Iestyn Davies Countertenor

Biography

After archeology studies at St John's College in Cambridge, Iestyn Davies was trained at the Royal Academy of Music, in London. His opera appearances include performances at the Metropolitan Opera New York, Lyric Opera Chicago, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, at the Glyndebourne Festival, Teatro Real Madrid, Salzburg Festival, in Munich, Vienna and Zurich. In the 2021-22 season, he sang Arsace (Partenope) in Madrid, Ottone (Agrippina) in Hamburg and Munich, and Bertarido (Rodelinda) at the Metropolitan Opera New York.

On the concert platform, he has performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, the Concertgebouw and Tonhalle, the Barbican Center in London, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Lincoln Centre in New York with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, English Concert, Britten Sinfonia, Concerto Köln, Concerto Copenhagen, Ensemble Matheus, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Recently, he toured in France with the Ensemble Jupiter for Handel’s duets and performed Bach’s Mass in B minor and Handel’s Radamisto with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in California. Highlights of last season include a production creation to music by Dowland at the Barbican Center in London, concerts at the Carnegie Hall in New York and Berlin Philharmonic, and Ottone (L'incoronazione di Poppea) in Versailles. He won three Gramophone Awards for his recital albums and took part in Thomas Adès’s recording of The Tempest.

He is also featured on the soundtracks of the films Kingdom of Heaven and The Last Duel. In 2017, he was awarded an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by the Queen for services to music. Engagements for the 2023/24 season include the roles of Bertarido in Los Angeles and at the Carnegie Hall, and Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) in Atlanta.