Hailed for his “emotional intensity” (Opera News) with "a sweet lyric voice of great promise" (Opera Canada), Canadian tenor James McLennan has won praise for compelling portrayals in repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary works. A performer who “radiates considerable charm and sings with a strong yet pure tenor” (Toronto Star), he has appeared with opera companies and symphony orchestras from coast to coast.
 
In the 2008-2009 season, McLennan returned to Vancouver Opera for Triquet in Eugene Onegin and the Fourth Jew in Salome, performed Adam in The Birdseller (Die Vogelhändler) with Toronto Operetta Theatre, and created the role of Antoine Tassy in Opera In Concert’s world premiere of Kamouraska by Charles Wilson. The year’s concert highlights included the Evangelist in Bach's St. John Passion with Toronto’s Amadeus Choir, Britten’s Company of Heaven and Haydn’s St. Nicolas Mass with Thirteen Strings in Ottawa, and a chamber recital of Canadian music with the Talisker Players in Toronto. McLennan also made his hometown debut this season with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, in the North American premiere of the Tavener Requiem. This coming season he will be back in Winnipeg for Haydn’s Die Schöpfung and in Mississauga for Handel’s Messiah. He also debuts with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir in Handel’s Israel in Egypt, and with the Grand Philharmonic Choir performing the Bach Magnificat.
 
The 2007-08 season was a mix of company debuts and return engagements, including four roles in The Ballad of Baby Doe at Calgary Opera, Don Gomez in Die Drei Pintos for Opera in Concert, Sylvio in Le docteur Miracle with the Toronto Philharmonia, and performances with Tapestry New Opera and Opera Atelier.
 
Previous operatic roles include the Innkeeper in Der Rosenkavalier and Gastone in La Traviata for Vancouver Opera, Remendado in Carmen for Calgary Opera, Laczi in Der Zigeunerprimas and the title role in Candide for Toronto Operetta Theatre, Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Saskatoon Opera, Soliman in Mozart’s Zaide with Opera in Concert, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Stefano in Filumena at the Banff Arts Festival, Sesto in Giulio Cesare for Pacific Opera Victoria, and Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Tonio in La fille du régiment for Montreal Opera’s Atelier Lyrique.
 
Concert credits include the Bach Mass in B Minor with the Vancouver Bach Choir, Mendelssohn’s St. Paul Oratorio for Toronto’s Pax Christi Chorale, Carmina Burana with the Prince George Symphony, the Bach St. John Passion for the Calgary Festival Chorus, the Bach Magnificat with the Toronto Bach Consort, and the Mozart Requiem with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He has also appeared on recital stages with pianist Peter Tiefenbach in Toronto and at Brandon University, his alma mater. James McLennan is featured on a Naxos recording of Charpentier's Messe de Minuit and Te Deum with Toronto’s Aradia Ensemble.
 
Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, James McLennan holds a degree in French Translation from York University’s Glendon College.

September 2009

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