The English tenor, Ian (Charles) Bostridge, studied history and philosophy at both Cambridge and Oxford, where he received his doctorate in 1990. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Corpus Christi, Oxford, before embarking on a career as a singer, having won the 1991 National Federation of Music Societies/Esso Award and support from the Young Concert Artists Trust.
Ian Bostridge made his Wigmore Hall (London) debut in 1993; his Purcell Room debut (an acclaimed Winterreise) and his Aldeburgh Festival debut in 1994. In 1995 he gave his first solo recital in Wigmore Hall (winning the Royal Philharmonic Society's Debut Award). He continues to be much in demand as an interpreter of German lieder. He has recorded a series of award-winning recordings in the genre of lieder, including a recording of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin which won the Gramophone Solo Vocal Award for 1996. He has also made a film of Schubert's Winterreise directed by David Alden. On the concert platform Ian Bostridge has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and Mstislav Rostropovich, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. His concert repertory ranges from Purcell to Igor Stravinsky.
Ian Bostridge’s operatic roles have included Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Australian Opera at the Edinburgh Festival, Tamino in The Magic Flute with the English National Opera, Quint in Deborah Warner's production of The Turn of the Screw under Sir Colin Davis for the Royal Opera, Vasek in The Bartered Bride under Bernard Haitink for the Royal Opera and Nerone in L'Incoronazione di Poppea at the Münich Festival.
Despite his great success as a singer, Ian Bostridge still finds time to engage in scholarly pursuits. In 1997, he published a book entitled Witchcraft and its Transformations, 1650-1750. In 1999, he published his second book, on music and singing. He has written on music for The Times Literary Supplement, Opernwelt, BBC Music Magazine, Opera Now and The Independent. Among his pupils and/or singers who have attended his master-classes: Scott Bosscher (Baritone), Ansgar Theis (Baritone). |