Liam JamesKarai
- Bass-Baritone


About Liam James
Bass-Baritone Liam James Karai’s voice is distinguished by his stately yet agile vocal technique, that carries a confident authority with soft, dark, and multicoloured timbre. Hong-Kong born, and of Scottish, Irish and Indian heritage, Karai continues to make successful and celebrated debuts across top European opera houses, captivating audiences with his strong voice and compelling stage presence.
Karai’s 25/26 season starts with a debut with the WDR Orchestra where he will sing the role of First Nazarene in their tour of Salome. In the spring, Karai will return to Teatro di San Carlo in Naples to debut the role of Marcello in La Bohème. Karai will also have a house debut with Opera North as Figaro in Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro. The season will finish with a debut at Glyndebourne as Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos.
The 24/25 season marked a significant period of growth and success for Karai. Highlights included house debuts at Teatro di San Carlo, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Semperoper Dresden, and the Polish National Opera. He also returned to the Hamburg Staatsoper as a guest artist, following his time as a member of their International Opera Studio in the 23/24 season. Over the course of the season, Karai showcased his versatility in a range of roles, including Escamillo in Carmen and Angelotti in Tosca at the Polish National Opera, Schaunard in La Bohème at Erl, and First Nazarene in Strauss’s Salome, performed both in Hamburg and with the LSO under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano. Across the season, he appeared as a finalist in several prestigious international competitions, including the Tenor Viñas Competition in Barcelona, Operalia in Mumbai, where he was awarded a finalist prize, and the Riccardo Zandonai Competition in Riva del Garda where he also was a prize winner. These accomplishments follow previous success as a finalist in the 41st edition of the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition and second prize winner at the 4th Antonina Campi Singing Competition.
In the 23/24 season, Karai was a member of the International Opera Studio at Hamburg Staatsoper. His roles there included Angelotti in Tosca, Hobson in Peter Grimes, Figaro (Cover) and Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, Count Ceprano in Rigoletto & Alcindoro in La bohème. He also performed as Escamillo in Carmen at Oper Frankfurt and Staatstheater Mainz, appeared in a concert version of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet as Horatio at Salzburg Festspiele and sang in new production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at Oper Leipzig and Staatsoper Hamburg. Concert highlights include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as a Bass Soloist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Hans Graf), two galas with the Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears, and an Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal debut in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Hamburg Philharmonic under Kent Nagano.
Prior to the 23/24 season, Karai also performed bass solos in Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium, and made his Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal debut singing excerpts from Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, and La jolie fille de Perth. He has also appeared with the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, performing roles from Le Nozze di Figaro and Cenerentola.
Karai completed both a Master of Music and a Postgraduate Diploma on full scholarship at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, studying under Quentin Hayes. During his time there, he received the Sir John Tomlinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholarships, won the 2021 Frederic Cox Award, the Robin Kay Memorial Prize, and the RNCM Silver Medal. He also won the Joaninha Trust Award and was runner-up in the Clonter Opera Prize.
Representation
Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt
Season Highlights
Selected Repertoire
Bizet
Escamillo (Carmen)
Britten
Hobson (Peter Grimes)
Dove
Minskman (Flight)
Glass
Parsi Rustomji (Satyagraha)
Janáček
Pastor & Badger (The Cunning Little Vixen) • Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen)
Mozart
Leporello (Don Giovanni) • Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni) • Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) • Il Conte (Le Nozze di Figaro) • Guglielmo (Così fan tutte)
Puccini:
Angelotti & Sciarrone (Tosca) • Schaunard (La bohème) • Marcello (La bohème)
Rossini
Alidoro (Cenerentola) • Basilio (il barbiere di siviglia) • Martino (L’occasione fa il ladro)
Shostakovich
Verwalter & Wächter (Lady Macbeth von Mzensk)
Strauss
Jochanaan & 1st Nazarene (Salome) • Der Pfleger des Orest (Elektra) • Truffaldino, Ein Lakai, Der Haushofmeister (Ariadne auf Naxos)
Tchaikovsky
Zaretski (Eugene Onegin)
Thomas
Horatio (Hamlet)
Verdi
Il Conte di Ceprano & Un Usciere di Court (Rigoletto)
News
Press
Anniversary gala: 30 years of the International Opera Studio
Staatsoper HamburgOct 2024Finally, Escamillo's aria “Votre toast peux vous le rendre” by Liam James Karai followed, elegantly and emotionally expressed with the necessary eloquence.
- Opernratgeber
- 13 October 2024
Carmen (Escamillo)
Frankfurt Opera, FrankfurtMar 2024Liam James Karai as Escamillo demonstrates how musical design possibilities arise from greater role experience. He has already been able to try out his role at the Mainz State Theater and boasts a robust bass-baritone that can also glide to brilliant heights with the greatest of ease.
- Der Opernfreund
Liam James Karai sings the Toreador with Vocal and Theatrical Authority, as he did at the Staatstheater Mainz.
- Kulturfreak
Carmen (Escamillo)
Frankfurt StaatstheaterOct 2023Two extremely talented young singers cause surprises. Liam James Karai, still in the opera studio in the city of Hamburg, gives his Escamillo a self-confidence and bass-baritone virility that does not fail to have an effect on the trophy hunter Carmen.
But the most interesting character is Escamillo, who in his first appearance is portrayed as a mysterious savior rather than as a local hero in a dirty T-shirt. Liam James Karai's naive, self-confident demeanor is just as much like the noble sound of his youthful bass-baritone.
- Orpheus Magazine
The crowd chatters and drinks, Escamillo, his shirt already stained with blood, is an approachable man with Liam James Karai (with a very well-founded bass-baritone).
Liam James Karai ein baritonal stattlicher Torero Escamillo [Liam James Karai a baritonal stately Torero Escamillo]
Mozart Opera Gala -Afterwork Concert
Staatsoper HamburgOct 2022From head to toe, Karai was the self-assured - almost self-important - nobleman that Giovanni always appears to be on the outside. This elegance was also reflected in his rich bass-baritone, not only in this duet, but also in the aria of Figaro from Mozart's Le Nozze de Figaro. Here Karai made his anger over his Susanna's possible infidelity and his simultaneous insecurity clearly audible and visible
- Opern Gestalten
Song Recital – Lieder der heimat – Afterwork Concert
Staatsoper HamburgMay 2023The young bass-baritone has a beautiful voice with which he creates small stories, especially from Jonathan Dove's songs, that come to life through gestures and facial expressions, thus captivating and allowing everyone to feel their emotions. He also beautifully and confidently performed the songs about the sea and sailors written by John Ireland and Charles V. Standford. His timbre is soft, dark and multicolored. He delivered his German introductions with modest charm and with Robert Schumann's perfectly understandable The Two Grenadiers he effortlessly managed to clearly express the desperation and bitter devotion of soldiers at the time of the Napoleon Wars. Thank you very much and something that is anything but arrogant: keep it up!
- Opern Gestalten
La Bohème
Erl Tiroler FestspieleDec 2024 - Jan 2025Of Rodolfo's flatmates, the one who usually has the most thankless task is the one who will be remembered this time. Liam James Karai finally relieves Schaunard of the role of mere prompter and draws attention to himself with his agile baritone.
- BR-KLASSIK
- 01 January 2025
Liam James Karai impresses as Schaunard with his distinctive bass-baritone and comedic acting.
- Online Musik Magazin
- 02 January 2025
The deep voices of Liam James Karai (Schaunard)... were profound and impressive, with a distinctive profile.
- Online Merker
- 05 January 2025