James Ley

American-born James Ley is a graduate of the Opera Studies program at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School, a former member of both the Salzburg Young Artist Project and the Opernstudio at Bayerische Staatsoper and a finalist of the 2022 Operalia Competition. Ley’s recent seasons have included Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre at Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Opéra National de Bordeaux and at Château de Versailles, his début as Vaudémont in Iolanta in a new production at Oper Bern, led by Chief Conductor Nicholas Carter, and the same role at Salzburger Landestheater. Returning to Bayerische Staatsoper as a guest artist, Ley sang the Messenger in Aida under Daniele Rustioni as part of the Munich Opera Festival. At the Edinburgh International Festival, he joined Ed Gardner and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra as Second Nazarene in Salome, set for commercial release on Chandos Records. The 2023/24 season for Ley includes a debut in the role of Kudrjas in Katya Kabanova at Bergen National Opera conducted by Eivind Gullberg Jensen and, on the concert platform, he performs Scriabin’s Symphony No. 1 with both Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi and Orquesta y Coro de la Communidad de Madrid under Marzena Diakun, Bruckner’s Te Deum with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Nathalie Stutzmann, Britten’s Nocturne with Aarhus Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Koncz and Handel’s Messiah at Wheaton College. Previous concert performances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Opéra de Limoges and Mendelssohn’s Elias with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk.