Justin Lavender (born 4 June 1951) is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

, a professor of vocal studies at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

and co-founder and Musical Director of Arcadian Opera. He was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowme ...

, Queen Mary College London and the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

. Although he initially intended to train as a nuclear engineer he was persuaded by Sir Peter Pears and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

to pursue a career in music. Following his debut in 1980 as Nadir in Bizet's ''

Les pêcheurs de perles ' (, ''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performan ...

'' at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

, Lavender has performed with most of the world's major orchestras and opera companies. In addition to his

tic performances, Lavender is a professor of vocal studies at the

, an honorary professor of the

Confucius Institute Confucius Institutes (CI; ) are public educational and cultural promotion programs of the state of China. The stated aim of the program is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilita ...

Pfeiffer University Pfeiffer University is a private university in Misenheimer, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History Pfeiffer originated from a home school operated by Emily Prudden in the late-19th century ...

, and from 2009 to 2020 was vocal consultant to the Choir of

King's College Chapel, Cambridge King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was bu ...

. In 2015 Lavender co-founded the community opera company, Arcadian Opera, which performs regularly at Stowe, Buckingham.

Operatic performances

* 1980 – professional debut as Nadir in ''

The Pearl Fishers ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (

) * 1990 – debut as Arnold in Rossini's ''

Guillaume Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for Shooting an apple off one's child's head, shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a cro ...

'' (

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

) * 1990 – debut as Tamino in ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'' (

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

) * 1991 – debut and title role in Rossini's ''

Le comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera ''Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X. The French libretto was by Eug� ...

'' (

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, Milan) * 1993 – debut as Demodokos in Dallapiccola's '' Ulisse'' (

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

) * 2004 – title role in Gounod's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' (

)

Concert performances

* 1988 – Schubert's Mass in E Flat (Giulini and Berlin Philharmonic) * 1988 – Bartók's ''

Cantata Profana ''Cantata Profana'' (subtitled ''A kilenc csodaszarvas'' 'The Nine Enchanted Stags'' Sz. 94) is a work for tenor, baritone, double mixed chorus and orchestra by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. Completed on 8 September 1930, it was premier ...

'' (Solti and London Philharmonic) * 1991 –

Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody as a "composer who was conc ...

's Faust Cantata (Abbado and Vienna Symphony) * 1996 – Elgar's ''

The Dream of Gerontius ''The Dream of Gerontius'', Opus number, Op. 38, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from The Dream of Gerontius (poem), the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man' ...

'' (Slatkin and Philharmonia) * 2001 – Schnittke's Faust Cantata (Slatkin and BBC)

Film

* 2002 – ''

The Life of David Gale ''The Life of David Gale'' is a 2003 crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Alan Parker, written by Charles Randolph, co-produced by Nicolas Cage, and starring Kevin Spacey as the title character, a college professor and longtime acti ...

Recordings

* 1983 – video of Oedipus Rex * 1989 – audio of La Noche Triste * 1991 – audio of La Favorite * 1993 – audio of Messiah * 1993 – audio of I Puritani * 1993 – video of Mitridate * 1994 – audio of The Wreckers * 1994 – audio of Rossini and Donizetti arias * 1996 – audio of Britten Song Cycles * 1996 – audio of Bomtempo Mattutina dei Morti * 1997 – audio of Mozart Arias * 1998 – audio of Alceste * 1999 – audio of War and Peace * 2004 – audio of Schnittke Faust Cantata * 2006 – audio of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius * 2008 – audio of Janáček Otčenas

References

External links

Profile of Justin Lavender at the Royal College of Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavender, Justin Operatic tenors 20th-century British male opera singers British tenors Vocal coaches Academics of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Alumni of Queen Mary University of London 1951 births Living people People educated at Bedford Modern School 21st-century British male opera singers