Callum Thorpe | Bass

ABOUT

British bass Callum Thorpe initially obtained a PhD in Immunology before focussing on his vocal studies at the Royal Academy of Music. From 2017 to 2021 he was a member of the solo ensemble at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich where roles included Banco Macbeth, Pistola Falstaff, Il Re d’Egitto Aida, Colline La Bohème, Zuniga Carmen, Farfallo Die Schweigsame Frau, Truffaldin Ariadne auf Naxos and Masetto Don Giovanni.

Highlights this season and beyond include his debut at Teatro Real Madrid singing Valens Theodora in a Katie Mitchell production conducted by Ivor Bolton, his debut at Welsh National Opera singing Hobson in a new production by Melly Still of Peter Grimes and a return to the Glyndebourne Festival in 2025 and 2026.

Last season saw Callum in the demanding role of Polifemo in Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo conducted by Laurence Cummings at the London Handel Festival, prompting Rachel Halliburton in The Times to write the astonishing, cavernous range of Callum Thorpe, who plays Polifemo. The famous aria ranges over two and a half octaves, and Thorpe imbues it with a rich anguish that elicits unexpected pity. He also appeared in a new production by Sir David Pountney of Purcell Masque of Might at Opera North and sang Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte at the 2024 Glyndebourne Festival. Concert highlights included Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner; Schubert Mass No. 5 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; and excerpts from Bizet’s Les pȇcheurs de perles and Gounod’s Faust in concert for Scottish Opera.

Recent operatic engagements include Sparafucile Rigoletto, Angelotti in Tosca and Poacher in Janáček The Cunning Little Vixen at Opera North: Basilio in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia for Garsington Opera; Talbot Maria Stuarda for Irish National Opera; Sarastro and Banco Macbeth at Theater Basel; Antinoo and Il Tempo Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Emmanuelle Haïm; and Plutone Orfeo for the Royal Opera House. Callum has also performed Hunding, in concert, in Wagner’s Die Walküre with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra and Eric Nielsen.

His repertoire ranges from the baroque to the 20^th Century. Callum created the role of Gibarian in the world première of Fujikura’s Solaris at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées and has also sung works by Peter Maxwell Davies and Viktor Ullmann. Past performances with William Christie have included Purcell The Fairy Queen and The Indian Queen, Rameau Hippolyte et Aricie, Phobetor in Lully’s Atys and Pluto in Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers.

On the concert platform his wide-ranging repertoire includes Bach St John Passion and St Matthew Passion, Handel Messiah, and the Mozart and Verdi Requiem, with conductors including Marc Minkowski, Sir Mark Elder, Ivor Bolton, Jonathan Cohen, Masato Suzuki, Christian Curnyn and Edward Gardner.

MEDIA

CALENDAR 24/25

• November
  • Theodora // Valens
    • Teatro Real, Madrid // Mitchell / Bolton
      • 11/13/15/17/19/21/23 // Teatro Real, Madrid
• December
  • Messiah (Handel)
    • Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra // McGegan
      • 11 // Lighthouse, Poole
  • Messiah (Handel)
  • Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland BWV66 (Bach)
  • Concerto Grosso in G Minor Op6 No8 (Corelli)
    • Instruments of Time & Truth / Neal
      • 15 // New College Chapel, Oxford
• April
  • Peter Grimes (Britten) – Hobson
    • Welsh National Opera // Still / Hanus
      • 5/8/11 // Wales Milennium Centre, Cardiff
      • 30 // Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
• May
  • Peter Grimes (Britten) – Hobson
    • Welsh National Opera // Still / Hanus
      • 10 // Birmingham Hippodrome
      • 17 // Milton Keynes Theatre
• June
  • Peter Grimes (Britten) – Hobson
    • Welsh National Opera // Still / Hanus
      • 7 // Theatre Royal, Plymouth
• July – August
  • Falstaff (Verdi) – Pistola
    • Glyndebourne Festival Opera // Jones / Edwards
      • 13 July – 24 August // Glyndebourne

CONTACT

Maxine Robertson / MRM / mr@maxineroberstson.com / 020 7096 0398