Neil Balfour

Indian-Scottish Neil Balfour is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music and the National Opera Studio. A former Britten Pears and Concordia artist, he has performed at the Glastonbury Festival and was the first to beatbox in an opera at Longborough Festival Opera.

In the current season he performs in The Snowmaiden and The Wellies, both for English Touring Opera; Bartley Riders to the Sea for OperaUpclose; and Love is a Spectrum, a recital at Thaxted Festival with Christopher Pulleyn.

With a particular interest in contemporary music, recent highlights include his American debut as Father in Kamala Sankaram’s opera, Thumbprint (Portland Opera); Safin The Shoemaker (Welsh National Opera); Guillermo Kahlo Frida (Northern Opera Group); Navin The End of the World Party (Hull Urban Opera); King Hrothgar Beowulf (Proper Job Theatre); and Jacob Displaced (Coalign/Tête-à-Tête).

Other contemporary roles and world premieres include Jean Arp Sophie (Tête à Tête); Ibn Al-Haytham Al-Haytham’s Light and Texy/Everywhere Back into the World (English Touring Opera); Punch Crocodile (Hull Urban Opera); Father Mysterious 44 (the first electronic opera); and Dad/La-La A Shoe Full of Stars (YAM Awards Best Opera 2018).

He has also performed Prince Yamadori Madam Butterfly (Welsh National Opera); Colline La bohème (Mananan Opera, OFMAN Madrid Opera Studio); Mercurio La Calisto (Longborough Festival Opera), Don Alfonso Così fan tutte, Quince A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lord Ellington La vie Parisienne (RNCM); Dottore Grenvil La traviata (Devon Opera); Cold Genius King Arthur (Glastonbury Festival); Mustafà L’italiana in Algeri, Don Pasquale Don Pasquale (Mananan Opera); and Claggart Billy Budd Re-imagined (Royal Ballet & Opera Family Weekend).

Concert performances have included Gershwin Porgy & Bess (Leeds Philharmonic Orchestra) and Paul Rissmann’s Alice in Wonderland Suites (London Symphony Orchestra). He has performed song recitals for Leeds Lieder, &Piano, Britten Pears Arts and the Leeds Opera Festival. For the Oxford International Song Festival he has performed recitals of Schumann, Sondheim, and a programme paired with perfumes.

Neil is the first classical artist for sE Electronics and NORD (world-leading microphones & digital pianos), director of ArtSongStory (compelling videos of art-song) and is proud to be supported by Penhaligon’s British Perfumers, VivoBarefoot shoes, Mason Cycles, Hunt Wheels and Tailfin Bikepacking equipment. His work as a voiceover artist has had over 100 million plays.