| Biography | Born in London, Nelson studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio. In 2007 he won second prize in both the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and the Guildhall Gold Medal at the young age of 23. Currently he is an inaugural English National Opera Harewood Artist.
Benedict Nelson has amassed a considerable number of operatic roles including Aeneas Dido and Aeneas, Count Almaviva and Figaro Le nozze di Figaro, Masetto and Don Giovanni Don Giovanni, Valentin Faust, Marcello La Bohème, Demetrius A Midsummer Nights Dream, Sid Albert Herring, Christian Un ballo in maschera, and Tarquinius and Junius Rape of Lucretia. Operatic engagements last season included the title role in David Aldens new production of Billy Budd and Belcore The Elixir of Love both for ENO.
A protégée of Sir Thomas Allen and a Samling Foundation scholar, Nelson made his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jirí Belohlávek in 2010, singing Brahms Requiem. He has performed at many prestigious concert venues including Wigmore Hall, Verbier Festival, Cadogan Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Kings Place, Snape Maltings, St Johns Smith Square and St Martin-in-the-Fields under conductors including Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Roger Norrington, David Parry, Thomas Zehetmairm, Andris Nelsons and Paul McCreesh. Most recently he appeared with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Utah Symphony Orchestra, Basel Chamber Orchestra, RTÉ Orchestra and the Orchestre de lOpéra de Rouen. Last season he also appeared with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in their concert performances of Tristan und Isolde singing the roles of Melot and Steersman.
Other performances over the past seasons have included his debut recital at the Cheltenham Festival, Brittens Songs and Proverbs of William Blake at Snape Maltings with Malcolm Martineau (recorded in 2010 and released by Onyx to critical acclaim), Silvano Un Ballo in Maschera for Opera Holland Park, concerts with the Classical Opera Company, The Tender Land for Opéra de Lyon, the world premiere of The Lions Face at the Royal Opera Houses Linbury Studio and on tour, Tarquinius for Opéra Anger Nantes and Aeneas for the prestigious Verbier Festival in Switzerland.I |