Damian Thantrey

Damian Thantrey won a Senior Exhibition to study at the Royal College of Music where he won numerous awards including the prestigious Tagore Gold Medal, awarded to the outstanding male student of the year. He also returned to the RCM as holder of the Mills Williams Junior Fellowship in 2000. He currently studies with Paul Farrington.

Recent operatic performances in 2002-3 include Maximillian in Candide for Graham Vick's City of Birmingham Opera, Messenger in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex at Opera North and Narrator in Babette's Feast for the Royal Opera at the Linbury Studio. Damian has worked extensively in the field of contemporary music with appearances including six diverse roles in Tête-à-Tête/ENO Studio's UK 2002 tour of Six-Pack, John in the world première of Deirdre Gribbin's Hey Persephone! for the Aldeburgh Festival and Almeida Opera, and five roles in the critically acclaimed in Shorts for Tête-à-Tête. Other roles include Marcello La Boheme, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro (with Sir Colin Davis) and the title role in Britten's Owen Wingrave.

Concert engagements include a live broadcast of Vaughan Williams' Five Tudor Portraits with the RLPO/Vernon Handley and The Messiah in the Royal Albert Hall. He has also sung Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch with Malcolm Martineau at St John's, Smith Square and in 2002-3 given a series of Schumann Lieder recitals.

Future plans include the role of Nardo in La Finta Giardiniera at Garsington Opera, Sid in Albert Herring for New Kent Opera and his Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room debuts.