Michael Bracegirdle

Tenor

Winner of the Emmy Destinn Award for Young Singers and a graduate of Durham University, Michael Bracegirdle first qualified as a Chartered Accountant and went on to work as a Finance Director in industry.  In 2003 he gave up his business career to further his vocal studies at the Royal Northern College of Music.

As a prize winner at the Opera Competition and Festival with Mezzo Television, Hungary, he made his New York opera début as Judge Danforth in The Crucible with Dicapo Opera Theatre, a performance he repeated at the National Theatre, Szeged.

Having made his English National Opera début in the role of First Armed Man in The Magic Flute, Michael Bracegirdle has since returned as Tamino and has appeared as Fourth Esquire in Parsifal whilst also covering the title role. With Opéra de Limoges he appeared as
Le Prince in L’amour des trois oranges. 

Michael Bracegirdle’s repertoire also includes Erik (Der Fliegende Holländer), Loge (Das Rheingold), Steva (Jenůfa), Jenik (The Bartered Bride), Lensky (Eugene Onegin), Boris and Kudryash (Katya Kabanova), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Rodolfo (La bohème), Ruggero (La rondine) and Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). In concert with the Chelsea Opera Group he sang Jason in Medée and Malcolm in Macbeth. He has worked with Clonter Opera, Opera Holland Park, Scottish Opera on Tour, Mid Wales Opera, English Touring Opera and Longborough Festival Opera.

Michael Bracegirdle has a busy concert diary and his engagements have included Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Huddersfield Choral Society, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at The Barbican, as well as appearances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra.
He has broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4.

Current and recent engagements include Neil Hannon’s Sevastopol for ROH2, Laca (Jenůfa) for Opéra de Rennes, Limoges and Reims; Boris (Katya Kabanova) at Longborough Festival Opera, the title role in Les Contes D’Hoffmann with Diva Opera and the Verdi Requiem with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra.