Iestyn Davies

An esteemed interpreter of Handel, Iestyn Davies begins the 24/25 season singing Didymus in Theodora at Teatro Real Madrid and with Music of the Baroque, Chicago; before delving into other works by the composer including David in Saul at the Glyndebourne Festival; Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and Dixit Dominus with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Emmanuelle Haim, Messiah with les Violons du Roy and Bernard Labadie, and arias on tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Robin Ticciati.

In other repertoire, Iestyn will tour Monteverdi’s Poppea with Cappella Mediterranea and Leonardo Garcia Alracon in Europe, and J.C. Bach, Scheidt, Schein, Buxtehude and more with Fretwork in the U.S. and Canada.

In recent seasons, he sang Bertarido in Rodelinda on tour in the U.S.A. and Asia with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, made his role debut at the Paris Opera as Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare, sang Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Atlanta Opera and at Garsington Opera, and the Boy in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In August, he made his Australian debut singing J.S. Bach and Arvo Pärt in an extensive solo tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Iestyn appeared for a season on Broadway in a revival of his West-End theatre project Farinelli and the King with Mark Rylance, which received an Olivier Award nomination. Fascinated by blending traditional theatre with musical performance, Iestyn has also developed a new work with director Netia Jones, An Anatomy of Melancholy: an exploration of John Dowland’s impactful melodies and Robert Burton’s 17th-century treatise on the philosophy, scholarship, and cures for a melancholic affliction.

A celebrated recitalist with repertoire ranging from Dowland to Clapton, he has twice been awarded the Gramophone Recital Award. In 2017, he won the Gramophone Baroque Vocal Award and was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to Music.