Hubert Francis
Irish/Australian tenor, Hubert (Hugh) Francis began the season with his appearance as Herod Salome at Bergen Festival under the baton of Edward Gardner OBE conducting the Bergen Philharmonic. He returns to The Royal Opera House Covent Garden to revive his renowned portrayal of Spoletta Tosca, a role he sings there every season and in which he can be seen on the DVD with Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann and Bryn Terfel.
Recent engagements include his work as an ensemble artist at Opera Australia appearing in a variety of roles. He returns to the company in 2023 for the role of Loge Das Rheingold; career highlights include his highly lauded debut at Israeli Opera as Herod Salome and the role of Hauptmann in the acclaimed David McVicar production of Wozzeck at Finnish National Opera.
Past season engagements include his appearance with Karita Mattila as the Hauptmann at Helsinki Festival; Herod at State Opera of South Australia; and Chairman Mao Nixon in China for Opera Wide Open’s inaugural production in Dublin. He won outstanding reviews for his performance as Shuisky Boris Godunov with the Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of Jakub Hrůša at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
“Hubert Francis’ Spoletta was an oily henchman, as clipped and professional as Markov…and sneeringly dispassionate after Tosca’s big leap…”
Benjamin Poore, Operawire, 14 December 2021
“The Spoletta of tenor Hubert Francis, though, was a triumph, not only vocally strong but capable of superb diction at speed in the second act. ”
Colin Clarke, Opera Today, 15 December 2021
“The singer who made the biggest impression was Hubert Francis in the role of the slippery boyar Prince Shuisky. Rolling his tongue around the Russian text with relish, he presented exactly the extrovert characterisation required. His manipulation of Boris, informing him of a Pretender to the throne, was deliciously wicked.”
Mark Pullinger, Bachtrack
“Portrayed as so bloated as to require being carried around, the Herod of Hubert Francis boasted a strong, musical tenor.”
John Allison, Opera Magazine, April 2019
| ADAMS | Nixon in China (Chairman Mao) |
|---|---|
| BEETHOVEN | Fidelio (Florestan) |
| BERG | Wozzeck (Captain, Drum Major) |
| BRITTEN | The Rape of Lucretia (Male Chorus) |
| DVOŘÁK | Rusalka (Gamekeeper) |
| ENESCU | Oedipe (Lajos) |
| JANÁČEK | From the House of the Dead (Luka Kuzmič/Kedril/Hlas) The Makropoulos Case (Vitek) |
| KEABLE | Burning Waters (Poole) |
| KRENEK | Karl V (Ferdinand) |
| MARTINŮ | The Greek Passion (Yannakos) |
| MASON | Playing Away (Terry Bond) |
| MOZART | The Marriage of Figaro (Don Basilio) |
| MUSSORGSKY | Boris Godunov (Shuisky) |
| PROKOFIEV | The Gambler (Marquis, 1st Croupier) |
| PUCCINI | La fanciulla del West (Trin) Madama Butterfly (Goro) Tosca (Spoletta) |
| RIMSKY-KORSAKOV | The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya (The Bearhandler) |
| SHOSTAKOVICH | Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (Zinoviy/Shabby Peasant) The Nose (Ivan) |
| STRAUSS | Die Frau ohne Schatten (Hunchback) Elektra (Young Servant) Salome (Herod, 1st Jew, 2nd Jew, 3rd Jew) |
| TCHAIKOVSKY | The Queen of Spades (Hermann, Chekalinsky) |
| ULLMANN | Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Harlekin) |
| VERDI | Les vêpres siciliennes (Thibault) |
| WAGNER | Das Rheingold (Loge, Mime) |
| WEILL | The Rise and Fall of the City Mahagonny (Toby Higgins) |
Contact
Deborah Sanders
Founder and Director
deborah@arbourartists.com