JamesPlatt

/
  • Bass

About James

British bass James Platt was educated at Chetham’s School of Music and went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music and the Opera Course of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden from 2014–2016.

In the 2025/26 season, he makes his house and role debut at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl as Titurel in Parsifal. Recent engagements include Swallow in a new production of Peter Grimes for the Dutch National Opera, The Creation with La Nuova Musica under David Bates, and Messiah with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Matthew Halls.

A regular guest at major international houses, James has appeared as Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte) and Il Re (Aida) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) in new productions at both Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Grange Festival; and Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Other operatic roles have included Crespel (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Ortel (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), and First Soldier (Salome), with appearances spanning houses such as Deutsche Oper Berlin, Welsh National Opera, Teatro alla Scala Milan, Dutch National Opera and Opéra de Lille.

Notable concert appearances include Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius with the London Philharmonic Orchestra/Edward Gardner at the BBC Proms, Zacharie (La Prophète) with the LSO/Sir Mark Elder at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Hunding (Die Walküre) with the Philharmonie Zuidnederland/Hartmut Haenchen.

Further highlights include Handel’s Messiah with the Hallé/Christian Curnyn, Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestre National de Lyon/Leonard Slatkin, Dvořák’s Requiem with the BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jiří Bělohlávek, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle at the BBC Proms with the BBC Singers/David Hill and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko.

Download programme biography   

Contact

Keiron Cooke

Keiron Cooke

Associate Director
Will Pate

Will Pate

Associate Artist Manager

Representation

Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt

Follow James

Season Highlights

Oct 2024 - Oct 2024
Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam
Britten - Peter Grimes (Swallow)
Nov 2024 - Nov 2024
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London [La Nuova Musica]
Haydn - Creation
Dec 2024 - Dec 2024
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Handel - Messiah

Audio

  • Le Prophete - Act III, No. 13a - Couplets de Zacharie | Giacomo Meyerbeer - Sir Mark Elder, London Symphony Orchestra, James Platt, Lyon Opera Chorus
    Credit: 2024 - LSO Live Recorded: 01 July 2024

Photos

Press

  • MOZART Die Zauberflöte

    Glyndebourne Festival
    May 2024

    • James Platt with his rich, dark bass is a class act as Sarastro

    • James Platt booms impressive low notes as Sarastro

    • James Platt’s Sarastro had weight and depth of tone, as well as gravity in delivery.

  • DELIBES Lakmé

    Cadogan Hall
    Feb 2024

    • As Lakmé's father, Nilakantha, James Platt gave an intelligent and thoughtful performance, making the role a little more than just blood and thunder. It was a great pleasure listening to Platt shaping the vocal lines,

    • Matching Thomas’s strength and passion was Nilakantha, Lakmé’s formidable father, sung here by bass-baritone James Platt, his voice perfectly placed, and his diction the clearest of all singers on the night.

    • James Platt as Nilakantha displayed an immensely strong and secure bass-baritone that spoke of the character’s serious nature in every way

  • VERDI Requiem

    Bridgewater Hall and York Minster
    Oct 2022

    • James Platt’s bass was suitably bold, again with unerring emphasis on the meaning of the text.

    • James Platt’s bass was portentous at the ‘Confutatis’ and added gravitas to the solo ensembles.

    • James Platt’s sonorous bass thundered out in ‘Mors stupebit et natura. ★★★★★

  • MAHLER Symphony No. 8 'Symphony of Thousand'

    Royal Albert Hall
    Oct 2022

    • James Platt were utterly secure as Pater Ecstaticus and Pater Profundus respectively. ★★★★

  • VERDI Aida

    Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
    May 2023

    • To add to this formidable trio in the leading roles, we were also treated to some excellent support from British bass James Platt, who played the role of the King of Egypt in convincing style

    • James Platt was a fine King of Egypt

    • James Platt delivered an imposing turn as the King of Egypt

  • ELGAR The Dream of Gerontius

    London Philharmonic Orchestra/Edward Gardner at the BBC Proms
    Sep 2022

    • And what a barrel-chest of a bass voice James Platt deployed as the Angel of the Agony

    • Platt’s contribution as the priest and the Angel of the Agony were as sonorous and implacable as anyone could want.

    • James Platt’s Priest and Parsifalian Angel of the Agony had equal authority; what a difference it makes to have a true bass, and not just a bass-baritone, in these roles.

  • WEBER Der Freischütz

    Dutch Natioanl Opera
    Jun 2022

    • James Platt's sonorous bass lent itself superbly to the role of Agathe's father, the wood-backed Kuno.

    • James Platt charms with a powerful bass as Kuno.

    • James Platt as Kuno has a beautiful timbre, effortless and spacious like a thunderclap in the mountains.

Discography