countertenor
Born on St. Cecillia’s Day, the British counter-tenor Ryland Angel has built an international reputation on both the opera and concert stage, in repertoire ranging from the Baroque to new operatic commissions at major opera houses, concert halls, andfestivals throughout Europe and the USA.
Recent operatic engagements include Radamisto at St. Louis Opera Theater, Agrippina for New York City Opera, Tolomeo with Muziektheater Transparant, Semele with Cologne Opera, Rodelinda at the Carre Theatre in Amsterdam, Julius Caesar at Utah Opera and Opera Colerado, Il Sant Alessio on tour with Les Arts Florissants at the Lincoln Center New York, Cité de la Musique in Paris and the Barbican Centre in London, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria for Toulouse Opera with Christophe Rousset (also in Paris and Lepizig), Theodora with Graeme Jenkins at Dallas Opera, Handel’s La Resurrezione with Ars Lyrica, Monteverdi’s Orfeo with Boston Early Music Festival, the title role in Stradellas’ San Giovanni Battista at The Italian Academy in New York with Artek, Israel in Egypt with Princeton Glee Club, Acis and Galatea at Hobby Center Houston and Doux Mensonges at the Opéra National de Paris Palais Garnier with William Christie.
He has also performed at English National Opera in London (Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and the world premiere of Gavin Bryars’ Doctor Ox’s Experiment), the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona (The Fairy Queen), Flanders Opera (Venus and Adonis), Opéra Comique, Paris (Dido and Aeneas), Opéra Normandie (Peri’s Euridice), Geneva Opera (Ballet Comique de la Royne), Koblenz (Gluck’s Orfeo), Karslruhe Handel Festival (Amadigi), Spoleto Festival, Italy (The Play of Daniel), and Florentine and Lyric Opera of Kansas City (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
On the concert platform Ryland Angel has performed Carmina Buranae at the Lincoln Center in New York and Southbank Centre in London, St. John Passion with St. Thomas’ Church, Houston Bach Society and Boulder Bach Society, The Messiah with the Händel and Haydn Society of Boston, St. Thomas’ Church, Worcester Chorus, Masterworks Chorus, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Musica Sacra at Carnegie Hall.
He has performed with many acclaimed conductors and early music ensembles including William Christie, Rene Jacobs, Ivor Bolton, Nicholas McGegan, Roy Goodman, Christophe Rousset, Philippe Herreweghe, Christophe Coin, Gabriel Garrido, Cantus Koln, Le Concert Spirituel, Le Parlement de Musique, the Ensemble of Early Music of New York, Ensemble La Fenice, Les Folies Françaises, and the Philharmonia Baroque of San Francisco.
Ryland Angel has created roles in many world premieres including most recently Spears’ Wolf in Skins (Philadelphia), the title role in Tesla in New York written by Phil Kline and the film director Jim Jarmusch at Hopkins Center, Dartmouth and new work by Tarik O’Regan and Gregory Spears’ for a project with Opera New Jersey/American Opera Projects.
In 2006 Ryland Angel received a Grammy® nomination. He has performed on over 50 recordings including music by Charpentier, Scarlatti, Stradella, Lorenzani, Peri, Händel, Monteverdi, Beaujoyeux, Purcell, Bach, Spears, Rosenmuller, Bobby Mcferrin (EMI, Universal, Sony, K317, Koch, Virgin Classics).
New recordings include Freud und Lust (Buxtehude/Bach), Rosenmuller Cantatas with Artek, The Colonna Vespers with Houston Chamber choir, Heart and Soul (Krieger and Erlebach) with Ars Lyrica, A Grateful Tail by Steven Mercurio based on the poem by Eugene O’Neill and The Flaming Fire (16th century music from Scotland and England) with the viol consort Parthenia.
Ryland Angel composed the score and sang the title track of the forthcoming Warner Bros documentary film The Mystery of Dante. He also features on the film soundtracks of Le Petit Prince, La Peau, Henry 4th, Machete and the PBS TV special Heavenly Voices.