Jon Stainsby was a choral and academic scholar at Caius College, Cambridge, and completed a doctorate in English literature at the University of Oxford, before studying with Scott Johnson at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Alexander Gibson Opera School. At the RCS he took principal roles in operas by Britten and Otto Nicolai, and in two co-productions with Scottish Opera: as Father Augustine in Prokofiev Betrothal in a Monastery, and Demetrius in Britten A Midsummer Night's Dream. Since graduating from the RCS in 2013, highlights of his work have included the roles of Demetrius and Bottom in a new version of Purcell's Fairy Queen for Iford Arts, Ariodate in Longborough Festival Opera's Young Artists' production of Handel Serse, and covering the title role in Le nozze di Figaro for Garsington Opera as an Alvarez Young Artist. Other recent operatic roles performed include the Father (Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel) at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Blansac (Rossini La scala di seta) for Opera Holloway, Sid (Britten Albert Herring) and Count Almaviva (Mozart The Marriage of Figaro, both for Hampstead Garden Opera), Don Alfonso (Mozart Così fan tutte, Pavilion Opera), and Speaker (Mozart The Magic Flute, Young Opera Venture). Jon has also worked extensively in the field of contemporary opera: he created the roles of The Director in Edward Lambert’s new chamber opera Six Characters in Search of a Stage and Botney in Tim Benjamin's Madame X, took the baritone role in Claude Vivier Kopernikus for Dutch National Opera, sang in the solo voice octet for the creation of Wolfgang Mitterer's Marta at the Opéra de Lille, and performed in the new sound installation The Hand that Takes, with music by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, at Cambridge Junction. He has been a Britten Pears Young Artist three times, and has participated in Graham Johnson’s Young Songmakers Programme; his work as a recitalist has included a performance of songs by Schubert and Kilpinen with Malcolm Martineau at the RCS, and a solo recital at Steinway Hall for the Delius Society, following their award to him of the 2012 Delius Prize. He also appears regularly as a consort singer and soloist with ensembles including Dunedin Consort, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor and EXAUDI. He continues his studies privately with Robert Dean.
