Biography
Paul Nilon is established as one of Europe’s outstanding lyric tenors in a wide repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Britten.
In concert, Paul Nilon has worked with the LPO, the OAE, the Northern Sinfonia, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Philharmonic, the Hallé, The Sixteen and Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. Other performances include Handel Solomon in Florence and Israel under Ivor Bolton, the chamber version of Das Lied von der Erde at the Wigmore Hall with Sir Mark Elder and Janacek: The Diary of One Who Disappeared at the Bath International Festival.
Paul Nilon has worked for most of the major British opera companies. Companies abroad include the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Bolshoi, Gothenburg Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Netherlands Opera, San Francisco Opera and Dallas Opera.
Notable engagements have included the title role in a new production of Idomeneo for ENO and for the Buxton Festival, Chartkov in Weinberg’s The Portrait for Opera North, Sultan in Vivaldi’s La verità in cimento and Erisso/Maometto Secondo (recently released on CD by Avie) for Garsington Opera, the world premiere of Life is a Dream by Jonathan Dove for Birmingham Opera Company, the title role in Il ritorno di Ulisse in Patria for The Grange Festival, Albert Gregor /The Makropulos Case and the title role of La clemenza di Tito, both for Opera North as well as Mahler Das Lied von der Erde with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater for the BBC Philharmonic, Messiah with the Huddersfield Choral Society, Tippett A Child of our Time with the Northern Sinfonia and Honneger Jean d’arc du Boucher with the London Symphony Orchestra.
In summer 2015 Paul Nilon sang Aschenbach in Britten’s Death in Venice for Garsington Opera to huge critical acclaim. He sang Grimoaldo/Rodelinda directed by David Alden at the Bolshoi in Moscow in autumn 2015, Bajazet in Handel’s Tamerlano at the 2016 Buxton Festival and renewed his collaboration with Graham Vick in the title role of Idomeneo for the Gothenburg Opera which has been revived at the Lithuanian National Opera. He also collaborated with Graham Vick on a production of Death in Venice at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2017.
Future engagements include a new production of Death in Venice for Gothenberg Opera, Yannakos in Opera North’s new production of A Greek Passion, further performances of Idomeneo at the Lithuanian National Opera and Selem / A Rake’s Progress for the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome.
