Described by The Guardian as “The finest British bass of his
generation,” Alastair Miles is one of the UK’s most renowned singers,
returning regularly to the operatic stages and concert platforms of
Europe, North America and the Far East. His career was launched when he
won the Decca Kathleen Ferrier Prize at London’s Wigmore Hall and his
repertoire ranges from J. S. Bach and Handel via Verdi and Wagner to Elgar
and Havergal Brian.
He appears regularly at London’s Royal Opera House, where his roles have
included Rodolfo (La sonnambula), Le Comte des Grieux (Manon),
Elmiro in Rossini’s Otello, Lord Sidney (Il viaggio a Reims),
Poliferno in Steffani’s Niobe, Regina di Tebe, Banquo (Macbeth)
and, most recently Le Bailli (Werther). For English National Opera,
his roles have included the title role in Boïto’s Mefistofele,
Alfonso d’Este (Lucrezia Borgia), Don Basilio (The Barber of
Seville), Silva (Ernani), Zaccaria (Nabucco) and Ford
(Sir John in Love); for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Commendatore (Don
Giovanni), Speaker
(Die Zauberflöte), Fiesco (Simon Boccanegra) and Pogner (Die
Meistersinger von Nürnberg); for Grange Park Opera, The Grand
Inquisitor (Don Carlo); For Opera North, Claggart (Billy Budd),
Leporello (Don Giovanni), Timur (Turandot) and King Philip
II (Don Carlos); for Scottish Opera, Arkel (Pelléas et Mélisande);
and for Welsh National Opera, Méphistophélès (La damnation de Faust),
Enrico (Anna Bolena), Talbot (Maria Stuarda) and Fiesco (Simon
Boccanegra).
Elsewhere, engagements have included Giorgio (I Puritani) and
Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor) at the Metropolitan Opera, New York;
Narbal (Les Troyens), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor),
Cardinal Brogni (La Juive), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro),
Lodovico Nardi (Die Gezeichneten) and Pogner (Die Meistersinger
von Nürnberg) for the Dutch National Opera; Nourabad (Les
Pêcheurs des Perles) and Bertram (Robert le Diable) at the
Opera di Salerno; Arkel (Pelléas et Mélisande), Zorastro (Orlando),
the title role in Saul, Creonte in Mayr’s Medea in Corinto,
Timur (Turandot) and Lodovico Nardi (Die Gezeichneten) for
the Bavarian State Opera; Prefetto (Linda di Chamonix), Cardinal
Brogni (La Juive), Philippe II (Don Carlos), Padre Guardiano
(La forza del destino) and Zaccaria (Nabucco) at the Vienna
State Opera; Claudio (Agrippina) at the Opéra de Dijon and the
Opéra de Lille; Melisso (Alcina) and Lord Sidney (Il viaggio a
Reims) at La Scala, Milan; Melisso (Alcina) at the Salzburg
Festival; creating Paulin in Michael Jarrell’s Bérénice at the
Opera national de Paris and Leporello (Don Giovanni) for the
Flanders Opera; Dr Bartolo / Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro) with the
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra; Filippo II (Don Carlo) for the Deutsche
Oper, Berlin, and at the Teatro Real, Madrid; Nick Shadow (The Rake’s
Progress) and Count Walter (Luisa Miller) at the Theater an
der Wien; and Daland (Der fliegende Holländer) for the Opéra Royal
de Wallonie, Liège.
A highly sought-after concert artist, Alastair Miles has sung with
conductors including Maurizio Bernini, Ivor Bolton, Martyn Brabbins,
Myung-Whun Chung, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Mark Elder, Sir John Eliot
Gardiner, Valery Gergiev, Carlo Maria Giulini, Daniel Harding, Nikolaus
Harnoncourt, Andrew Litton, Sir Charles Mackerras, Kurt Masur, Riccardo
Muti, John Nelson, Sir Roger Norrington, Jonathan Nott, Seiji Ozawa, David
Parry, Trevor Pinnock, Sir Simon Rattle, Helmuth Rilling, Donald
Runnicles, Andreas Spering and Robin Ticciati.
He has made over ninety recordings, including a recital disc of Brahms
and Wolf for Signum Classics; a recital disc of Great Operatic Arias for
Chandos; Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor) for Sony Classical; Alidoro
(La cenerentola), Tiresias (Oedipus Rex) and Monterone (Rigoletto)
for Warner Classics; Le Gouverneur (Le Comte Ory) for DG; Beethoven
Mass in C and Handel Messiah for LSO Live; award-winning
recordings of Beethoven Missa Solemnis and Verdi Requiem
with Sir John Eliot Gardiner for DG Archive and Philips; Berlioz
L’Enfance du Christ with Robin Ticciati for Linn Records; Brian Symphony
No. 1 and Elgar Caractacus with Martyn Brabbins for
Hyperíon; Handel L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato for Erato;
Elijah with Kurt Masur for Teledec; and Mozart Requiem for
Belvedere. With Opera Rara, he has recorded Giustiniano Belisario,
Dom Juam de Sylva (Dom Sebastien, roi de Portugal), Gualtiero
Clifford (Rosomonda d’Inghilterra), Vecchio Orazi
(Orazi e Curiazi), Carlo (Margherita d’Anjou), Orosmane (Zaira),
Ircano (Ricciardo e Zoraide), Le Commandeur de Baeupré (La Cour
de Célimène) and Il Salotto, Volume 1.
Recent engagements have included Strominger (La Wally) at the
Theater an der Wien (now available on Unitel DVD / Blu-Ray), Arkel (Pelléas
et Mélisande) for the Orchestre national de France, Melisso (Alcina)
and Father Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) for Glyndebourne Festival
Opera, a return to The Royal Opera, London, for further performances as Le
Bailli (Werther), Commendatore (Don Giovanni) at Zurich
Opera, Prospero (Miranda) for Oper Köln, Don Basilio (The Barber
of Seville) for English National Opera, Silva (Ernani) at
Buxton International Festival and Pistola
(Falstaff) for Scottish Opera.
Current engagements include Lord Gordon (Mary, Queen of Scots) for
English National Opera, Crespel (Les contes d’Hoffmann) for The
Royal Ballet and Opera, London, Claudius (Hamlet) for Buxton
International Festival and Le spectre du Roi (Hamlet) at Teatro
Regio di Torino. In concert, he will sing Arkel (Pelléas et Mélisande)
with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis
at the 2025 Enescu Festival in Bucharest, Schumann’s Szenen aus
Goethes Faust with with Orquesta y Coro nacionales de España and
Verdi Requiem with Royal Choral Society.
Alastair Miles received a 2024 Santley Award from The Worshipful Company
of Musicians.
April 2025