FELIX KEMP – BIOGRAPHY

Felix Kemp’s singing has been described as “plangent” (Gramophone), “stentorian” (Opera Magazine) and “phrased with elegance” (The Stage). A Britten-Pears Young Artist and Momentum Emerging Artist, Felix was a finalist in the 2021 International Handel Singing Competition.

Felix will make his Royal Opera House, Covent Garden debut in the 2022/23 season as a Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo. In 2022 Felix performed the role of Papageno Die Zauberflöte for both Dorset Opera and Oxford Opera, and he made his debut with Welsh National Opera creating the role of Adham in the world première of Will Todd Migrations. Felix has worked with companies including English National Opera, Grange Park Opera, English Touring Opera, British Youth Opera, Longborough and Wexford festivals; his roles include Eugene Onegin, Giove (La Calisto), Malatesta and Masetto.

In demand on the concert platform, Felix has performed with ensembles including Britten Sinfonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Israel Camerata Jerusalem; his repertoire includes the passions of J.S. Bach, Handel Messiah, Mendelssohn Elijah and the requiems of Brahms, Fauré, Mozart and Verdi. Felix has worked with conductors including Sir Antonio Pappano, Bertrand de Billy, Laurence Cummings, Kevin John Edusei, Martyn Brabbins, John Warner and Teresa Riveiro Böhm.

Highlights of the current season include Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican, Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem with Britten Sinfonia at the Brighton Festival, Fauré Requiem at York Minster, Bach B Minor Mass with the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland). Additional highlights include Handel Messiah at the London Handel Festival, A Celebration of the Britten-Pears Programme at the Aldeburgh Festival, Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs at Snape Maltings and Butterworth Hall, Richard Blackford Pietà at St Albans Cathedral and St George’s Bristol, and Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony at Truro Cathedral.

In recital, Felix’s performances include the Royal Opera House Crush Room and the Oxford Lieder and London Song Festivals. This season’s recitals include “Silent Noon” with Huw Watkins for the Presteigne Festival and “A Garland of English Song” with Simon Lepper at Pembridge.

In the previous season, Felix made his debut with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Schubert Lieder (orch. Brahms). He performed Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem at Saffron Hall, Verdi Requiem at Winchester Cathedral, Britten Canticles at the Cheltenham and Presteigne Festivals, and sang as part of a gala concert at Leeds Castle with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In recital, Felix sang Poulenc Le Bestiaire for the Oxford Lieder Festival, the opening concert of the London Song Festival as well as shared recitals with Roderick Williams as part of Barbara Hannigan’s initiative “Momentum: our future, now”.

Felix’s recordings include the roles of Juan in Joseph Phibbs Juliana (Resonus), Pierrot in Ethel Smyth Fête Galante (Retrospect) and The Herald in Stanford The Travelling Companion (SOMM). Broadcasts include In Tune for BBC Radio 3.

Felix is especially grateful to Pamela Kuhn and to Nick Secker for their generous support.

felixkemp.com

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