Biography | Peter Auty is an English operatic tenor who has worked with most of the major opera companies in Britain and a number of companies in continental Europe.
Auty was a choirboy who sang at St Paul's Cathedral. At the age of 13, he sang "Walking in the Air", the theme song of the 1982 animated film, The Snowman, but in the rush to finish the film his name was omitted from the credits until the film was remastered in 2002. The composer, Howard Blake decided to re-record the song for a commercial for Toys "R" Us in 1985, but Auty's voice had broken by then. Aled Jones was chosen instead and the song became a hit single.
Auty took the role of Camille in York Light Opera Companys production of The Merry Widow in 1995. Subsequently, he moved to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music where he studied under Peter Alexander Wilson. Auty's professional stage debut was with Opera North in 1998. With the company, he subsequently sang the roles of Rodolfo in La bohème around 2001-2002 and Don José in Carmen in 2011. At Covent Garden he played the Major-Domo to the Marschallin in the 2000 run of Der Rosenkavalier under Thielemann, Michelis in the 2000 run of The Greek Passion under Mackerras, Flavio in Norma, Maintop in Billy Budd and a Shepherd in Tristan und Isolde in 2000, Roderigo in Otello, Gastone in La Traviata and Third Esquire in Parsifal in 2001, Malcolm in Macbeth in 2002, and Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor in 2003.
Auty has also performed concerts with orchestras both in his home country and abroad such as London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis, Iceland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy and Royal Flemish Philharmonic led by Edo de Waart. |