Disc of the Week: '... he’s clearly a countertenor to rank with the best, possessed of not just a fine vocal instrument but also deep musical intelligence.'
Europadisc
Tim Mead
Tim Mead
Voice
Counter-tenor Tim Mead is praised for his “alluring” and “consistently excellent” interpretations (New York Times). With his “rich, mellifluous sound” (Guardian), he is recognised as one of the finest across the generations of counter-tenors.
Genre
Classical
Biography
Highlights of the 2022/23 season include his return to the Teatro Real, Madrid for Ulisse Achille In Sciro and Oberon A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Glyndebourne Festival. On the concert platform, he will complete a European tour of Handel Messiah with RIAS Kammerchor, Hamor Jeptha with Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, Handel Ode For The Birthday Of Queen Anne with Les Violons Du Roy and return to the Wigmore Hall.
Recent operatic highlights include Dardano Amadigi for Garsington Opera, Apollo Death in Venice at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Ulisse Achille in Sciro at the Teatro Real, Madrid, Athamas Semele for Opera Philadelphia, Goffredo Rinaldo at Glyndebourne, Endimione La Calisto for Teatro Real, Madrid and at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Bertarido Rodelinda for Opera de Lille, Oberon A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Opera Philadelphia, Glyndebourne and Bergen National Opera, Hamor Jephtha at the Opéra National de Paris, the title role Akhnaten and Ottone Agrippina for Opera Vlaanderen, Boy/Angel Written on Skin at the Bolshoi, Bertarido Rodelinda at English National Opera, and Arsamene in Cavalli Xerse with Le Concert d’Astrée at Opéra de Lille, Theater an der Wien, and Théâtre de Caen.
On the concert platform, recent highlights include Handel Messiah with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, Bach St Matthew Passion with Collegium Vocale Gent in a European tour, Pergolesi Stabat Mater at the BBC Proms, Handel Jephtha with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the BBC Proms, a European recital tour with Emmanuelle Haim and Le Concert d’Astree, Bach St John Passion with Jonathan Cohen and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, an appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall, a tour of Asia with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, Athamas Semele with the CBSO and the Handel and Haydn Society, Didymus Theodora with the Akademie fur Alte Musik, the world premiere of Theo Loevendie Spinoza at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Handel Messiah with Robin Ticciati and the Deutsches Symfonie- Orchester Berlin, the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Gabrieli Consort, Handel & Haydn Society, Academy of Ancient Music, and Le Concert d’Astree, Bach B Minor Mass with The English Concert and with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie, Bach Magnificat with Le Concert d’Astree, Bach St Matthew Passion with London Handel Festival and De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Handel Theodora with the English Concert, Handel Solomon with Akademie für Alte Musik, Handel Judas Maccabaeus with the OAE, and Handel Joseph and his Brethren at the International Händel Festspiele Göttingen.
Mead’s substantial discography includes the most recent releases; Purcell Songs and Dances with Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien on Alpha and Pergolesi Stabat Mater and Bach Cantatas with La Nuova Musica on Harmonia Mundi.
Mead read Music as a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, before continuing his vocal studies at the Royal College of Music.
