James Vaughan

Leading recitalist and vocal coach, James Vaughan studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. After graduating with an honours degree in Musicology and Composition from Trinity College Dublin, he continued his studies with Norma Fisher in London and with Riccardo Brengola on an Italian Government Scholarship at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Despite many appearances as soloist, with the RTE Symphony Orchestra , at the Musikverein in Vienna and in recital for the BBC, his preference for working with singers soon led him to appointments as vocal coach at the Vienna State Opera and as Head of Music Staff at the VIenna Chamber Opera. Since then, he has worked regularly with leading singers and conductors including Abbado, Mehta, Harnoncourt, Chung, Pretre and Giulini, as well as Domingo, Carreras, Netrebko, Gheorgiu and Kaufmann. In 1998 he was invited to be Head Coach at La Scala Theatre in Milan by it's Musical Director, Riccardo Muti. Since then, he has participated in over seventy productions for the theatre, touring with the La Scala company regularly throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. He has appeared regularly in recital with Leo Nucci, Fiorenza Cedolins, Barbara Frittoli, Jessica Pratt and Pretty Yende in venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Pushkin Museum and Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, at the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, and in London at the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and St John's Smith Square. He has worked regularly in masterclasses with singers such as Sena Jurinac, Christa Ludwig, James King and Renato Bruson and has held his own masterclasses frequently throughout Europe and Asia. He has recently featured in a special documentary film to celebrate La Scala theatre called "The Temple of Music" which was shown in cinemas throughout the world, and further television work for Sky Arte is scheduled for January 2016. In January 2016, he was awarded the Triumph International Award in Rome with Ennio Morricone and actor Michele Placido. He has been invited regularly to act as juror in vocal competitions including the Vinas in Barcelona, the Belvedere in Japan and the Vidisc International in Dublin.