Christopher Purves
Bass-baritone Christopher Purves has performed operatic roles from the Baroque to contemporary repertory and has sung choral music at the Proms and other major venues. His background is unusual in that it includes a substantial career in popular music with the doo-wop/jazz vocal group Harvey & the Wallbangers.
Purves was born on October 11, 1961, in Cambridge, England. He shared with many other classical performers the background of boy chorister and choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge. He majored in English at King's College and, after graduating, joined Harvey & the Wallbangers in 1983. In that group, he not only sang bass but also played the trumpet. He left the group as it was dissolving in 1987 and performed for a time as a freelance experimental vocalist, also taking on gigs as an additional vocalist for the best-selling chorus The Sixteen. In the 1990s, Purves began to find roles with touring opera companies. He told Rupert Christiansen of the Telegraph that he had received valuable advice from director Claire Venables while working on a production of Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen: "Stop trying to pretend to be someone you're not. Just do nothing."
From 1997 onward, Purves had recurring roles with Britain's Opera North company; his association with The Sixteen and its director, Harry Christophers, led to solo vocal appearances under top early music vocal conductors such as Philippe Herreweghe and Richard Hickox. He performed John Tavener's 140-minute Apocalypse at the Proms with the City of London Sinfonia. In later years, Purves has essayed major operatic bass and baritone roles, including Alberich in Wagner's Das Rheingold (at the Houston Grand Opera) and Verdi's Falstaff. He appeared in the 2010 film musical Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy). Purves was heard as Figaro on a 2004 Chandos recording of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and, in the 2010s, released two albums of Handel's bass (or "Base") arias with the early music ensemble Arcangelo and director Jonathan Cohen; the second volume appeared in 2018. The following year, Purves was heard as the bass soloist in conductor Martyn Brabbins' recording of Elgar's rarely heard cantata Caractacus, and he returned in 2023 on the recital My Soul, What Fear You? with pianist Simon Lepper.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discographie
11 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
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Handel: Finest Arias for Base (Bass) Voice, Vol. 1
Christopher Purves, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
Classique - Paru chez Hyperion le 2 déc. 2012
5 de Diapason24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle, Christopher Purves, Karen Cargill, Bryan Hymel, Gabor Bretz
Intégrales d'opéra - Paru chez LSO Live le 8 mars 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
My Soul, What Fear You?
Christopher Purves, Simon Lepper
Mélodies & Lieder - Paru chez Kings College Cambridge le 5 mai 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Finest Arias for Base (Bass) Voice, Vol. 2
Christopher Purves, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
Classique - Paru chez Hyperion le 29 juin 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Händel : Saul
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers, Christopher Purves
Classique - Paru chez Coro le 3 sept. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WALTON: Belshazzar s Feast / Crown Imperial
Classique - Paru chez Naxos le 18 mai 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Biber: Laetatus sum
Nahuel di Pierro, Christopher Purves, Johannes Pramsohler, Ensemble Diderot
Cantates sacrées - Paru chez Audax Records le 28 mai 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Finest Arias for Base (Bass) Voice, Vol. 2
Christopher Purves, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
Classique - Paru chez Hyperion le 29 juin 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ricci: La prigione di Edimburgo (Highlights)
Nuccia Focile, Elisabetta Scano, Nicola Rossi Giordano, Christopher Purves, Philharmonia Orchestra, Gabriele Bellini
Opéra - Paru chez Opera Rara le 1 janv. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Finest Arias for Base (Bass) Voice, Vol. 1
Christopher Purves, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
Classique - Paru chez Hyperion le 2 déc. 2012
5 de Diapason16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lutoslawski: Works for Voice and Orchestra
Edward Gardner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Toby Spence, Christopher Purves
Mélodies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 sept. 2011
5 de Diapason16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo