Mark Le Brocq

Mark Le Brocq held a choral scholarship at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge where he read English. He also studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Kenneth Bowen and later continued at the National Opera Studio. He was formerly a Company principal with English National Opera, where roles included Tamino The Magic Flute, Paris King Priam, Count Almaviva The Barber of Seville, Narraboth Salome, Cassio Otello, Don Ottavio, Monostatos, Tonik in Smetana's The Two Widows, Rodriguez in Massenet's Don Quixote, Odoardo Ariodante, Nathaniel The Tales of Hoffmann and Doctor Maxwell The Silver Tassie. Mark's guest appearances have included the title role of Idomeneo for Opera Northern Ireland, Belmonte in Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail for Garsington Opera, The Fairy Queen at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Pinkerton in Raymond Gubbay's production of Madama Butterfly, title role Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria for Chicago Opera Theater, The Fairy Queen for Il Coro della RTSI, Lugano, Handel Joshua in Maulbronn, Lucio Silla in Italy, Witch Hänsel und Gretel for Opera North and Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins for the Royal Ballet in Covent Garden. Amongst the directors with whom he has worked are David Alden, David Pountney, Jonathan Miller, Niklaus Lehnhoff, Graham Vick, David Freeman, Tom Cairns, Francesca Zambello, Richard Jones, Bill Bryden and Tim Albery. Mark has performed as a recital and oratorio soloist in the USA, France, Germany, Spain and the Middle East, as well as all the major London venues. He has appeared with the Gabrieli Consort and Paul McCreesh at festivals throughout Europe, having sung such works as La Resurrezione, Saul, Solomon, The Fairy Queen, Mozart's Requiem and Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the ensemble. Other concert engagements have included Mozart's Requiem with the English Concert and Trevor Pinnock in Salzburg and for the BBC Proms; Verdi Opera Galas in Bath and Hampton Court with Montserrat Caballe and Dennis O'Neill; Verdi and Mozart Requiems at the Barbican; Beethoven's Mass in C and Choral Fantasia at the Queen Elizabeth Hall; Messiah with the Ulster Orchestra/Nicholas Kraemer; Schubert's Mass in E Flat with the BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jiri Belohlavek; the UK premiere of Strauss's The Donkey's Shadow with Sir Peter Ustinov at the Covent Garden Festival, Oebalus Apollo et Hyancinthus for Opera Theatre Company and the Classical Opera Company and Agenore Il Re Pastore for the Classical Opera Company. He has recorded Ruiz Il Trovatore, Pang Turandot and Remendado Carmen for Chandos, Samson, Saul and Judas Maccabeus in live recordings from the Maulbronn Festival, Purcell's Hail Bright Cecilia with the Gabrieli Consort for DG and Handel's Utrecht Te Deum, Boyce's I Was Glad with the Choir of St Paul's Cathedral/John Scott for Hyperion and Offenbach's Vert-Vert for Opera Rara. He appears in the videos of Ariodante and The Fairy Queen for RM Arts. Further engagements include Verdi's Requiem with the Jersey Symphony Orchestra, performances of Tristan und Isolde conducted by Donald Runnicles and Goldschmidt's Mediterranean Songs with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Handel's Dixit Dominus at the BBC Proms, Bach's B Minor Mass with the Israel Camerata, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius at Dunblane Cathedral, Berlioz's Grande Messe de Morts in St Paul's Cathedral, Bach's St Matthew Passion with the English Chamber Orchestra, Mozart's C Minor Mass with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, Handel's La Resurrezione with Chicago Opera Theater conducted by Jane Glover, Orff's Carmina Burana with the Ulster Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Handel's Saul and the premiere of Kate Pearson's The Pied Piper for Opera North, Messiah in Lucerne with Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Bach's St Matthew Passion in Lahti, Messiah in Königslutter, Eliates Croesus for Opera North, Christmas Oratorio at Cadogan Hall, St Matthew Passion at Symphony Hall, Birmingham for the English Chamber Orchestra, Monostatos Die Zauberflöte for Opera Holland Park, Mozart Requiem in Spain, St Matthew Passion at Bridgewater Hall and title role Mitridate for the Classical Opera Company. Engagements in 2010/2011 include Messiah (The Sage, Barbican), Weinberg's The Portrait and Shapkin House of the Dead for Opera North and Dream of Gerontius at Bury St Edmunds Cathedral.