Ian Bostridge

Ian Bostridge CBE (born 25 December 1964) is an acclaimed English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera singer and as a song recitalist.

Education

Born in London, Bostridge studied at Westminster School and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, where he read modern history and received an M.Phil in the history and philosophy of science. He received his D.Phil from Oxford in 1990, on the significance of witchcraft in English public life from 1650 to 1750, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, publishing an Oxford Historical Monograph, "Witchcraft and its Transformations 1650 to 1750" in 1997, before embarking on a career as a singer. In 1991 he won National Federation of Music Societies Award and from 1992 received support from the Young Concert Artists' Trust.

Career

Bostridge made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1993; his Purcell Room debut (an acclaimed "Winterreise") and his Aldeburgh Festival debut in 1994; in 1995 he gave his first solo recital in the Wigmore Hall (winning the Royal Philharmonic Society's Debut Award); in 1996 he gave recitals in Lyon, Cologne, London and at the Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and Edinburgh Festivals, and in 1997 at the Alte Oper, Frankfurt.

On the concert platform he has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and Mstislav Rostropovich, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras, and the City of Birmingham Symphony under Sir Simon Rattle.

His first recording for Hyperion Records was a Britten song recital, "The Red Cockatoo" with Graham Johnson, and his subsequent recording of "Die schöne Müllerin" in Hyperion's Schubert Edition won "The Gramophone's" Solo Vocal Award for 1996.

Bostridge made his operatic debut in 1994, aged 29, as"Lysander" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with the Australian Opera at the Edinburgh Festival. In 1996 made his acclaimed debut with the English National Opera, singing his first Tamino ("The Magic Flute"). In 1997 he sang "Quint" in Deborah Warner's new production of "The Turn of the Screw" under Sir Colin Davis for the Royal Opera. He has recorded "Flute" (Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream") with Sir Colin Davis for Philips Classics; "Belmonte" (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) with William Christie for Erato, and "Tom Rakewell" (The Rake's Progress) under John Eliot Gardiner for Deutsche Grammophon. In 2007 he appeared at the ENO in the role of Aschenbach in Britten's {Death in Venice}.

In 1997 he made a film of Schubert's "Winterreise" for Channel 4 directed by David Alden; he has been the subject of a South Bank Show profile documentary on ITV and presented a BBC4 film on Janacek. He has written on music for the Guardian, "The Times Literary Supplement", "Opernwelt", "BBC Music Magazine", "Opera Now" and "The Independent".

Later engagements included recitals in Paris, Stockholm, Lisbon, Brussels, Amsterdam and the Vienna Konzerthaus. In North America he appeared in recitals in New York City at the Frick Collection in 1998 and Alice Tully Hall in 1999 and made his Carnegie Hall debut under Sir Neville Marriner. Also in 1998 he sang "Vasek" in a new production of "The Bartered Bride" under Bernard Haitink for the Royal Opera and made his debut at the Munich Festival as Nerone ("L'incoronazione di Poppea") and in recital ("Winterreise" at the Cuvillés Theatre). In 1999 he made his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Roger Norrington.

In 2004, Ian Bostridge was made CBE for his services to music. His brother is the Whitbread-shortlisted biographer and critic Mark Bostridge, whose book "Florence Nightingale: the woman and her legend" was published in the UK in 2008. They are great-grandchildren of John "Tiny" Joyce, a cousin of James Joyce and a famous goalkeeper who played for Tottenham Hotspur before the First World War. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/family/story/0,,1738804,00.html] .

Ian Bostridge is now the music columnist for "Standpoint" magazine, the new monthly publication launched "to celebrate Western civilisation". He also serves on the magazine's advisory board.

Ian Bostridge is married to the writer and literary critic, Dr Lucasta Miller, author of the classic study published in 2001, "The Brontë Myth". They have a son and a daughter.

Discography

*"Schubert - The Wanderer: Lieder and Fragments" with Leif Ove Andsnes (EMI Classics, 2008)
*"Great Handel" with Harry Bickett (EMI Classics, 2007)
*"Schubert: Lieder and Sonata" with Leif Ove Andsnes (EMI Classics, 2007)
*"Wolf Lieder" with Antonio Pappano (EMI Classics, 2006)
*"Britten: Les Illuminations, Serenade, Nocturne" with Simon Rattle (EMI Classics, 2005)
*"Schubert: 25 Lieder" with Julius Drake (EMI Classics, 2005)
*"Wagner: Tristan und Isolde" with Antonio Pappano (EMI Classics, 2005)
*"Schubert: die Schöne Müllerin" with Mitsuko Uchida (EMI Classics, 2005)
*"Schubert: Lieder and Sonata No.21" with Leif Ove Andsnes (EMI Classics, 2005)
*"Schubert: Winterreise" with Leif Ove Andsnes (EMI Classics, 2004)
*"Monteverdi: Orfeo" with Emmanuelle Haïm (Virgin Classics, 2004)
*"Purcell: Dido and Aeneas" with Emmanuelle Haïm (Virgin Classics, 2003)
*"Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge" with Bernard Haitink (EMI Classics, 2003)
*"Schubert: Lieder and Sonata D850" with Leif Ove Andsnes (EMI Classics, 2003)
*"Mozart: Idomeneo" with Charles Mackerras (EMI Classics, 2002)
*"Britten : Canticles & Folksongs" with Julius Drake (Virgin Classics, 2002)
*"Britten : Turn of the Screw" with Daniel Harding (Virgin Classics, 2002)
*"The Songs of Robert Schumann, Vol.7" with Dorothea Röschmann and Graham Johnson (Hyperion, 2002)
*"The Noël Coward Songbook" with Jeffrey Tate (EMI Classics, 2002)
*"Schubert: Lieder volume II" with Julius Drake (EMI Classics, 2001)
*"Henze: Songs" with Julius Drake (EMI Classics, 2001)
*"Bach: Cantatas and Arias" with Fabio Biondi (Virgin Classics, 2000)
*"Handel: L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato" with John Nelson (Virgin Classics, 2000)
*"The English Songbook" with Julius Drake (EMI Classics, 1999)
*"Schumann: Liederkreis & Dichterliebe etc." with Julius Drake (EMI Classics, 1998)
*"Schubert: Lieder volume I" with Julius Drake (EMI Classics, 1998)
*"Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin" (Schubert Edition, Vol.25) with Graham Johnson and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Hyperion, 1996)
*"Britten: The Red Cockatoo & Other Songs" with Graham Johnson (Hyperion, 1995)
*"Nyman: Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs" with Dominique Debart (Argo, 1995)
*"Bach: St. Matthew Passion (Evangelist)" with Philippe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi, 1999)

External links

* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0198206534/ "Witchcraft and Its Transformations, c.1650-c.1750"] (Doctoral thesis, at amazon.com)
* [http://www.emiclassics.co.uk/search_new.php?q=ian%20bostridge Ian Bostridge recordings on EMI Classics]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ianbostridge Ian Bostridge official MySpace music page]
* [http://www.johnrpierce.com/bostridge.html About Ian Bostridge]
* [http://www.eif.co.uk/sp_conversations_with_artists.php Audio interview with Ian Bostridge from Edinburgh International Festival]
* [http://www.virelai.net/disco/bostridge/ Ian Bostridge Discography]