Biography
Mark Padmore was born in London and studied at King’s College, Cambridge. He is one of the most highly respected performers of his generation and has established an international career in opera, concert and recital. His appearances in Bach Passions have gained particular notice, especially his acclaimed performances as the Evangelist in the staged productions of the St Matthew and St John Passions with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle directed by Peter Sellars.
Recent engagements have included performances as the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Simon Rattle and with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, a tour of Japan appearing at Le Pont International Music Festival, a recital at Topan Hall with the guitarist Yasuji Ohagi and performances of Britten Nocturne with the Gunma Symphony Orchestra. He also sang the Nocturne with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth and with the Freiburg Chamber Orchestra. On the recital platform highlights have included Schubert Winterreise with Julius Drake for Temple Music as well as with Till Fellner at the Innsbrucker Festwochen.
Other highlights include Judith Weir’s In the Land of Uz at the Three Choirs Festival; recitals with Julius Drake in Barcelona, Paris and Madrid, in Alicante with the Elias String Quartet; the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam with Till Fellner and Schubert Winterreise with Mitsuko Uchida at Carnegie Hall New York, the Kimmel Center Philadelphia and the University of California at Berkeley.
Mark performs regularly at the Wigmore Hall and was Artist in Residence there in the 2021/22 season where he celebrated his relationship with pianists Till Fellner, Imogen Cooper, Mitsuko Uchida and Paul Lewis. He returned to the hall recently to sing Vaughan Williams and Fauré with the Elias Quartet and James Baillieu as well as in a mixed programme with baritone, Roderick Williams and Julius Drake.
Sought after for his work in opera recent productions have included the title role in a new production of Monteverdi Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria conducted by Fabio Biondi at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, a new production of Britten’s Death in Venice at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden where his performance was described as a “tour de force”, Captain Vere in Britten Billy Budd and Evangelist in a staging of St Matthew Passion for the Glyndebourne Festival, and leading roles in Harrison Birtwistle The Corridor and the Cure at the Aldeburgh Festival.
In concert Mark performs with the world’s leading orchestras. He was Artist in Residence for the 2017/18 season with the Berlin Philharmonic and held a similar position with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2016/17. His work with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment has involved projects exploring both the Bach St John and St Matthew Passion without conductor which attracted worldwide acclaim.
He has made numerous award-winning recordings including Schumann Dichterliebe with Kristian Bezuidenhout and Schubert song cycles with Paul Lewis, both for Harmonia Mundi. Described by the New York Times as “Schubert Masters” Mark Padmore and Mitsuko Uchida recently embarked on a series of highly acclaimed, worldwide recitals and this partnership has culminated in a recording on Decca Classics of Schubert Schwanengesang and Beethoven An die ferne Geliebte.
Mark was Artistic Director of the St. Endellion Summer Music Festival in Cornwall from 2012-2022, voted 2016 Vocalist of the Year by Musical America and appointed CBE in the 2019 Queens’ Birthday Honours List. He lives in London with his family.
