James Young

The Australian bass-baritone James Young joins the ensemble of the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg for the 2025/26 season, where he will appear as Don Alfonso in Mozart’s »Così fan tutte«, as Morales and Dancaïro in Bizet’s »Carmen«, and as Faninal in Strauss’ »Der Rosenkavalier«. In the same year he will also perform as bass soloist in Brahms’ »Ein deutsches Requiem« and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
In 2025 he made his role debut as Dulcamara in Donizetti’s »L’elisir d’amore« at Theater Trier.
In the 2024/25 season he was a member of the ensemble of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where he appeared, among other roles, as Sparck in Offenbach’s »Fantasio«, Fiorello in Rossini’s »Il barbiere di Siviglia«, Sciarrone in Puccini’s »Tosca«, and Schobiak in Ligeti’s »Le Grand Macabre«.
In the same year James Young became the first artist ever to win the two most prestigious opera prizes in Oceania within a single year: the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award (First Prize and Audience Prize) and the 101st Herald Sun Aria. He also received the Emerging Bass Award of the International Opera Awards at the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino as well as the Third Prize (Richard E. McGinty Award) at the Houston Saengerbund Competition 2024.
Further distinctions include the Second Prize (Richard Bonynge Award) and the Mozart/Händel Special Prize at the Bel Canto Award 2023, as well as the First Prize and Audience Prize at the German-Australian Opera Grant Competition.
Recent stage roles include the title role in Rachmaninoff’s »Aleko«, the Speaker in Mozart’s »Die Zauberflöte«, Baculus in Lortzing’s »Der Wildschütz«, and Masetto in Mozart’s »Don Giovanni«. He has also appeared in Yilin Yang’s »The Waves« and in rarely performed works by Carl Orff – including »Prometheus« and »De temporum fine comoedia« – at the Festival junger Künstler Bayreuth.
Before moving to Germany, James Young performed extensively in Australia and Asia. He undertook international tours in China, appearing, among other roles, as Amonasro in Verdi’s »Aida« and Count Almaviva in Mozart’s »Le nozze di Figaro«. In Australia he also appeared as Presto in Poulenc’s »Les Mamelles de Tirésias«, Luigi D’Albertis in Barry Conyngham’s »Fly«, and Masetto in »Don Giovanni«.
James Young studied with Professor Susanne Kelling at the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg, where he completed master’s degrees in opera and concert singing. He is also a scholarship holder of Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now and the Marten Bequest.