James Bowman was born in Oxford, England, in 1941. He began singing as a chorister at Ely cathedral and came to international notice in 1967, when he made his début at the opening concert of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, singing Oberon in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. This was a rôle he also performed for the composer at the Aldeburgh Festival.
His operatic career has taken him, amongst other places, to Covent Garden, the Paris Opera, La Scala, Milan, Sydney Opera House, Australia, and San Francisco Opera in the USA. His concert career is equally wide-ranging; in Europe he is particularly well known as a recitalist. He has been admitted to the French Orde des Arts et des Letters and has been awarded the Medal of Honour of the City of Paris, in recognition of his contribution to its musical life.
Bowman has made over 150 recordings with all the major record labels. He has recently been involved in a project to record all of PurcellΓÇÖs Odes, Church Music and Songs, for Hyperion. During 1995 he has been extensively involved in the Purcell tercentenary celebrations.
His rich countertenor voice also makes him one of the greatest twentieth-century exponents of Handel's operatic arias. Bowman's remarkable vocal technique, inate musicality and magnetic stage presence offer qualities which Handel had recognised and exploited in the superstar castrati for whom his showy, decorative arias were written. His Handel recordings include both arias and oratorio.
