Benjamin Ellis is a British Baritone recently graduated with distinction from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where he was kindly supported by the Kathleen Roberts Vocal Scholarship. He studies under Peter Knapp and is coached by Helen Yorke, and studied previously with Frank Carroll. He was a finalist in both the English song competition and Elizabeth Schumann German Song competition Opera roles have included Polyphemus in Acis & Galatea with Puzzlepiece Opera, the Vigilante in Idomeneo (W.A. Mozart) and the Cavalier in Count Ory (G. Rossini) with Blackheath Opera; Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (B. Britten), Gobryas in Belshazzar (G. F. Handel), and the Minskman in Flight (J. Dove, scenes) with Trinity Laban; Morales in Carmen (Bizet), Masetto in Don Giovanni (Mozart), and Dr. Grenville in La Traviata (G. Verdi) with Edinburgh Grand Opera; Duncan in The Okavango Macbeth (Tom Cunningham) as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and various solo characters in the edited production of King Arthur (H. Purcell) with Edinburgh Studio Opera. Solo choral performances include the Verdi Requiem (Draper’s Academy, Essex Choral Festival), Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (with Perth and Corsley Choral Societies) and Handel’s Messiah (Corsley, Wiltshire). Ben has also sung a varied selection of concert roles, including baritone soloist for Edinburgh Grand Opera’s Verdi Bi-Centenary Gala, baritone soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, (also an Edinburgh Festival Fringe performance), and in various capacities with the Edinburgh based Rose Street Ensemble and the Quadlibet Chorale. Solo recitals have included a performance of Schumann's Dichterliebe in Florence, Italy, with pianist Giulia Sereni; contemporary English song recital at Selwyn College, Cambridge; performances of Scottish songs both traditional and contemporary at St Mary’s Cathedral Edinburgh, and several concerts at the Edinburgh Society of Musicians. Ben has taken part in masterclasses with Matthew Rose, Sarah Playfair, Bill Bankes Jones and Ian Burnside.
"Powerful, assured, with a lovely timbre, colour and great depth of feeling... ."