Allan Clayton Tenor

Allan Clayton studied at St John’s College, Cambridge and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. 

He created the title role in the US premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet and sang Peter Grimes at Metropolitan Opera New York, David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Royal Opera Covent Garden and Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Ferdinand in Miranda at Opéra Comique, and appeared in several productions by Barrie Kosky for Komische Oper Berlin. 

He has performed on numerous occasions at the BBC Proms, the Barbican Hall and the Wigmore Hall. He has given Lieder recitals throughout the world, with a repertoire including works such as Schubert’s Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin, Williams' On Wenlock Edge, and Lieder and songs by Strauss, Wolf, Duparc and Tippett. An advocate of contemporary music, he has appeared in world premieres of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin, Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio and Gerald Barry’s Alice's Adventures Underground. 

Recent performances include Beethoven’s An die ferne geliebte with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Gruber’s Frankenstein at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Britten’s Serenade with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In 2021, he portrayed Peter Grimes at Teatro Real Madrid (which comes to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2022). He curated a major residency at Snape Maltings, centred around the works of Benjamin Britten, and performed Oedipus Rex at the Spoleto Festival. 

His rich discography ranges from Handel, Mozart and Beethoven to Liszt, Britten and Lukaszewski. In 2018, he won the Whatsonstage Award for Excellence in Opera, and the Royal Philharmonic Society ‘Singer Award’. In 2021, he was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's 2021 Birthday honours list.

Paris Opera debut