Biography
Born in Tasmania‚ Simon Thorpe studied at the Guildhall School of Music‚ where he was awarded the Harold Rosenthal Prize. He spent a year at the National Opera Studio. A finalist in the Kathleen Ferrier Competition‚ he now studies with Robert Dean.
The Australian baritone Simon Thorpe, based in the UK, has performed many major roles including the title roles in Der fliegende Holländer, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, Falstaff, Gianni Schicchi and Rigoletto; Jack Rance La fanciulla del West, Scarpia Tosca, Amonasro Aida, Tonio Pagliacci, Alfio Cavalleria rusticana, Zurga Les pêcheurs des perles, Lescaut Manon Lescaut, Sharpless Madama Butterfly, Michele Il tabarro, Germont La traviata, Ankerström Un ballo in maschera, Telramund, Der Heerrufer des Königs Lohengrin, Melot Tristan und Isolde, Kothner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Pizarro Fidelio.
Further roles in Simon Thorpe’s repertoire are Ford Falstaff, Il Conte di Luna Il trovatore, Escamillo Carmen, Belcore L’elisir d’amore, Pacheco Inés de Castro (James MacMillan), Salerio The Merchant of Venice (André Tchaikowsky), Manfredo L’amore dei tre re (Italo Montemezzi), Donald Billy Budd, Marullo Rigoletto, Marcello La Bohème, Roucher Andrea Chénier, Le Duc Roméo et Juliette‚ The Steward Flight, The Forester The Cunning Little Vixen, Montano Otello, Kuligan Katya Kabanova, Guglielmo Le Villi, John The Butcher Hugh the Drover (Vaughan Williams) and Private Willis Iolanthe.
Throughout his career Simon Thorpe has worked with the major British regional companies on numerous occasions including Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and Opera North. He has also had repeated engagements with Opera Holland Park, English Touring Opera, Longborough Festival Opera, Dorset Opera, Lyric Opera, Dublin and Cork Opera. Overseas he has performed with Opéra Toulon, Teatro Nacional de Säo Carlos, Lisbon, Opera Australia and State Opera of South Australia.
Simon Thorpe sings regularly in concert at major venues throughout the country including the Barbican Hall‚ Queen Elizabeth Hall‚ South Bank, London, the Royal Albert Hall (including the BBC Proms)‚ St John’s‚ Smith Square‚ and the Bridgewater Hall‚ Manchester. Performances have included appearances with Chelsea Opera Group, the Choir of King’s College‚ Cambridge‚ and the Hallé Orchestra.
His extensive concert repertoire includes Beethoven Symphony No 9, Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, Elgar The Kingdom and Dream of Gerontius, Mendelssohn Elijah, Orff Carmina Burana, Puccini Messa di Gloria, Rossini Stabat Mater, Stainer Crucifixion, Stanford Songs of the Fleet and Songs of the Sea, Schubert Mass in G, Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony, Tippett A Child of our Time, Walton Belshazzar’s Feast, and works by Fauré, Finzi, Handel, Haydn and Mozart. He has appeared on the concert platform with major orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, The London Philharmonic Orchestra and the The RTE National Symphony Orchestra
Simon Thorpe’s recordings include Second Mate / Arthur Jones Billy Budd with Kent Nagano and the Hallé Orchestra for Erato and Duclou Zazà (Ruggero Leoncavallo) with Maurizio Benini and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for Opera Rara.
Born in Tasmania‚ Simon Thorpe studied at the Guildhall School of Music‚ where he was awarded the Harold Rosenthal Prize. He spent a year at the National Opera Studio.
©Robert Workman