Philip Smith

Philip Smith studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire and Royal Northern College of Music, graduating with distinction in 2008. He is a former Britten Pears Young Artist, a Samling Artist and Crear Scholar.

In the current season performances include Enrico Lucia di Lammermoor (Barefoot Opera); Sharpless Madama Butterfly (Celebrate Voice); and Don Alfonso Così fan tutte (Opera Project / Tobacco Factory).

Among his recent highlights are Rambaldo La rondine (Opera North); Malatesta Don Pasquale, Germont Pere La traviata, Rigoletto (Diva Opera); Tonio Pagliacci, Michele Il tabarro, Marcello La bohème, King El Gato con Botas (Mid Wales Opera); and Conte Gil Il segreto di Susanna (If Opera).

His other operatic roles include Endymion/Charon Orpheus (Royal Ballet & Opera/The Globe); Junius The Rape of Lucretia (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Reggio Emilia, Ravenna); Sid Albert Herring (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Royal Danish Opera); Papageno Die Zauberflöte (Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari); Gratiano The Merchant of Venice (Polish National Opera); Der Sprecher Die Zauberflöte (Opera di Firenze); Nottingham’s Confidant Roberto Devereux (Welsh National Opera); Sharpless Madame Butterfly (Iford Arts, Diva Opera); Giorgio Passion, Witness 6 Icarus, Harlekin Ariadne auf Naxos (Montepulciano Festival). Other roles include Don Giovanni, Forester Cunning Little Vixen, Eugene Onegin, Leone Tamerlano, Figaro Le nozze di Figaro, Escamillo and Moralès Carmen, Ramiro L’heure espagnole, Macheath The Threepenny Opera. Roles covered include Baron Zeta The Merry Widow, Figaro Il barbiere di Siviglia and Chou En-lai Nixon in China (Scottish Opera); the title role in Don Giovanni and Valentin Faust (Opera North); and Arthur Jones Billy Budd, Herman Ortel Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Le Dancaïre Carmen (Glyndebourne).

In concert Philip has performed with orchestras including the Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s Ensemble 10/10, Manchester Camerata and the Northern Sinfonia with conductors including Sir Mark Elder, Clark Rundell, David Hill and Nicholas Kraemer. His repertoire includes Rossini Petite messe solennelle, Haydn The Creation, Fauré Requiem, Bach B Minor Mass, Walton Belshazzar’s Feast, Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs and Tippett A Child of Our Time.

Philip appears regularly in recital with pianists including Roger Vignoles, Malcolm Martineau and Joseph Middleton. He has performed in Santiago de Compostela, Dubai and he is a regular guest at the Uzerche International Festival (France). He has appeared at a number of major UK festivals including the Aldeburgh Festival, Leeds Lieder, Oxford Lieder, the Cheltenham Festival and at Wigmore Hall.

Broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 include Aeneas Dido & Aeneas, a song recital from the Aldeburgh Festival with Malcolm Martineau and a live broadcast on In Tune. His recordings include Britten Songs Volume 1 (Onyx Classics) and Vaughan Williams Fair Child of Beauty (Albion Records).

Philip regularly takes part in education and community projects, he has worked with the education departments at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Opera North, Leeds Lieder+, Wigmore Hall, La Folia and with Theatre Royal Norwich on their Norfolk school projects.