Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson studied singing at the Royal College of Music with Neil Mackie and graduated with first class honours in 2006. Recently he has finished his training at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School.

In April this year he won First Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier awards, the first out-right male winner for 13 years. This award comes after much success at the RCM including the Lieder Prize, English Song Prize and the singer’s prize at the Gerald Moore Award as well as a prize at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition.

Ben is increasingly in demand as an oratorio soloist around the UK and Europe. He has worked with such conductors as Sir Charles Mackerras, Harry Bicket, Peter Schreier, Andrew Parrott and Neil Thompson. He works regularly with the London Mozart Players; most recently taking part in the world premiere of Lynn Plowmann’s Cries Like Silence and also gave three performances of Plowmann’s cycle for tenor and strings The Star Gazer with them. Last season saw Ben make his debut singing Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius with the National Philharmonic of Lithuania and this season he has sung Handel’s Messiah with the English Chamber Orchestra at Cadogan Hall and at the Hexagon in Reading.

In 2005 Ben made his operatic debut in Handel's Rodelinda for Opera de Baugé and returned in 2006 to sing his first Don Ottavio. In September 2007 he played the title role in BYO's acclaimed production of Albert Herring and sang his first Tom Rakewell in the BBIOS production of The Rake’s Progress. Other recent engagements have included his debut with Scottish Opera as Tonik in Smetena's The Two Widows, Aceste Ascanio in Alba at Kings Place with the Classical Opera Company and the world premiere of Das Babylonexperiment by Matthew King at the Internationales KammermusikFestival Nürnberg.

A committed recitalist, he enjoys a partnership with pianist James Southall and recent highlights have included a Schubert programme with Iain Burnside on the opening day of Kings Place Hall and an appearance at the Wigmore Hall with Graham Johnson in January.

Future engagements include his BBC Proms debut singing Handel’s Samson with Harry Bickett, Wozzeck in concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Royal Festival Hall and in Italy, the Messiah with the English Chamber Orchestra, Bach’s B Minor Mass at the Three Choirs Festival, Il Trionfo del Tempo with the Classical Opera company, a return to Scottish Opera to cover Nemorino L’elisir d’amore, covering Phoebus The Fairy Queen with William Christie at Glyndebourne and returning in 2010 for Novice Billy Budd in a new production conducted by Sir Mark Elder.

Recent and forcoming recital appearances include the Herten Mendelssohn Festival with Graham Johnson, the Aldeburgh Festival with Malcolm Martineau, with Roger Vignoles at the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam and with James Southall at the Chelsea Schubert Festival and Oxford Lieder Festival.

Ben is currently an associate artist of the Classical Opera Company and for the last two years Ben has studied with the tenor Tim Evans-Jones, with whom he continues to work.