Samling Artist baritone James Newby is a former BBC New Generation Artist and Rising Star of the Enlightenment. He was selected for the European Concert Hall Organisation Rising Star scheme, giving recitals throughout Europe in the 2022-23 season, including at Sage Gateshead. Opera roles include Eddy in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek, Guglielmo Così fan tutte and the title role in Eugene Onegin with Staatsoper Hannover. He has released two recital discs, both with Samling Artist pianist Joseph Middleton, most recently ‘Fallen to Dust’ in 2023.
My earliest musical memory is…
Falling asleep at the De Montfort Hall watching my brothers and sister singing in a concert there. I think it was Carmina Burana so in hindsight it’s pretty impressive I got to sleep.
The last piece of music I listened to was…
The band Giant Rooks – I’m just on my way to Leeds Festival so we’ve been listening to a lot of the bands playing this weekend in preparation!
My three essential travel items are…
iPad, power bank, plug adapter!!!
In my free time, I enjoy…
Playing and watching sport, cooking and playing the PS5 with my mates.
The opera character I’d most like to have a drink with is…
Ooh good question! It could be fun to have a beer with a god like Wotan, but I reckon Don Giovanni’s servant Leporello would have plenty of stories to tell and could be good fun for a beer for sure!
My advice to anyone who wants to be a singer is…
I think decide what it is that’s driving you and be true to that. People describe that as having a “why” which sounds a little empty and vague, but I think if you find the reason why you want to stand up and sing it can become more than just nice noises.
My favourite Samling memory is…
Working intensively with Roderick Williams at the Samling Artist Programme was such a huge privilege and lots of the learnings from that I think of often. I made some brilliant friends too and we all had a great time.
