About

Paul Whelan - Bass baritone

New Zealand born bass-baritone, Paul Whelan is currently at Glyndebourne on the first of three engagements: Claggart in a new Billy Budd; during the fall he will sing Alidoro in La Cenerentola and next year he returns to sing Schwartz in a new production of Die Meistersinger. At the very beginning of his career, Mr. Whelan won the 1993 Lieder Prize in the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and made debuts at many of the prestigious opera houses of the world including the Metropolitan, Covent Garden, München, Opera de Paris, Opera de Genève and Netherlands Opera to name just a few.

During his decade-plus as baritone, Mr. Whelan found his voice maturing and settling, and therefore decided to concentrate on the bass-baritone and lyric bass repertoire. The numerous engagements reflecting this repertoire change have included Christus in a staged version of Bach’s St John Passion (directed by Deborah Warner) and Schaunard in a new production of Leoncavallo’s La bohème both at ENO, Escamillo with Welsh National Opera (WNO), and concert performances of Valens in Handel’s Theodora with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and in Winterthur.

Mr. Whelan rejoined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for the 2008-09 and the 2009-2010 seasons. In addition, he performed Stanford’s Songs of Fleet with Ulster Orchestra, Mountararat in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe with San Francisco Symphony, and The Dream of Gerontius with Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, and the bass soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Eugene Symphony Orchestra. This summer he returns to Grant Park for Beethoven’s Mass in C.

In the 2007-08 season, he made an unexpected return to English National Opera (ENO) where he was credited with rescuing the opening-night production of Donizetti's Lucia when the bass had to cancel just as the curtain was rising. Of this performance, George Hall of Opera Magazine wrote, “Paul Whelan sang the role magnificently.” In the same season he sang the role Duke Bluebeard in Bluebeard’s Castle with NBR Opera New Zealand. Other recent engagements have included the Priest and the Angel of Agony in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius in Berlin, Salisbury and New Zealand; a return to the London Bach choir for St Matthew Passion at the Festival Hall and the world premiere of Terra Incognita - a Symphonic cantata for bass soloist and choir, written for Mr. Whelan by Gareth Farr and performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Other orchestral engagements include: Christus in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and London Bach Choir, Judas in Elgar’s The Apostles, at the Leeds Festival, Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast for Spanish television with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, and a series of concerts with Sir Charles Mackerras and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Some notable recent opera engagements: Four Villains in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Canterbury, NZ, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Delius’s Sea Drift in Osaka, Argante in Handel’s Rinaldo in München, Apollon in Gluck’s Alceste at the Dresden Festival, and Mussorgsky Songs and Dances of Death with the Ulster Orchestra, recorded for BBC Radio 3. He was featured in the world premieres of The Assassin Tree by Stuart Mcrae in a joint production with the Royal Opera House and the Edinburgh Festival, and Bird of Night by Legendre, also for Covent Garden.

In concert he has performed under Sir Simon Rattle, Kent Nagano, Richard Hickox, Yehudi Menuhin, Valery Gergiev, Gary Bertini, and Vassily Sinaisky with many leading UK orchestras, as well as with the RIAS Berlin Chamber Choir and the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has given recitals at the Wigmore Hall, The Purcell Room, St David’s Hall in Cardiff, the Cheltenham Festival, for the BBC Pebble Mill, Perth Festival and at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris.

Recordings include A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the LSO under Sir Colin Davis (Philips), Kurt Weill’s SilberSee under Markus Stenz (BMG) recordings with the BBC Philharmonic for Chandos and the BBC Scottish Symphony for Hyperion. His most recent CD was released on March, 2010 and is on Chandos with the John's College Choir of Cambridge. Entitled St John's Magnificat, it features Paul singing "By the waters of Babylon" by Herbert Howells.

Future engagements include a concert performance of Das Rheingold as Wotan with the Auckland Philharmonic in 2011 and the role of Seneca in a new co-production in France of L'Incoronazione di Poppea in 2012 – in addition to the previously mentioned Grant Park Beethoven Mass in C, and the Glyndebourne productions next season.

