Neal Cooper was born in London and studied German literature at Durham University and singing at the Paris Conservatoire. After several years in France he returned to Britain to train as a dramatic tenor, studying at the National Opera Studio.
Neal Cooper made his Royal Opera Covent Garden debut in 2013 as Thibault in The Sicilian Vespers, and returned in 2014 to sing Melot (Tristan und Isolde). Other performances include Tristan (Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern), Tannhäuser (Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken), Tristan and Tannhäuser (Longborough Festival Opera), Calaf in Turandot (Opera Northern Ireland), Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra (English National Opera), Radames in Aida (Riverside Opera), Mark in The Wreckers (Bard Summerscape Music Festival in NYC with the American Symphony Orchestra), and Ciccillo in I gioielli della Madonna and Nick in La Fanciulla del West (Opera Holland Park).
Covers for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden have included title roles in Parsifal, Tannhäuser and Tristan und Isolde. He also performed with Antonio Pappano in a Covent Garden Insights programme. Concert appearances include the title role in extracts from Siegfried in the Wagner 200 Celebrations at the Royal Festival Hall.
Neal Cooper’s most recent engagements include debuts at the Metropolitan Opera as Melot and at Teatro alla Scala as Ulrich Eisslinger in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. These past few years, he has sung in Tristan (title role) at the Melbourne Opera, Melot at the Budapest and Glyndebourne Festivals, and he took part in the productions of Parsifal (Gralsritter and Knappe) at the Baden‑Baden Festival and the Berlin Philharmonie with conductor Sir Simon Rattle. He also sang Mahler’s Eight Symphony at the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf with Adam Fischer.
He recently took part in Insights: Peter Grimes at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London and sung Melot and Tristan at the Glyndebourne Festival with conductor Robin Ticciati.
Back to top