American-born James Ley is a graduate of the Opera Studies programme at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School, a former member of both the Salzburg Young Artist Project and the Opernstudio at Bayerische Staatsoper and a finalist of the 2022 Operalia Competition.
James Ley’s recent seasons have included Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre at Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Opéra National de Bordeaux and at Château de Versailles, his début as Vaudémont in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta in a new production at Oper Bern, led by Chief Conductor Nicholas Carter, and the same role at Salzburger Landestheater. Returning to Bayerische Staatsoper as a guest artist, Ley sang the Messenger in Aida under Daniele Rustioni as part of the Munich Opera Festival and at the Edinburgh International Festival he joined Ed Gardner and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra as Second Nazarene in Salome, set for commercial release on Chandos Records.
As a young artist, Ley participated in the Académie of Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and spent several summers at Edith Wiens’ Internationale Meistersinger Akademie. During his time in Munich’s Opernstudio, he sang the Messenger in Aida under Zubin Mehta and his further performing experience includes the world premiere of Marius Felix Lange’s Der Gesang der Zauberinsel at Salzburg Festival, Le petit vieillard in L’enfant et les sortilèges with the Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Emmanuel Villaume and, at Wheaton College, Abraham in a staged production of Britten’s Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac and his first Tamino in Die Zauberflöte.
