British operatic baritone Andrew Ashwin has enjoyed success in a number of countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland and Spain, as well as in the UK and Ireland. He has just finished a production of La Veuve Joyeuse (The Merry Widow) in Montpellier, in which he played Danilo.
Andrew recently sang the title role in Lismore Music Festival's Don Giovanni and earlier this year he sang Dr. Malatesta in Opera Theatre Company's production of Don Pasquale. In November 2010 he sang Angelotti in Opera Ireland's Tosca, and in summer and early autumn 0f 2010 he appeared as Sharpless in Grange Park Opera's production of Madama Butterfly.
In early 2010 Andrew made his Vlaamse Opera debut as Maximilian in Candide, andhe returned to Gent and Antwerp in May to sing Ercole and Oreste in Cavalli's Il Giasone.Earlier this year he sang Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette with Opera Ireland in Dublin. In summer 2009 he sang the title role in the Austrian premiere of Britten’s Owen Wingrave at the Vienna Kammeroper, to high critical acclaim. Similarly successful was his 2008 German debut as Junius in a new production of The Rape of Lucretia, at the Frankfurt Opera. Other ventures into the Britten repertoire include Macheath in The Beggar’s Opera in Zurich, and Novice’s Friend and First Mate in Billy Budd at the Bilbao Opera, marking his Spanish debut.
Andrew is equally experienced in the Mozart repertoire, having sung Don Giovanni, Figaro, Conte Almaviva and Papageno earlier in his career, as well as Guglielmo in a German tour of Cosi fan tutte in 2007.
As a member of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, highlights include Morales in a new production of Carmen, Le Mouton in the German premiere of Respighi’s Marie Victoire, and Papageno in a specially adapted children’s version of Die Zauberflöte. He also featured as soloist in the 2008 Opening Gala Concert.
Other operatic highlights include Marcello and Schaunard in La bohème, Elviro in Serse, Morales in La Tragédie de Carmen, the Forester in an adaptation of Leos Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen and various roles in Weill’s Die Dreigroschen Oper. In summer 2009 Andrew embarked on a concert tour of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, as part of the Pro Music Penang organisation. He sang operatic excerpts in concerts in Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore. Two summers previously he sang arias and duets in open air gala concerts in front of German castles in Karlsruhe, Saarbrücken, Koblenz and Wiesbaden. Andrew has sung much of the oratorio repertoire, with many choirs across the UK. Notable highlights include Elgar's Dream of Gerontius in March 2011 in Birmingham Town Hall, Mozart's Requiem at the Barbican Centre in 2010, A Sea Symphony at the Sage Centre, Gateshead, Bach’s Magnificat at the Cadogan Hall, and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem in Durham Cathedral.
Andrew is equally at home on the recital stage. His song repertoire is wide ranging, and he has performed many recitals of English songs, Lieder and Mélodies. In May 2011 he collaborated with pianist Angela Zanders on a concert which included first performances of Schumann's Dichterliebe and Butterworth's A Shropshire Lad.
In 2008 he performed Schubert’s Winterreise with acclaimed pianist and conductor Justus Frantz. In Zurich he took part in a number of Lieder Matinees, and was called upon to replace an ill Thomas Hampson on the morning of a concert at the Zurich Opera House. He also performed in concerts in Milan and Teatro La Fenice, Venice. In October 2008 he sang Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte for the opening of the Bad Urach Festival in Germany, and in December of that year he took part in a gala concert at the Vlaamse Opera in Gent.
He has worked with many of the world’s finest conductors, including Bernard Haitink, Christoph von Dohnányi, Carlo Rizzi, Peter Schreier, Maurizio Barbacini, Marc Minkowski, Yves Abel and Sir David Willcocks.
A CD of Handel’s Chandos Anthems, on the Naxos label, features Andrew singing solos and duets alongside James Bowman, and a DVD of Ariadne auf Naxos from Zurich with Christoph von Dohnányi was released in 2007. The Vlaamse Opera's 2010 production of Il Giasone, in which he played two roles, is also due to be released on DVD.Andrew features as a soloist on Classic FM’s Carols from Buckingham Palace CD, and he performed the solos in BBC Radio 2's performance of Faure's Requiem, for Aled Jones' Good Friday broadcast, At the Foot of the Cross.
