Jack Holton was until recently a Young Artist on the Global Talent Programme at the National Opera Studio, having previously trained on the Opera Course at Guildhall School of Music & Drama under John Evans and originally attending the Guildhall as an Actor. He is the grateful recipient of a Help Musicians Sybil Tutton Opera Award, an Opera Awards Foundation Bursary, winner of the Musicians’ Company 2022 Saloman Seelig Award and is a Young Artist with Opera Prelude.
Recent and future engagements include Fiorello il Barbiere di Siviglia and cover Flowerdew Itch (Opera Holland Park), Count Horn Un Ballo in Maschera (Chelsea Opera Group) and cover Guglielmo Cosi fan Tutte (Opera North). During his time at the NOS (2022-23), Jack performed Figaro Le Nozze di Figaro, Figaro Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Belcore L’elisir d’amore as part of the National Opera’s residency at WNO and Youth and Love, a concert of Song at the Wigmore Hall.
Previous roles include Count Anckarström Un ballo in maschera (Opera Holland Park - Young Artist); Le Podestat Le docteur Miracle and Le Baron de Pictordu Cendrillon (GSMD); Don Parmenione L’occasione fa il ladro (British Youth Opera); Sky Masterson Guys and Dolls (West Green House Opera); Don Giovanni (for Rogue Opera and The Merry Opera Company); Eugene Onegin (Oxford Alternative Orchestra/The People’s Opera); 3rd Bandit Don Quichotte (Wexford Festival Opera); The Count The Marriage of Figaro (Hewletts Opera).
At GSMD in 2022, Jack performed Simon Miss Fortune; Ben Upthegrove The Telephone; Der Zar Der Zar lässt sich photographieren. At Opera Holland Park Jack performed the role of La Poigne Margot la Rouge, and Master Page Sir John in Love for British Youth Opera.
Other significant performances include Elder Brother The Hogboon and one of the Princes des ténèbres Le Damnation de Faust, both under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle with the LSO, and singing as the baritone soloist in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella under the baton of Joshua Weilerstein in Milton Court Concert Hall.
Jack Holton displayed a dark, almost chestnut toned voice and his rich sound gave a gravity to his performances, and many of his early songs in the recital featured some of Hahn's minimal melodies, to which Holton brought gravitas and depth, along with a real feeling for the sound of a French baritone.
So that the calm line in En Sourdine was rendered profoundly expressive, and the opening of Si mes vers avaient des ailes had a sober solidity to them, before shading into real passion, whilst Trois jours de vendange ended on a sober, but profoundly expressive monotone with bells in the piano. La Nuit featured a richly expressive sense of darkness and the song was written when Hahn was just 17. In his final solo of the evening, Chanson d'Automne Holton drew on a vein of seductive melancholy in what is a rather haunting melody
Planet Hugill (November 2024)
there is stylish support from Jihoon Kim as a saintly Don Basilio, Jack Holton as Fiorello...
Telegraph (June 2024)
Other small roles go well in the hands of Jack Holton’s Fiorello and Robert Garland’s Officer.
The Stage (June 2024)
Jack Holton’s engaging physical presence as Fiorello suggests his potential for larger roles.
The Reviews Hub (June 2024)
The interjections of the two conspirators, Counts Ribbing and Horn, were delivered with urgency and dramatic intensity by the basses Thomas D. Hopkinson and Jack Holton respectively, sharpening the tension.
Opera (January 2024)
Pig, Jonathan Dove's mini-opera from 1992 is a wonderful three-hander. Jack Holton was both hilarious and terrified in the title role, and augmented his lyrical and anguished vocal lines with some nimble stage movement, characterful facial expressions and delightful snorts, grunts and snores. Samantha Quillish was exultantly sadistic with every note she sang and movement she made, as if she was an avatar of fiendish hunger, while Sarah Seunghwa Chae's desperate attempts to bargain with her for the life of Holton's Pig were heartfelt and believable. The overwhelming repeated choral refrains were perfectly balanced, poised on a knife edge between insanity and order.
Planet Hugill (May 2023)
Baritone Jack Holton’s Ben was warmly sung, and his pent-up frustration was totally believable
Seen and Heard (March 2022)
Jack Holton was an impressive Anckarstrom… emotionally the performance was fully developed. Rather impressively, 'Eri tu' was finely integrated into the performance rather than standing out as sometimes happens
Planet Hugill (June 2019)
Jack Holton embraced the onerous Anckarström role… His young baritone voice came across as rich and assured
Art Muse London (June 2019)
Jack Holton was a suave royal, stylishly donning the everyday dress in which he wants to be captured on camera, and singing with an elegance that did not hide his rather base amorous intentions.
Opera Today (June 2022)
notably strong performances come from Jack Holton as George Page
MusicOMH (August 2022)
cover Ned Keene - Peter Grimes - WNO
cover Count - Le Nozze di Figaro - WNO
Count - Le Nozze di Figaro - WNO (Cwta performance)
Mayflower Theatre, Southamptoncover Count - Le Nozze di Figaro - WNO
cover Count - Le Nozze di Figaro - WNO
Count - Le Nozze di Figaro - WNO (Cwta performance)
Birmingham Hippodromecover Ned Keene - Peter Grimes - WNO
cover Count - Le Nozze di Figaro - WNO
Count - Le Nozze di Figaro - WNO (Cwta performance)
Milton Keynes Theatrecover Ned Keene - Peter Grimes - WNO
cover Count - Le Nozze di Figaro - WNO
cover Ned Keene - Peter Grimes - WNO
