Jonathan Lemalu

Jonathan Lemalu, a New Zealand born Samoan, is already among the very forefront of today's young generation of singers. He graduated from a Postgraduate Diploma Course in Advanced Performance on the London Royal Schools Opera Course at the Royal College of Music and was awarded the prestigious Tagore Gold Medal. He is a joint winner of the 2002 Kathleen Ferrier award and the recipient of the 2002 Royal Philharmonic Society's Award for Young Artist of the Year.

Already in great demand in opera and on the concert platform he has performed at the Tanglewood Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Mozart's 'Requiem') and at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven's Symphony No 9) under Conlon. At the Edinburgh Festival he has appeared in 'Les Troyens' under Runnicles, and 'Maria Stuarda' and 'Jeptha' under Mackerras. Recent engagements include de Falla's 'Master Peter's Puppet Show' with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Handel's 'Messiah' with the New York Philharmonic, a programme of operatic arias with the Hallé Orchestra at the BBC Proms, 'La Damnation de Faust' and 'Peter Grimes' with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis in London and New York, 'La Damnation de Faust' with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Dutoit, and the world prémiere of Harbison's 'Requiem' with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Haitink in Boston and New York.

He has made his debuts with the English National Opera as Don Basilio ('The Barber of Seville'), Opera Australia as Leporello ('Don Giovanni'), the Bayerische Staatsoper as the Ghost of Samuel ('Saul'), at Glyndebourne Festival opera as Neptune ('Idomeneo') and at the Royal Opera House as Zoroastro ('Orlando'). He recently returned to Glyndebourne to sing Papageno ('Die Zauberflöte'), to Opera Australia and the Bayerische Staatsoper in the title role of 'Le Nozze di Figaro' and to the Royal Opera House as Colline ('La Boheme'). Earlier this season he made his debut for the Metropolitan Opera Company, as Masetto ('Don Giovanni'). Future operatic engagements include his debut for the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Papageno, a return to the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, as Handel's Saul and returns to the Royal Opera House as Jack Wallace in 'La Fanciulla del West' and Leporello in 'Don Giovanni'.

Equally at home on the recital platform, he has given recitals throughout Europe and North America, taking him to Cologne, Athens, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Brussels, Baden-Baden, Vienna, Montreal, Vancouver, Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington, to New York's Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall and to the Munich and Edinburgh Festivals

An exclusive recording artist for EMI classics, Jonathan's debut recital disc was awarded the Gramophone Magazine Debut Artist of the Year award. His first solo recording, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has recently been released.