Simon Bailey
Bass baritone
© Edmond Choo
Simon Bailey, a former member of the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt and winner of the 2018 Wales Theatre Award, is stepping in at short notice to sing Adahm (from the side of the stage) in this performance of Rudi Stephan's The First People, as he did last season with Klingsor in Parsifal, and Orest in Elektra - and you must't miss his here in May! His most recent roles for the company included Fra Melitone (La Forza del destino) Budivoj (Dalibor), Peter (Hänsel und Gretel), Mr. Redburn (Billy Budd), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) and Balstrode (Peter Grimes). This British artist enjoyed great success in Frankfurt in earlier seasons singing roles including Mozart’s Leporello, Don Giovanni and Figaro, Gunther (Götterdämmerung), Klingsor, Achilla (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), Gelone (Cesti's L’Orontea), Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola) and the title role in Bluebeard's Castle. He gave unforgettable performances of Wotan and the Wanderer in a wonderful new Ring at the Tirol Festival in Erl, directed by Brigitte Fassbaender. He recently sang Wotan again in Dortmund (Rheingold), Lucerne and Dresden (Die Walküre) and the Wanderer (Siegfried) in Wiesbaden, Dormund, Dresden and Versailles. Plans include the title role in The Flying Dutchman at Welsh National Opera. Other recent engagements included Fasolt in Rheingold at English National Opera, the title role in Don Pasquale at the Staatstheater in Saarbrücken, David Strom in the world premiere of Kris Defoort‘s The Time of Our Singing at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Judge of the Dead in Dessau’s Lucullus' Condemnation at the Staatsoper in Stuttgart, Achilla at the Theater an der Wien, Klingsor at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg, Wotan (Die Walküre) in Shanghai, Kutusow (War and Peace) at Welsh National Opera and Covent Garden in London, Leporello at Hessen's State Opera in Wiesbaden and Welsh National Opera and roles in the late Harrison Birtwistle’s Mask of Orpheus at English National Opera. Simon Bailey, who also enjoys a busy concert career, has also sung Méphistophélès (La damnation de Faust), Siroco (L’étoile), Nicanor / Satan (Félicien David’s Herculanum), Figaro, Leporello and the Four Villains in The Tales of Hoffmann at theatres including the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala Milan, the Theater an der Wien, Oper Vlaanderen, Theater Basel and the Glyndebourne and Wexford festivals.