Australian-born baritone James Roser initially began a career as an environmental scientist, having completed a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) at the University of NSW, before beginning his musical studies. He was a recipient of a number of major singing awards in Australia, including the Mietta Song Recital Award, Vienna State Opera Award and Britten-Pears Young Artist Award, was a young artist with Pacific Opera and has performed in opera theatres in Austria, Germany, France, China and Australia, including the Vienna State Opera, Victorian Opera, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Beijing Music Festival, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Opéra de Baugé and State Opera of South Australia.

 

Operatic roles he has performed include Rigoletto, Germont (La Traviata), Amfortas (Parsifal), Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Gunther (Götterdämmerung), Don Pizarro (Fidelio), Wotan (Das Rheingold), Dulcamara (L'elisir d'amore), Don Giovanni, Il Conte (Le Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Allazim (Zaide), Wiedhopf (Die Vögel), Schaunard (La Boheme), Owen Wingrave, Dr.Bartolo (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Escamillo (Carmen), Peter (Hänsel und Gretel), Johann (Werther), Mr. Gobineau (The Medium), and he made his musical theatre debut in 2012 singing the role of ‘Curly’ in Oklahoma! at the Rainhill Music Festival. His performance as Rigoletto was televised on Servus TV and his performance as Wiedhopf in 'Die Vögel' was televised on ORF, both performed with the Tiroler Festspiele.

 

He has performed in recital across Europe, as well as in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, performing for Artsong NSW, Chamber Music Australia, Oxford Lieder Festival, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Franz Schubert Institut, Rainhill Music Festival, Gesellschaft für Musiktheater Wien, has appeared as a soloist with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and has been broadcast a number of times in Australia on 2MBS-FM, 3MBS-FM and ABC Classic FM, as well as ORF and Servus TV in Austria. In concert, he has been a soloist in J.S.Bach's St.Matthew's Passion (Jesus), Corrette’s Laudate Dominum, Handel’s Messiah, J.M.Haydn’s Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Saint-Saens’ Oratorio de Noel, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, Schubert’s Mass in G, Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus and a number of J.S.Bach Cantatas.

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