Profile: David Ireland

When you were a Choral Scholar here?

​During my glory days: 2010 - 2012

What attracted you to be a Choral Scholar?

The promise of great music every week, excellent colleagues and all the incense I could eat.

What did you get out of the experience?

Fantastic friends, the ability to read plainchant and the knowledge to not say ‘sorry’ in the middle of solo lines (which unfortunately did happen once).

What did you go on to do after you left?

After I left Nottingham, I had a year off to learn new things and audition for music colleges. I went on to do a Masters in Vocal Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, followed by their opera course. After that, I spent a further year at the National Opera Studio before heading out into the real world.

What are you doing now and anything coming up?

For the last couple of years, I’ve been singing professionally and working around the UK and France.

I’ve been a Harewood Artist at English National Opera since 2017 and have performed several roles there. I’m about to start rehearsals for my largest role so far - Leporello in Garsington Opera’s production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni - which will be staged this Summer. I will make my Welsh National Opera debut early next year as Figaro in their production of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro - a role I’ve performed once before during my student days at the University of Nottingham.

I have also a range of concert engagements including Gloucester: Three Choirs Festival in July singing the role of Brander in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust alongside Sarah Connolly (Marguerite), Christopher Purves (Méphistophélès) & Peter Hoare (Faust)

Further details can be found at www.davidirelandsings.com

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