David Butt Philip

British tenor David Butt Philip is quickly becoming a firm favorite on the major international stages. An alumnus of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme, he has earned major critical and public acclaim in recent debuts in roles such as the title role of Wagner’s Lohengrin and Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Vienna State Opera; Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio and Prince in Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Royal Ballet and Opera; Bacchus in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos at the Edinburgh International Festival and Bavarian State Opera; and the title roles of Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg and Wagner’s Lohengrin at Deutsche Oper Berlin. In the 2024-25 season, Butt Philip returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Florestan in Fidelio, a role he also sings in his company debut at Semperoper Dresden. He also reprises the title role of Lohengrin at Vienna State Opera under the baton of Christian Thielemann and the title role in Der Zwerg at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he also stars as Kaiser in a new production of Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten. On the concert platform he performs Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Czech Philharmonic; the title role of Bernstein’s Candide in concert performances at Semperoper Dresden; and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius for Huddersfield Choral Society and the Opera North Orchestra under conductor Martyn Brabbins. His notable concert appearances include Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for his debut at the Spring Festival in Tokyo and Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Edward Gardner. Born and brought up in Wells in Somerset, Butt Philip was a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral. He is a graduate of Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio and was also a Samling Artist, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and winner of the prestigious John Christie Award in 2011. David Butt Philip made his BSO debut at Tanglewood in July 2017, singing Froh in a concert performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Andris Nelsons conducting.