Brendan Collins, Baritone – Helen Sykes Artists' Management

Nicholas Folwell

BARITONE

Admired for his “vibrant performance, crisp enunciation and superb projection”.

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Most recently Nicholas Folwell appeared as Notary Der Rosenkavalier, Hausfhofmeister Ariadne auf Naxos, Antonio Le nozze di Figaro and Ortel Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Glyndebourne Festival, Baron Duphol La traviata for Glyndebourne on Tour, Mr Kallenbach Satyagraha for English National Opera, Klingsor Parsifal for Saffron Walden Opera, and Scarpia Tosca and Dr Bartolo The Barber of Seville for Mid Wales Opera.

Read Nicholas Folwell’s full biography below.

Current Highlights

Nichols Folwell was due to sing Dr Bartolo Le nozze di Figaro for Welsh National Opera in early 2020 but these performances were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic…

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“…The supporting roles offer some consolation, from Nicholas Folwell’s glorious Monterone, dispatching his curse with ferocious conviction…”
ALEXANDER COGHLAN  THE ARTS DESK

“…Nicholas Folwell, excellent as Count Monterone who utters the terrible curse on Rigoletto. Three great strikes for the home team…”
MARK VALENCIA  WHAT’S ON STAGE

“…Nicholas Folwell as Gandhi’s friend Kallenbach, is outstanding…”
JOHN ALLISON  THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

“We were treated throughout to some exceptional singing from our principals, captained first and foremost by Nicholas Folwell’s memorably villainous, superlatively clear Alberich, who drove the atmosphere with a vibrant performance of outstanding quality, underpinned by crisp enunciation and superb projection. Alberich’s renunciation of love was deeply felt and powerfully portrayed, while his vicious rage at his downfall was genuinely scary, and his curse of the ring spinetingling.”
CHARLOTTE VALARI  BACHTRACK

Biography

Biography

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During a long and distinguished career Nicholas Folwell has performed over 130 roles in repertoire ranging from Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Wagner, to several World Premières, including the title role in Blond Eckbert (Judith Weir), Mutius Timon of Athens (Stephen Oliver), and Mr van Tricasse Dr Ox’s Experiment (Gavin Bryars), all for English National Opera, Koroviev in the world premiere of York Höller’s Der Meister und Margarita at the Opéra de Paris, and several roles in the World Première of The Trial by Philip Glass for Music Theatre Wales.

Bi-lingual in German and English, Nicholas Folwell has been widely acclaimed for his portrayal of Alberich in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen which he has performed for Opéra d’Angers-Nantes, the Nederlandse Reisopera, Den Nye Opera, Opéra de Dijon, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and Longborough Festival Opera.

Nicholas Folwell made his début at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Harašta The Cunning Little Vixen, returning to perform Nachtigall Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Antonio Le nozze di Figaro.  Having begun his career with Welsh National Opera he has been a regular soloist at English National Opera, and has performed with Opera North, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Grange Park Opera, Opera Holland Park, Buxton Festival and Music Theatre Wales.  Overseas opera engagements have also taken him to Oper Frankfurt, Opera de Lille, Zwingenberger Festival, Opera Zuid, Cork Opera House, and the Festival Rotas dos Monumentos in Portugal. 

His repertoire includes Melot Tristan und Isolde, Klingsor Parsifal, Beckmesser and Ortel Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, title role in Der Fliegende Holländer, Brander The Damnation of Faust, Kuligin Katya Kabanova, Forester Cunning Little Vixen, Dreieinigkeitsmoses Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Tiger Brown Die Dreigroschenoper, Ottokar Der Freischütz, Musiklehrer Ariadne auf Naxos, Police Commissioner Der Rosenkavalier, Banker and Theatre Manager Lulu, Lysiart Euryanthe Don Pizarro Fidelio, Major Mary Die Soldaten (Zimmermann), Mumlal The Two Widows (Smetana), Filip The Jacobin (Dvořák), The Short Prisoner From the House of the Dead, Tonio Pagliacci, Sharpless Madam Butterfly, Dr Bartolo Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dr Bartolo and Antonio Le nozze di Figaro, Don Alfonso Cosi fan tutte, Marullo and Monterone Rigoletto, Germont La traviata, Melitone and Mayor of Hornachuelos The Force of Destiny,  Benoit and Alcindoro La Bohème, Falke Die Fledermaus, The Chief of Police Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, The Four Villains The Tales of Hoffmann, Count Laski Le Roi Malgré Lui (Chabrier) Abimilech Samson et Dalila, Sancho Panza Don Quichotte (Massenet), Bosun Billy Budd, The Host of the Garter Inn Sir John in Love (Vaughan Williams), Creon and Messenger Oedipus Rex, Kallenbach Satyagraha, Bluebeard Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, Paul Die Tote Stadt, Simone Trovai Violante (Korngold), Méphistophélès Faust et Hélène (Lili Boulanger), Charles For You (Michael Berkeley) and The Doctor Punch and Judy (Birtwistle), and roles in Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins and Mahagonny Songspiel, Birtwistle’s The Mask of Orpheus, Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel, and in the World Premières of Ian Hamilton’s Prometheus, Vinko Globokar’s Sternbild der Grenze and Claudio Ambrosini’s Proverbs of Hell.  

The many conductors he has worked with include Martyn Brabbins, Gary Bertini, Oleg Caetani, Sir Colin Davies, Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardner, Sir Reginald Goodall, Vladimir Jurowsky, Karen Kamensek, Sir Charles Mackerras, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Simanov, Robin Ticciati and Mark Wigglesworth.

Nicholas Folwell also has a considerable concert repertoire and has performed with the London Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, at the BBC Proms and with Chelsea Opera Group. 

He has taken part in frequent broadcasts for the BBC and has performed for RAI in Rome.

Most recently he has appeared as Notary Der Rosenkavalier, Hausfhofmeister Ariadne auf Naxos, Antonio Le nozze di Figaro and Ortel Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Glyndebourne Festival, Baron Duphol La traviata for Glyndebourne on Tour, Mr Kallenbach in the revival of Satyagraha for English National Opera, Klingsor Parsifal for Saffron Walden Opera, Scarpia Tosca and Dr Bartolo The Barber of Seville for Mid Wales Opera.  He was due to sing Dr Bartolo Le nozze di Figaro for Welsh National Opera in early 2020 but these performances were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic…

This biography is not for publication.  Please contact the office for an updated version.

Media

Discography

Nicholas Folwell A Dream of Paradise

A Dream of Paradise, 2004


Nicholas Folwell with Phillip Thomas, piano, record a collection of ballads.

Contact

Helen Sykes
+44 (0)7799 673367
helen@helensykesartists.co.uk