DAMIAN WHITELEY
Vocal
Bass
Opera Coaching
Australian bass Damian Whiteley began his musical journey with early studies in piano and violin. He earned a degree in Music and Languages from the University of Sydney, later continuing his vocal training at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He is also a graduate of the International Opera Studio (IOS) at the Zurich Opera House. Damian is fluent in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
He was a member of the Académie Européenne de Musique and appeared in Peter Brook’s acclaimed production of Don Giovanni under Claudio Abbado/Daniel Harding at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, followed by an international tour.
Damian has frequently collaborated with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, including in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea and Dido & Aeneas at the Opéra Comique in Paris—both productions are available on DVD. He also appeared with Pinchgut Opera in Sydney as Caronte/Plutone in Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Ismenor in Rameau’s Dardanus, both released on ABC Classics.
Other operatic highlights include the title role in Salieri’s Falstaff, Phanuel in Massenet’s Hérodiade, Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra at the Rossini Festival in Wildbad, Musica Speranza at the Salzburg Landestheater, Achilla in Cesare e Cleopatra at Schloss Rheinsberg, as well as Pasquariello in Don Giovanni and Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Kammeroper Konstanz.
He toured Switzerland as bass soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Ad Fontes, followed by an extensive international tour with William Christie & Les Arts Florissants in Stefano Landi’s Il Sant'Alessio (Paris, London, New York, Caen, Nancy, Luxembourg – released on Virgin Classics DVD).
Recent engagements include Plutone and Corista in Haydn’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Maestro Richard Bonynge, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro with Lyric Opera Dublin, the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi’s Don Carlo in Valladolid, the world premiere of Somtow Sucharitkul’s Dan no Ura, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte for Opera Siam in Bangkok. He also covered the role of Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Garsington Opera in the UK.
Damian recorded a solo album Bass Instinct with pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska and toured Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Switzerland with mozart & ME, a one-man show by Melvyn Morrow based on the life of Lorenzo Da Ponte.
