Iain Henderson

Tenor

Australian tenor Iain Henderson has established a close association with Opera Australia as a Principal Artist. He made his company début as Don José in Carmen for the national tour and his mainstage début as Pang in Turandot. His roles for the company have since included Rodolfo in La bohème, Alfredo in La traviata, Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffmann, Wagner and Nereo in Mefistofele, Lord Cecil in Roberto Devereux (in concert), and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. Iain is a frequent performer in Great Opera Hits, and has also appeared as Ruiz in Il trovatore, Heinrich der Schreiber in Tannhäuser (in concert), the Dean of Faculty in Cinderella, and in productions of Il trittico and Hamlet. The current season will see Iain as Pong in Turandot, Gastone in La traviata, and Raoul de St. Brioche in The Merry Widow.

Elsewhere, Iain has sung Cavaradossi in Tosca for Opera Queensland, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor for State Opera South Australia, Vaudémont in Iolanta for Les Azuriales, Sellem in The Rake’s Progress with British Youth Opera, and The Witch in Hänsel und Gretel for Voxalis Opera. He also sang Ferrando in Così fan tutte as part of Quarantine Così; an innovative, socially distanced production. During his time in the United Kingdom, he was a member of the Glyndebourne Festival and Touring Chorus for three seasons and a Young Artist with Buxton Festival.

In concert, Iain has appeared in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem for Opera Australia, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at the Newcastle Music Festival, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater for Opera Queensland.

Iain undertook his formal vocal studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where he performed Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, Mayor Upfold in Albert Herring, and Azaël in Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue. He continued his training at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, completing the International Artist Diploma and being cast as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and the Witch in Hansel and Gretel.

A prize-winning artist, Iain received the Dame Joan Sutherland Award from the Noosa Federation of the Arts and was also awarded the Joyce Campbell-Lloyd Scholarship and the Ronald Dowd Memorial Prize. He was a semi-finalist in the Australian Singing Competition and participated in the Lisa Gasteen National Opera School.