IestynDavies
Contact
Sue Spence
Nicholas Moloney
Olivia Fitzsimons
Ivo Ivanov
Representation
Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt
About Iestyn
An esteemed interpreter of Handel, this season Iestyn sings Bertarido in Rodelinda on tour in the U.S.A. and Asia with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare in his Paris Opera debut, Fileno in Clori, Tirsi e Fileno at Wigmore Hall, and the title role of Orlando with the Academy of Ancient Music and Laurence Cummings. Elsewhere he sings Ottone in Monteverdi's Poppea with The English Concert in Barcelona and Madrid, Oberon in Britten A Midsummer Night's Dream with Atlanta Opera and at Garsington Opera, and the Boy in George Benjamin's Written on Skin with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Next summer he makes his Australian debut singing J.S. Bach and Arvo Pärt in an extensive solo tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Iestyn has appeared on Broadway in a revival of his West-End theatre project Farinelli and the King with Mark Rylance, which received an Olivier Award nomination.
A celebrated recitalist with repertoire ranging from Dowland to Clapton, he has twice been awarded the Gramophone Recital Award. In 2017 he won the Gramophone Baroque Vocal Award and was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to Music.
Representation
Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt
Season Highlights
Video
Iestyn Davies performs Handel: Saul, HWV 53, Act I: "Oh Lord, Whose Mercies Numberless"
Credit: Warner Classics
PlayingIestyn Davies performs ‘Se fiera belva ha cinto’ from Handel’s Rodelinda
Credit: Nexie Aden
PlayingIestyn Davies performs 'Io t’abbraccio' from Handel's Rodelinda
Credit: Metropolitan Opera
PlayingIestyn Davies performs JC Bach’s Lamento “Ach, daß ich Wassers g’nug hätte” with Fretwork Viol Consort.
Credit: Fretwork Viol Consort
PlayingIestyn Davies performs ‘Erbarme Dich, mein Gott’ from JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion
Credit: Academy of Ancient Music
PlayingIestyn Davies performs an excerpt from Handel’s Messiah: Live from the Barbican
Credit: Academy of Ancient Music and the Barbican Centre
PlayingIestyn Davies performs 'Handel: Clori, Tirsi e Fileno HWV96' conducted by Harry Bicket
The English Concert conducted by Harry Bicket Credit: The English Concert
Playing
Selected Repertoire
| Adès | The Exterminating Angel (Francisco) • The Tempest (Trinculo) |
|---|---|
| Benjamin | Written on Skin (First Angel/Boy) |
| Britten | A Midsummer Night's Dream (Oberon) |
| Gluck | Orfeo ed Euridice (Orfeo) |
| Handel | Agrippina (Ottone) • Ariodante (Polinesso) • Cesare (Cesare, Tolomeo) • Jephtha (Hamor) • L'incoronazione di Poppea (Ottone) • Partenope (Arsace) • Rinaldo (title role) • Rodelinda (Bertarido) • Saul (David) • Semele (Athamas) • Theodora (Didymus) |
| Monteverdi | L'incoronazione di Poppea (Ottone) |
| Mozart | Mitridate, re di Ponto (Farnace) |
| Muhly | Marnie (Terry Rutland) |
| Vivaldi | Orlando Furioso (Ruggiero) |
Projects
An Anatomy of Melancholy
Netia Jones directs a Barbican London production, blending John Dowland's poignant music with Robert Burton's 17th-century treatise The Anatomy of Melancholy. This intimate meditation on sorrow features Iestyn Davies's crystalline voice and lutenist Sergio Bucheli. The performance, inspired by Burton, Freud, and modern emotion experts, combines visuals with Dowland's music. Currently developing international tours for 2025/2026 and beyond.
Learn about this projectProjects
An Anatomy of Melancholy
Netia Jones directs a Barbican London production, blending John Dowland's poignant music with Robert Burton's 17th-century treatise The Anatomy of Melancholy. This intimate meditation on sorrow features Iestyn Davies's crystalline voice and lutenist Sergio Bucheli. The performance, inspired by Burton, Freud, and modern emotion experts, combines visuals with Dowland's music. Currently developing international tours for 2025/2026 and beyond.
Learn about this project
News
Press
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Garsington OperaJun 2024My opinion of the opera has been revised upwards by the magnificent performance now being presented at Garsington, in a production by Netia Jones, starring Iestyn Davies as Oberon and Lucy Crowe as Tytania. It runs until July 19 and if you are lucky you may be able to get tickets still. Davies has such a commanding stage presence that even those like me who struggle to enjoy the sound of the counter-tenor cannot but admire him. The entire cast display an enthusiasm and exuberance that it is hard to imagine could be surpassed.
- Simon Heffer, The Telegraph
- 24 June 2024
