See 19 performances featuring Stuart SkeltonSee 1 video-on-demand performances featuring Stuart SkeltonStuart Skelton is acknowledged as one of the finest heldentenors of his generation, being critically acclaimed for his outstanding musicianship, tonal beauty and intensely dramatic portrayals.
Stuart has appeared in many of the world’s most celebrated opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Paris Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Berlin State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Dresden Semperoper, and the Vienna State Opera. His roles include the title roles in Lohengrin, Rienzi, Parsifal, Dmitrij and Peter Grimes as well as Florestan in Fidelio, Laca in Jenufa, Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer, The Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, The Prince in Rusalka, Max in Der Freischütz, Canio in Pagliacci, and Siegmund in Der Ring des Nibelungen.
"Skelton's virile, baritonal Siegmund, with the most thrilling cries of Nothung and Wälse since the prime of James King"- Opera
He continues to be in demand on concert stages around the world, in repertoire that includes Mahler’s Das Klagende Lied and Das Lied von der Erde, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Missa Solemnis, Verdi’s Requiem, Dvořak’s Requiem, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and the Psalmus Hungaricus of Kodály. Stuart has appeared with such orchestras as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich Radio Symphony Orchestras, London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Orchestras of Scotland and Wales and the Symphony Orchestras of Sydney, Melbourne, Western Australia and Tasmania. He has also appeared at the Edinburgh and Lucerne Festivals, and in the BBC Proms.
Throughout his career Stuart has been fortunate enough to work with many acclaimed conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Jiři Bèlohlavek, James Conlon, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Sir Mark Elder, Christoph Eschenbach, Asher Fisch, Daniele Gatti, Mariss Jansons, Phillipe Jordan, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Sir Simon Rattle, David Robertson, Donald Runnicles, and Franz Welser-Möst
“It is the Grimes of the young Australian Stuart Skelton — surely the finest on a London stage since the celebrated Jon Vickers — who sets the seal on the evening. “ - Sunday Times.
Past seasons have seen Stuart return to the Hamburg State Opera as Siegmund in a new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, the Zurich Opera in the same role and the English National Opera in the title role of a new production of Peter Grimes as well as his role debut as Boris in Kat’a Kabanova. In 2009 he made his Seattle Opera debut as Siegmund, his Chicago Symphony debut at Ravinia in Das Lied von der Erde with James Conlon and performed at the Tanglewood Festival in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. He returned to Opera Australia in a new production of Peter Grimes and reprised his award winning performance as Mitch in Andre Previn’s A Streetcar named Desire. In 2010 Stuart also made his house debut with Opera National de Bordeaux in one of his signature roles, Laca in Jenůfa.
“Stuart Skelton is the finest Laca I have ever heard.” - Financial Times
His Metropolitan debut as the Drum Major in Wozzeck garnered great critical acclaim, and he was highly lauded for recent concert performances of Die Walküre with the BBC Scottish Symphony under Donald Runnicles. Other recent engagements include Lohengrin at the Dresden Semperoper, Parsifal with the Zurich Opera and ENO, Das Klagende Lied at the BBC Proms, the Drum Major in Wozzeck at the Santa Fe Opera, and Das Lied von der Erde with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Future engagements include Peter Grimes at the Opera de Oviedo and the New National Theatre Tokyo, the title role of Oedipus Rex in the New Zealand International Arts Festival, Das Lied von der Erde with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, Siegmund in Die Walküre with the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera and Opera Australia , concerts with the Adelaide, Tasmanian and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, and Hermannn in Pique Dame with the Sydney Symphony.
"Stuart Skelton's Parsifal - lusty, virile, heroic - towers above everyone" - Financial Times
Stuart has twice been honoured with the Sir Robert Helpmann Award: once for his performance as Siegmund in the State Opera of South Australia's 2005 Ring Cycle, and again in 2010 for his portrayal of Peter Grimes for Opera Australia. Also in 2010, he received a Green Room Award for A Streetcar Named Desire, and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for his performances as Peter Grimes with the English National Opera.
| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 25-Apr-2013 Barbican Centre: Hall | Sir John Eliot Gardiner at 70 with the LSO and Stravinsky |
 There’s something quite strongly “neoclassical” about the whole historically-informed performance movement. Someone like Sir John Eliot Gardiner, who has championed the use of detailed historical knowledge of performance practice and instruments, has never actually been attempting to transport us all back to the 18th century. That would be futile, obviously. Part of the aim has surely always been to let us hear the past with fresh ears, to give new context to music otherwise familiar – to make something new from something very old.Read full review... | |
| 1-Dec-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | The Sydney Symphony and a star cast perform The Queen of Spades |
 I have always been skeptical of concert performances of operas. Operas are written to be acted, and the staging is needed to complement the music. This is what I thought before I saw this performance of Ashkenazy conducting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Sydney Children’s Choir in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. Tchaikovsky’s opera is so intensely lyrical and so well written that it stands the test of being heard alone without any staging.Read full review... | |
| 8-Oct-2012 New National Theatre: Opera House | An outstanding Peter Grimes in Tokyo |
 Willy Decker’s production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, which originated at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1994 and was revived at London’s Royal Opera House in 2004 and 2011, has now reached Tokyo. The work opened the new season of the New National Theatre Tokyo, the capital’s main opera house, currently celebrating its 15th anniversary. It’s the first time the New National Theatre has staged Peter Grimes, and Decker himself directed this revival with great care and attention to detail.
Read full review... | |
| 24-Aug-2012 Royal Albert Hall | Prom 55: ENO performs Britten's Peter Grimes on the concert stage |
 With most of the original cast of English National Opera's critically acclaimed production returning to the Royal Albert Hall to perform Britten's Peter Grimes for the BBC Proms, this was a performance of which much of the audience had high expectations. For the most part, these were met and, on occasion, exceeded.
Read full review... | |
