“THE MULTI-TALENTED
JAMES SCHOUTEN”
BACHTRACK
Dutch-Canadian tenor James Schouten was raised in the United Kingdom and has recently graduated from the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under the tutelage of Stephen Robertson. James switched from high baritone to tenor in 2019 after graduating from the Royal College of Music. His performed operatic roles include: Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex (New Palace Opera), Alfred Die Fledermaus (Kentish Opera), The Architect Taj Mahal (Grange Park Opera), Bacchus Ariadne auf Naxos (Trentino Music Festival), Loge Das Rheingold (Regents’ Opera), Le Prince Charmant Cendrillon (RCS Opera), Don Jose Carmen (Opera in Oborne), Laca Jenufa (Fulham Opera), Isépo La Gioconda (Grange Park Opera), Eisenstein Die Fledermaus (Opera Gold), Parpignol La boheme (Opera UpClose), Starveling A Midsummer Nights’ Dream (RCMIOS), Bartolo Il barbiere di siviglia (PopUp Opera), Silvio I Pagliacci (Hampstead Garden Opera) and Harlekin Ariadne auf Naxos (Queens’ Opera). Opera scenes at RCS include extracts of Peter Grimes (Peter Grimes), Le Mari (Les Mamelles de Tiresias) and Idomeneo (Idomeneo). James has also performed scenes from Die Walküre as Siegmund (Wagner Society UK).
Recent contemporary projects include Tony West Side Story, Animus/Pianist in Simone Spagnolo's Even you lights, cannot hear me (Opera in the City Festival), Nebuchadnezzar in Joseph Cabons' To Himself, Alone, Jawad in Orlando Gough’s Weather The Storm (Garsington Opera/Rosetta Life), Enriqué in Ed Lambert’s The Parting (Tête-à-tête Festival, London) and Jon/Composer/Musical Director of lockdown micro-opera Threshold for OperaVision's 2020 competition Opera Harmony.
He won the 2024 Mastersingers Prize + Audience Prize (Carole Rees Awards) in London, sang in the final of the Clonter Opera Prize (2024), won the Ye Cronies Competition at RCS (2023) and reached the final of Marmo All’Opera in Carrara, Italy (2022). James has generously been supported by ABRSM, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Trust and The Opera Awards Foundation Bursary.
Upcoming performances include Narraboth Salome (Regent’s Opera), Froh Das Rheingold (Grange Park Opera), Conte di Lerma Don Carlo (Grange Park Opera), Boris Grigorjevič Káťa Kabanová (New Palace Opera) and Parsifal (Regent’s Opera).
‘For us there was one performance which stood out above all the rest and this was James [Schouten] as Loge… James combined wonderful delivery of the text, great German, clarity of text, thought behind the text… character excellent. The thing about Wagnerian singing is combining everything isn’t it? Character, voice, text, acting and drama; and James came by far the nearest to that ideal.’
- Sir John Tomlinson -
Carole Rees Awards 2024 - Mastersingers Wagner Vocal Competition
WATCH
James performs ‘Immer Ist Undank Loges Lohn’ from Das Rheingold - James Schouten (Recorded October 2025) with David Smith on piano.
James performs Siegmund’s aria ‘Ein Schwert verhiess mir der Vater’ from Wagner’s opera ‘Die Walküre’ (Recorded October 2025) David Smith on piano.
James performs ‘What harbour shelters peace’ from Benjamin Britten's ‘Peter Grimes’. (Recorded October 2025). David Smith on piano.
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