John Mark Ainsley

John Mark Ainsley is a leading British tenor especially associated with repertory from the Classical era and earlier. He studied at Oxford, where his teacher was Diane Forlano. In his earliest professional appearances, he established himself as a <a href="spotify:artist:4NJhFmfw43RLBLjQvxDuRS">Mozart</a> tenor, including the role of Idomeneo at the Welsh National Opera and as Don Ottavio at the Aix-en-Provence and Glyndebourne Festivals. His first American appearances were in concerts in New York and Boston, and in 1992 he debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

His first Viennese appearances were in performances of both the St. Matthew and St John Passions by <a href="spotify:artist:5aIqB5nVVvmFsvSdExz408">Bach</a> with the Musik Verein in 1992. The conductor on those occasions was <a href="spotify:artist:38ghpVkkvBf5wugUg4HW4G">Peter Schreier</a>, who is also one of the era's finest lieder and <a href="spotify:artist:5aIqB5nVVvmFsvSdExz408">Bach</a> tenors. Among his other leading roles are the title part of <a href="spotify:artist:7vfydQ0nVBVgJ0ajs8EtRM">Gluck</a>'s Orfeo (his debut role at the Netherlands Opera, 1966), Tito in <a href="spotify:artist:4NJhFmfw43RLBLjQvxDuRS">Mozart</a>'s La Clemenza di Tito (for his first appearance in Sydney, 1997), Fenton in <a href="spotify:artist:1JOQXgYdQV2yfrhewqx96o">Verdi</a>'s Falstaff, Lensky in <a href="spotify:artist:3MKCzCnpzw3TjUYs2v7vDA">Tchaikovsky</a>'s Eugene Onegin, and Jonathan in Nielsen's Saul and David. He has sung and recorded the role of Lysander in <a href="spotify:artist:7MJ1pB5d6Vjmzep2zQlorn">Britten</a>'s A Midsummer Night's Dream.

He is also an active recitalist and concert artist who has appeared with <a href="spotify:artist:05OQwvgj7Q7jHJy38bma4R">Les Musiciens du Louvre</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:3gacryguGmpmCvgPGt2CBI">New York Philharmonic</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:6uRJnvQ3f8whVnmeoecv5Z">Berlin Philharmonic</a>, L'Orchestre de Paris, the <a href="spotify:artist:5yxyJsFanEAuwSM5kOuZKc">London Symphony</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:003f4bk13c6Q3gAUXv7dGJ">Vienna Philharmonic</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:1qHStDLIc8uV7hvTG6FGRJ">San Francisco Symphony</a>, and the <a href="spotify:artist:0K23lQ2hSQAlxSEeZ05bjI">Boston Symphony</a>. He records for several labels, but is most closely associated with Hyperion, which has selected him to appear on six discs of its great series of the complete <a href="spotify:artist:2p0UyoPfYfI76PCStuXfOP">Schubert</a> songs. His repertory for that company includes music of <a href="spotify:artist:7ie36YytMoKtPiL7tUvmoE">Stravinsky</a>, Vaughan Williams, <a href="spotify:artist:5HUhm1zKJGkJEg4qH88Xfd">Warlock</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4qNj7MDugKEhRNC8F32tNE">William Lloyd Webber</a>, Grainger, <a href="spotify:artist:7MJ1pB5d6Vjmzep2zQlorn">Britten</a>, Ireland, Finzi, and <a href="spotify:artist:3uFNhCH4eh3y1BN0sPwQzC">Quilter</a>.