JULIAN CLOSE
BASS
BIOGRAPHY
Noted as having “a rich voice that appears to come from the centre of the earth,” as well as, simply, “a voice to die for,” Julian Close stands as one of the most critically acclaimed basses in the UK, having performed at several esteemed opera houses and venues throughout his career including The Metropolitan Opera, The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, The Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre, The Bridgewater Hall, Opera North UK, Scottish Opera and the Wexford, Buxton, Longborough, and English Bach Festivals in a wide range of roles. He has also made numerous television and radio broadcasts for the BBC.
Last season marked Julian’s return to The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden for their production of Das Rheingold as well as his highly anticipated return to Longborough Festival Opera. He also joined the Irish National Opera to sing the First Soldier in Salome. This season, Julian returns to The Metropolitan Opera to cover Sparafucile in Rigoletto for two runs during the fall and winter, and he returns to Irish National Opera to sing the same role.
Recently, Julian returned to The Metropolitan Opera for Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Rigoletto, and Don Carlo. Additionally, he returned to both the Scottish Opera as Simone/Talpa in Il trittico and the Longborough Festival for their long-awaited Götterdämmerung, and he was seen with his wife Rebecca Afonwy-Jones in the Kent, UK’s JAM on the Marsh Festival.
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CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"...He gave a truly believable and moving performance..." – Great British Life
Götterdämmerung – "As you’d expect for an LFO production, every single performer in this production were of world-class standard, and, just as you think the bar can’t possibly be raised, there are some truly outstanding performances. Firstly, Julian Close as Hagen shone for both his deep, rich bass vocal performance and his capacity as an actor to portray such a complex, melancholic and troubled character. He gave a truly believable and moving performance, which provided a certain gravitas to the overall production that had you questioning your allegiances.”
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"...remarkable voice..." – The Article
Götterdämmerung – "The one person who knows exactly what is going on is Hagen, and Julian Close, whose remarkable voice has taken him to the Met in New York for various roles (including Sparafucile this season), was outstanding in this part. Knowing and determined in his quest to regain the Ring, his interaction with his father Alberich (Freddie Tong) gives the appearance that it occurs in an inebriated dream of Hagen. With Lee Bisset singing a fine and intelligent looking Brünnhilde, unlike the standard delivery of this powerful role, we had the ingredients for an excellent performance."
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"...Close sang with huge, effortless voice..." – Classical Source
Götterdämmerung – “Julian Close's superb Hagen is one of the two roles anchoring the psychological complexity. Close sang with huge, effortless voice, and from his first appearance, manipulating the marital prospects of Gunther and Gutrune, you never doubted that calamity had entered the Gibichung court. This Hagen embodied wickedness and was magnificent.”
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"His powerful bass captivates the listener with its darkness, strength and security..." – Music OMH
Götterdämmerung – “If Hagen feels the dominant force in the opera, it is also because Julian Close’s portrayal of him is so commanding. His powerful bass captivates the listener with its darkness, strength and security, and he skilfully presents Hagen as a figure who has been totally numbed by being born with no love, and with the sole aim of obtaining the ring.”
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"...always invested in meaning..." – Opera Today
Die Walküre – "...a menacing Julian Close whose spare movements are always invested in meaning."
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"...godlike authority...” – Harmony
Die Walküre – “Julian Close, a habitual Hagen and Fafner, was making his debut as Wotan, and it was a stunner. His huge, black marble voice ruled the platform and had an edge like a spear. Every word was effortlessly audible. Already this was an assumption with godlike authority.”
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"...Julian Close was stupendous..." – The Irish Times
Don Giovanni – “As the Commendatore, Julian Close was stupendous, the sort of bass who could sing Fafner the Dragon without the amplifying megaphone dictated by Wagner.” –
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"...an immensely moving and dignified performance...“ – Seen and Heard International
Tristan und Isolde – “King Marke’s monologue often seems to halt the progress of the drama, but as sung by the vastly experienced Julian Close it proved the emotional highpoint of all we heard. His deep voice was extraordinarily handsome, and the abiding decency of the character he created – and his obvious engagement with the King’s innate decency – elicited sympathy for Marke’s despair. The tenderness Close brought to describing Isolde as ‘Dies wundervolle Weib’ was heartbreaking and throughout he gave an immensely moving and dignified performance“
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"...musically rich...” – The Arts Desk
Lulu – “The enormous cast has hardly a weakness. Especially memorable are Julian Close’s Acrobat, a role hard to define but musically rich.”
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"...voice that appeared to come from the centre of the earth...” – Harry Mottram
Eugene Onegin – “Julian Close as Prince Gremin and his voice that appeared to come from the centre of the earth.”