James Clayton

Baritone

James Clayton is one of Australia’s most versatile baritones, praised for his rich vocal colour and compelling stage presence. A former professional French horn player, he began his vocal career as a Young Artist with West Australian Opera and has since built a distinguished reputation on both operatic and concert stages.

A long-standing principal artist with West Australian Opera, he has performed a wide range of leading roles, among them the title characters in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le nozze di Figaro, Elijah, Falstaff, Macbeth and The Mikado. Other appearances for the company have seen him as Count di Luna (Il trovatore), Alfio (Cavalleria rusticana), Tonio (Pagliacci), Marcello and Schaunard (La bohème), Escamillo (Carmen), Leporello (Don Giovanni), Germont (La traviata), Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Papageno (The Magic Flute), Iago (Otello), the Four Villains (The Tales of Hoffmann), Balstrode (Peter Grimes), the Forrester (The Cunning Little Vixen) and Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd). He returns to his home company in 2026 as Germont.

James made his Opera Australia debut as Baron Douphol (La traviata) in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, and his Japanese debut as Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte) for Biwako Hall. Elsewhere, he has performed Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) at the Adelaide Festival; the Forrester and the title role in Macbeth for State Opera South Australia; Peter (Hansel and Gretel) in concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; and the title role (Rigoletto) Angelotti (Tosca), Escamillo, and The Mikado for New Zealand Opera. James returns to New Zealand Opera in 2026 singing Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro.

On the concert platform, James has appeared with many of the region’s leading orchestras. His performances have included Handel’s Messiah and Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. With the West Australian Symphony, he has sung Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and Symphony No. 9, Bach’s Easter Oratorio, and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. He has also performed Carmina Burana with Orchestra Wellington and Mozart’s Requiem with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. 2026 concert appearancess include those with the Tasmanian Symphony and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.