BIOGRAPHY

Born and educated just metres away from the south-western reaches of the M25, Paul studied English and Drama at Leeds University; specialising in modern British political drama. He then embarked on a teaching career; eventually finding himself teaching English at Eton College (an institution that has provided many of the protagonists in modern British political drama!). Teaching was a job he absolutely enjoyed and relished, but his passion for singing was always in the wings, and he eventually gave up full-time teaching to take up a scholarship on the postgraduate course at the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was taught there by David Pollard (still Paul's teacher). After leaving college he straightaway enjoyed a variety of singing and operatic jobs at companies such as the late-lamented Savoy Opera and Batignano. He spent a few years at Glyndebourne, where he learned his trade - singing in the chorus, covering a variety of principal roles, and performing in studio productions of works by Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov and Jonathan Dove.

 

Paul's career has never followed a traditional path - he was a late 'self-starter', and various interruptions to his planned international super-stardom(!) culminated in a road accident that left him re-learning how to walk. However, once fully recovered from this accident, the first job he undertook was to understudy the role of 1st Armed Man at Glyndebourne, requiring him to perform on stilts on a raked stage.

 

Feeling suitably empowered, he then left the Glyndebourne chorus to try new solo opportunities, being particularly busy at the ENO – covering the title roles such as Faust in Berlioz's Damnation of Faust, Hoffman, and Gandhi in Glass's Satyagraha. In 2013, he performed his first principal role at ENO - Gastone in La Traviata. He has recently returned to Glyndebourne, both as an external cover for roles such as Polonius in Brett Dean's new Hamlet, the Podestà in Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera, and as a principal in the small role of the Marschallin's Major Domo in Der Rosenkavalier. At Scottish Opera, he has covered roles including Mao Tse Tung in Nixon in China; also performing in Scottish Opera's 'Operas Unwrapped'. Elsewhere, the more eclectic highlights of his freelance career have varied from performing the role of the all-powerful Aurelios, 'Master of the Universe' in the eponymous experimental sci-fi opera at the BAC, to the role of the rather more lowlife Jemmy Twitcher in Britten/Gay's Beggar's Opera at the Royal Opera. For small professional UK companies he has sung such roles as Tito in Mozart's Clemenza di Tito, Belmonte - Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Count Almaviva - Rossini's Barber of Seville, and more recently the heavier lyric roles of Don Jose in Carmen and Canio in Pagliacci. In the UK's bigger houses, however, Paul has become one of the busier tenors that you have never heard of. His current tally of understudied performances - having never 'gone on' - is well over 350 and counting. He even managed to. notch up a few understudy performances at Glyndebourne during the COVID pandemic.

 

Internationally, recent career highlights included making a significant debut at the Göttingen International Händel Festival, singing Varo in Händel's Arminio, and where he was also delighted to have been asked to perform a solo recital. The opera was recorded live for the Accent label, and is available on iTunes. 

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Paul has always been a keen concert soloist, and whilst still at college, sang for the annual Good Friday performance of Messiah at the RAH with the RPO. His oratorio work has since seen him perform works including Verdi’s Requiem and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius in venues throughout the country including London’s Barbican centre. Paul’s solo recordings include a live charity performance of Mozart’s Requiem on the Hyperion label.