Simon Lobelson

Baritone

Born in Sydney of Egyptian parents and brought up in Brussels, Simon Lobelson gained his Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours from the University of Sydney and completed his Opera Diploma with distinction at The Royal College of Music on scholarship under Roderick Earle, with further studies under Sir Donald McIntyre, and continued his career in the United Kingdom for 9 years. He is fluent in almost four European languages; has sung in many masterclasses for some of the most revered names in the opera world; is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships; and has since worked as a soloist in Australia, the Middle East, New Zealand, Asia, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Simon has performed over 75 operatic roles, having worked with companies such as The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Garsington Opera, Chelsea Opera Group, Pinchgut Opera, English Touring Opera, Buxton Festival, Longborough Festival Opera, Iford Festival Opera, Valladolid Opera, The European Opera Centre, The Classical Opera Company, Canberra International Music Festival, Sydney Festival, Sydney Biennale, Sydney Chamber Opera, The Young Vic, British Youth Opera, Swansea City Opera and The Opera Project in a wide range operatic roles including Escamillo, Rigoletto, Alberich, Amfortas, Germont, Sharpless, Marcello, Ford, Aeneas, Nick Shadow, both Rossini’s and Mozart’s Figaro, Don Alfonso, Guglielmo, Masetto, Papageno, Osmin in Zaide, Michele in Il Tabarro, Claudio in Beatrice et Benedict, Quinalt in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, Nottingham in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux, Mittenhofer in Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers, the title role in Smetanin’s Mayakovsky , the title role in Jack Symonds’ Notes from Underground, Spencer Coyle in the Australian premiere of Owen Wingrave (winning Time Out Sydney’s Best Opera Award 2013), Deborah Cheatham’s multi-award winning Pecan Summer at the Sydney Opera House, Harry Easter in an Evening Standard Award-winning production at the Young Vic of Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, Ramiro in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole, The Pirate King and also covered major roles for Royal Opera House Covent Garden and English National Opera. He has worked with such renowned collaborators as conductors Pierre Boulez, Daniel Reuss, Reinbert de Leeuw, Charles Dutoit, Paul McCreesh and Richard Bonynge, and directors Jean-Claude Auvray, Patrick Nolan, Kip Williams, Ian Judge, John Copley, Bruno Ravella, Melly Still, Cheryl Barker and Jude Kelly.

On the concert platform, highlights have included Haydn’s Creation and Nelson Mass with the Israel Camerata and London Mozart Players under Simon Halsey, Berio’s Sinfonia under Pierre Boulez for the Lucerne Festival, Gubaidulina’s Jetzt immer Schnee with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Reinbert de Leeuw and again under Daniel Reuss for the Lucerne Festival, Elijah (bass 1) with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Paul McCreesh, Paul Stanhope’s Jandamarra with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Pascal Dusapin’s Passion for the Sydney Festival, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Ascension Oratorio alongside James Bowman, Duruflé’s Requiem and Gounod’s Messe Sollonelle at St. Johns Smith Square London, Messiah with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem and Great Mass in C minor with the English Chamber Orchestra, Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King with the Verbruggen Ensemble, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and excerpts from Tosca (Scarpia) with New Zealand’s Napier Civic Choir and Hawkes Bay Orchestra, Walton’s Façade, CPE Bach Magnificat, Messiah, A Sea Symphony, Ein Deutsches Requiem, Elijah, Carmina Burana and Rameau’s Les Grands Motets, Bach’s Johannes-Passion,  Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Handel’s Israel in Egypt and Duruflé’s Requiem with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and in venues such as The Sydney Opera House, City Recital Hall, St. Marys Cathedral, Aldeburgh Snape Maltings, Cadogan Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Sydney Town Hall, Handel House, St. John’s Smith Square, Brighton Festival, LSO St. Lukes, York Minster, Sydney Town Hall, St. Martin in the Fields and New Year’s Day Concerts and Opera Galas all over China with the Kent Sinfonia for the OLA Asia Group. He has also sung with some of England and Australia’s finest ensembles, including Song Company, ACO Voices, Cantillation, BBC Singers and London Voices.

Current projects include the title role of Gregor Samsa in Metamorphosis for Opera Australia in Sydney and Melbourne, the title role in Handel’s Saul with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House, Le Berger in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Opera Galas in China, various programs with The Song Company for the Canberra International Music Festival, Giambattista in Biographica for the Sydney Festival and Sydney Chamber Opera, Saint-Säens’ Requiem with Sydney University Graduate Choir and Junius in The Rape of Lucretia  for Sydney Chamber Opera, Victorian Opera, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Dark Mofo Festival.

His recordings include The Sofa for Chandos, Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Nicolai Mass for Israel Camerata, Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and Charpentier’s David et Jonathas for ABC Classics; broadcasts for Classic FM, Fine Music FM, Foxtel and BBC Radio 3; on soundtracks to exhibitions at both the Australian and British Museums, and on the inflight soundtrack for British Airways and Qantas flights. Simon is also a lecturer and coach at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a judge for the Sydney Eisteddfod, has coached for Pinchgut Opera and has given masterclasses in both Australia and China. 

Simon Lobelson is supported by Vic and Katie French