"Paul Whelan sang the role, magnificently." George Hall, The Stage 25/02/2008 - "the part was taken by Paul Whelan, it is good to make mention of the (very tall!) Whelan's excellence." Scene and Heard, Musicweb international 27/02/2008 - "Sung very well by Paul Whelan" Richard Morrison, The Times 20/02/2008 - "Clive Bayley's lost voice made a first night star of understudy Paul Whelan, who sang wonderfully from the wings as his oily chaplain, Raimondo, vividly acted out the religious hypocrisy that seals Lucia's doom." Anthony Holden, The Observer, 24/02/2008 -"...the chaplain Raimondo, having lost his voice early on, hammed his part from the stage with his understudy, the excellent Paul Whelan, singing from the wings." Barry Millington, The Evening standard, 27/02/2008 - "Paul Whelan, who had come to rescue of an indisposed Clive Bayley part-way through the first night, deputised once again and delivered a solidly sung account and a disturbing dramatic one." Alexander Campbell, theclassicalsource.com - "The Weary Priest/King was beautifully sung by the statuesque Paul Whelan" - 'Opera' October 2006 .... "Paul Whelan sounded in sonorous voice. Vocally this was a very happy occasion". 'Opera' October 2006 .... "...bass baritone Paul Whelan-a fine dramatic singer with a powerful stage presence..." Time Magazine "Whelan must surely be destined for a distinguished career as a Wagner singer. As Amfortas, he was searingly intense both vocally and physically, making unexpected use of his height and long limbs to convey the character's suffering", The Listener .... “Unlike many bass voices, Whelan’s is a wonderously flexible, agile instrument, as surely pitched at one end of the register as the other, with kaleidoscopic tone colourings and an ability to sustain a legato line that most other basses would give their eye tooth to emulate.” Western Mail Australia ..... "Paul Whelan's Amfortas shows dignity and grace, with excellent singing. His distress from his wound conveyed with moving and emotionally affecting subtlety, in a very fine assumption of the role- a pointer I am sure to further Wagnerian roles". New Zealand Opera News."...Paul Whelan delivers a superb vocal performance as the refined count Almaviva..." London Sunday Times "...a very impressive Paul Whelan..." Scottish Mail "...Paul Whelan with his creamy baritone voice was delightful..." The Edinburgh Evening News "...Paul Whelan's towering bass acted as a magnificent anchor..." The Scotsman "..richly impressive, stentorian-toned..." The Australian "...Paul Whelan was magnificent..." Opera Now "...A rare treat..." The Evening Standard "...towering over them in physique and vocal powers is the splendid Paul Whelan..." Surrey Comet Group "...sensitive,resonant deep baritone..." Financial Times "...wonderfully clear diction as benefits a Cardiff Singer of the World..." Time Out "...Paul Whelan makes a striking Jesus, the tallest figure and the strongest voice..." Times Literary Supplement “…imposingly sung by Paul Whelan…” Opera Magazine “They sang superbly—particularly Paul Whelan as the Count, with his creamy baritone voice.” Opera Magazine “…excellent group of soloists, Paul Whelan was the best of all of them…” Corriere Della Sera “Paul Whelan used his towering stage presence and dramatic authority to capture the mercurial mood-shifts of his character.” The New Zealand Herald “mellifluous” Rupert ChristiansenThe Daily Telegraph “…a towering figure, charismatic yet strangely vulnerable, who inspires profound pity with his beautiful singing and the quiet dignity of his presence…” Hugh Canning The Sunday Times “Who could not be instantly involved with Whelan’s relaxed manner, his arresting phrasing, and softly beautiful tone?...the soloists, all very good, where cast into Paul Whelan’s long shadow….” New Zealand Press “...he is a graceful, lanky, boyishly handsome man who commands the stage. His voice is robust and pleasant…” The New York Times “Powerfully sung in magnificent baritone…testosterone personified, this was strong meat indeed…” The Bulletin “…sung formidably by the marvellous New Zealand-born baritone Paul Whelan…” Telegraph “His robust and eloquent voice described the essence of the character.” The National Business Review “…wholly operatic, richly atmospheric, and sung with melancholy eloquence by Paul Whelan…” The Scottish Herald “Paul Whelan magnificently gets to grips with the text’s ominous tread through love betrayal and murder…” the Daily Telegraph