Biography

Praised for his “charismatic voice and presence” (The Guardian) and “dynamic vocalism” (The Stage), British-Irish baritone Jolyon Loy is fast making a name for himself as one of Britain’s most promising young baritones. Upcoming performances include Paolo Albiani in David Pountney's production of Simon Boccanegra alongside Sir Simon Keenlyside, conducted by Gianluca Marcianò at Grange Park Opera; Marullo Rigoletto, conducted by Asher Fisch, alongside Ludovic Tézier & Luca Salsi at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl; a return to English National Opera and his debut in the titular role of Don Giovanni.

Recent highlights include cover Onegin Eugene Onegin at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as well as his mainstage debut as Schaunard in Richard Jones’ production of La bohème, conducted by Speranza Scappucci; Escamillo Carmen (G7 Summit Opera Gala) at Teatro Filarmonico di Verona with the Orchestra dell’Arena di Verona under Francesco Ommassini; Earl of Morton / cover James Stewart in Thea Musgrave’s Mary, Queen of Scots under Joana Carneiro; Aye in Phelim McDermott’s Olivier Award-winning production of Akhnaten alongside Anthony Roth Costanzo, conducted by Karen Kamensek and cover Mr Kallenbach in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha - all for English National Opera.

Loy's breakthrough performance came as Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, staged at The Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre, Snape Maltings Concert Hall and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Directed by Oliver Mears and conducted by Corinna Niemeyer, his portrayal earned widespread praise: “brilliantly played by Jolyon Loy, his tensile, dynamic vocalism underlining his menace” (The Stage), “Loy’s bright, virile voice is impressive, ringing out with formidable top notes” (Musical America), and “seems all the more dangerously psychopathic for being so charismatic of both voice and presence” (The Guardian).

Further roles include Count Almaviva & Figaro Le nozze di Figaro, Don Alfonso Così fan tutte, Papageno The Magic Flute, Peter Hansel & Gretel, Minskman Flight, Aeneas Dido & Aeneas, Leone Tamerlano, Zoroastro Orlando, Owen Hart Dead Man Walking, Lesbo Agrippina, Marco Gianni Schicchi & Sonora La fanciulla del West for companies including Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park, Wexford Festival Opera, Buxton International Festival, Vache Baroque Festival, Cambridge Handel Opera, Dartington International Festival, Clonter Opera, Hampstead Garden Opera & Opera Collective Ireland.

Jolyon’s numerous awards include an Extraordinary Prize at the 60th Tenor Viñas Competition, 2nd Prize & the Bayreuth Festival Stipendium at the 2019 Wagner Society Singing Competition at Wigmore Hall, a Glyndebourne New Generation Young Artist Development Award, a Countess of Munster Award, and the Richard Van Allan Award from Help Musicians UK. Nominated for a Gramophone Award, his recorded work includes Apollo in Eccles’ Semele with the Academy of Ancient Music, released on AAM Records, and 'Songs from Faust'; his latest release on Champs Hill Records, in collaboration with Mark Austin, tracing Goethe’s legend through song. In recital, Loy has appeared alongside esteemed pianists Iain Burnside at the Ludlow English Song Weekend and James Baillieu as part of the Verbier Festival's Atelier Lyrique.

On the concert stage, Jolyon has worked with conductors such as Laurence Cummings, Christian Curnyn, Philippe Herreweghe, Valery Gergiev & Stanislav Kochanowsky, his performances including 1st Priest & 2nd Armed Man Die Zauberflöte & Wächter Die Frau ohne Schatten (Verbier Festival); Messiah with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Bach St Matthew Passion (Dartington International Festival), Handel Dixit Dominus (National Opera House, Wexford); Valens Theodora, directed by Dame Sarah Connolly (Snape Maltings Concert Hall); Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music and Rossi Songs of Solomon: A Baroque Hanukkah with Vache Baroque, broadcast as part of BBC Radio 3's Lunchtime Concert series (St John’s, Smith Square). His repertoire spans Bach B Minor Mass, Duruflé Requiem, Orff Carmina Burana, Dupré De Profundis, Puccini Messa di Gloria & Fauré Requiem.

Jolyon is a former Associate & Young Artist at the National Opera Studio in London where he performed in concert with the orchestras of English National Opera, Opera North & Welsh National Opera. Roles included Billy Billy Budd, Guglielmo Così fan tutte, Aleko Aleko & Belcore L’elisir d’amore at Cadogan Hall; St David’s Hall, Cardiff and the London Coliseum. He is an alumnus of such prestigious young artist programmes as Verbier Festival’s Atelier Lyrique, Britten Pears, Internationale OpernWerkstatt: Festival der Jungen Stimmen, British Youth Opera, Garsington Opera’s Alvarez Programme, Opera Holland Park, Opera Prelude, and the Glyndebourne Chorus. Jolyon trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Academy of Music and was formerly a choral scholar at Magdalen College, University of Oxford, where he read French and Italian. He began singing as a boy chorister and lay clerk at Worcester Cathedral.