Since his critically acclaimed portrayal of Billy Budd in Michael Grandage’s production for the Glyndebourne Festival, baritone Jacques Imbrailo has performed at many of the most prestigious opera houses throughout the world.
Since his critically acclaimed portrayal of Billy Budd in Michael Grandage’s production for the Glyndebourne Festival, South African baritone Jacques Imbrailo has performed at many of the most prestigious opera houses throughout the world, collaborating with conductors, directors and orchestras of the highest stature.
Operatic highlights have included his debut at the Teatro Real, Madrid, performing Billy Budd in a new production by Deborah Warner, Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles for the English National Opera, Horatio in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Glyndebourne Festival, Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande for the Opernhaus Zürich, the Royal Swedish Opera, the Welsh National Opera and the Opera Vlaanderen, Joachim Messner in the world premiere of Jimmy López’s Bel Canto at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the title role in Don Giovanni for the Perm Opera with Teodor Currentzis and for the Scottish Opera, Valentin in Gounod’s Faust in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte for the Houston Grand Opera, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte for the Welsh National Opera, and Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia in Florence and Houston.
On the concert platform, Imbrailo has appeared in Britten’s War Requiem with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop, Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Robin Ticciati, and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under the helm of Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla. He performed Christ in Elgar’s The Apostles with The Hallé and Sir Mark Elder at the BBC Proms, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Orff’s Carmina Burana with the New York Philharmonic under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and returned to the BBC Proms for James MacMillan A European Requiem. Imbrailo has given solo recitals at Wigmore Hall and St John’s Smith Square in London, and the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He also performed at the Verbier Festival, the Royal Albert Hall and the Southbank Centre.
A former member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Imbrailo also studied at the Royal College of Music and in 2007 was awarded the Audience Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
