Willard White

Sir Willard White CBE

Sir Willard White was born in Jamaica where he commenced his musical training at the Jamaican School of Music and then went on to the Juilliard School in New York.

He has sung in the major Opera Houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and both the Royal Opera, Covent Garden and English National Opera, London, and at the major festivals including Glyndebourne and Salzburg.

Opera engagements last season included Wotan in Das Rheingold conducted by Sir Simon Rattle at the BBC Proms and in Baden-Baden, Fotis in The Greek Passion for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Nekrotzar in Le Grand Macabre for San Francisco Opera and On the Town for English National Opera.

Among other high-profile performances includes Willard's role alongside Kiri Te Kanawa in the premiere of Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio (Liverpool Cathedral, 1991).

Willard White is much in demand for recitals throughout the world, and he sings regularly with the world’s major orchestras. He has appeared as soloist many times at the BBC Proms, including the Last Night of the Proms and the Proms in the Park. His concert programme “An Evening with Willard White – a tribute to Paul Robeson,” has been broadcast on BBC television and issued on CD. His latest CD 'My Way' was released on the Sony label in July 2005.

Engagements in the 2005/6 season include A Child of our Time at the First Night of the BBC Proms, Marke in Tristan & Isolde at the Bastille Opera, Paris, Mephistopheles/La Damnation de Faust with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, Wotan in Das Rheingold at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with Sir Simon Rattle as well as many concerts and recitals.

Willard White was awarded the CBE in 1995 and he was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2004.

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