Alan Fairs

Bass-baritone Alan Fairs’ background was in church music.  He was a Choral Exhibitioner at Caius College Cambridge, and then appointed bass lay-clerk at Worcester Cathedral by Christopher Robinson. He also sang with the BBC Singers and other professional choirs in London, before winning the ISM’s Festival Days Competition. He auditioned successfully for the BBC and broadcast song recitals on Radio 3, and appeared on Radio 2. Sir David Willcocks selected him in competitive auditions to sing the bass solos in ‘Messiah from Scratch’ at the Royal Albert Hall. At these early stages, Alan was in considerable demand as an oratorio soloist and performed for more than a hundred choirs, festivals and choral societies throughout the UK and in Europe.

Alan’s career moved into opera. He sang principal roles with Glyndebourne, Pavilion Opera, Travelling Opera, Crystal Clear Opera, Craig y Nos, Mid Wales Opera and Opera Holland Park, where he received a unique SPECIAL JUDGES AWARD for his performances in Tosca. Concurrently he was continuing his private studies as a singer with renowned teachers including Audrey Langford, Robert Dean and Graeme Broadbent. His substantial technical development eventually brought many years performing principal roles with Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, English Touring Opera, the Longborough Opera Festival and Diva Opera. There were engagements too with English National Opera and at Covent Garden. He has a very extensive repertoire of operatic roles, notably Don Pasquale, Falstaff, Alberich Rheingold, Basilio Barber of Seville, Kezal Bartered Bride, Leporello, Bartolo, Raimondo Lucia di Lamermoor, Osmin Entführung, Don Alfonso Cosi fan Tutte and many others besides. Alan’s performances as Raimondo Lucia di Lamermoor for Scottish Opera brought this review in The Guardian, “Most charismatic of all, however, is Alan Fairs’s stentorian Raimondo.”  The Mail on Sunday reported, “Alan Fairs makes the most of his opportunity to shine as Alberich.” (Wagner’s Rheingold at Longborough).  His last performance in Manon for Scottish Opera elicited, “Alan Fairs’s Comte des Grieux represents timeless values – his brief contributions are a tonic.”  Opera Magazine.

While fulfilling his opera commitments, Alan was less able to accept oratorio engagements until recently, when he decided to turn from opera to oratorio as his main area of interest.  He is no longer actively seeking operatic engagements, though he has been called upon to cover operatic emergencies from time to time!   Nevertheless, he was able to fulfil a good number of oratorio engagements over that period of operatic priority. Dr Donald Hunt offered him many engagements to perform.  Concerts with Dr Hunt included Messiah, St Matthew Passion,  St John Passion, Tippett’s A Child of our Time, and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius as well as The Kingdom.  Dr Hunt engaged him to sing two concerts –Messiah and Gerontius – in one season for the Leeds Festival Choral Society in Leeds Town Hall. This, Dr Hunt pointed out, was unique in the history of the society!  At the beginning of 2019 Alan was asked to sing at Dr Hunt’s memorial concert in Worcester Cathedral and at his own personal request.

Alan has a large repertoire of concert works and is very frequently asked to return to the choral societies which have engaged him.  He is delighted to have been invited to be President of Stroud Choral Society, a choir he has sung with on a number of occasions, taking over the role from Sarah Connolly.

www.alanfairs.com/

For Oratorio and Concert repertoire please scroll down:​