role in Britten's Albert Herring.[5] He returned to Samling for their 2015 production of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges to sing the Teacup and the Frog.[6]
He performed full time with Opera North[7] in Leeds until August 2020, when he joined the ensemble at Theatre Basel,[8] Switzerland as a young artist on their OperAvenir 20/21 program. For Opera North he sang Sam Kaplan in Street Scene,[9][10] Nikolio in Greek Passion by Martinů[11][12] (directed by Christopher Alden), Jonathan Dale in the UK premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night by Kevin Puts (directed by Tim Albery),[13][14][15] St. Brioche in The Merry Widow,[16] Hrazda in Osud (Janáček), and Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore for their Whistle Stop tour.[17] He performed regularly in Manchester, including with the Manchester Opera Ensemble,[18] Turton Consort,[19] Chetham Chamber Orchestra[20] and Manchester Baroque.[21] He has also performed with the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia,[1] and was regular soloist for the Liverpool Bach Collective.