Two Rayfield Allied artists – Tenor Sam Furness and Bass David Shipley – have been nominated in the Young Singer category of the 2017 International Opera Awards.
Sam Furness, described as having “all the makings of a star” (The Guardian), has recently made his house debuts at the Teatro Real Madrid (The Novice Billy Budd), Philharmonie de Paris (Jaquino Fidelio) and Vlaanderen Opera (Vitek The Makropulos Case). He has also recently returned to the Wigmore Hall (Linfea La Calisto for La Nuova Musica), Royal Festival Hall (Mozart’s Requiem) and Northern Ireland Opera (Don Ottavio Don Giovanni). His upcoming engagements include his debut at Real Filharmonia de Galicia (Britten’s Les Illuminations) and a return to Garsington Opera (Jack Silver Birch).
David Shipley, described as having “a splendidly deep bass voice” (Seen and Heard International) is a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where his roles so far have included Arthur and Officer III The Lighthouse, Captain Eugene Onegin, Sciarrone Tosca, Guccio Gianni Schicchi, Clerk 3/Policeman 4/ Speculator/Respectable Lady’s Son in Shostakovich’s The Nose and Sergeant Manon Lescaut. Upcoming roles at the Royal Opera House include Dr Grenvil La traviata, Flemish Deputy Don Carlo, and the Nightwatchman Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
Nominations for the International Opera Awards, founded in 2012, are decided by a jury chaired by Opera Magazine editor John Allison. Full details of the jury for 2017 can be found on the International Opera Awards website.
The results will be announced at a ceremony at the London Coliseum on 7 May 2017.
