Hailed as “a real thrill to behold” (Bachtrack), Dutch-Canadian tenor James Schouten was raised in the United Kingdom and studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Alexander Gibson Opera School, the Royal College of Music and Goldsmiths’ College, UoL. His 2025/26 season includes performances of Narraboth Salome (Regents’ Opera), Froh Das Rheingold (Grange Park Opera, Federico in Ed Lambert’s In Five Years’ Time (The Space Theatre, London) and Káťa Kabanová in concert as Boris Grigorjevič (New Palace Opera). In 2027 he will debut the title role in Parsifal with Regents’ Opera.

In the 2024/25 season, James’ engagements included a concert performance of Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex (New Palace Opera), The Architect Taj Mahal (Grange Park Opera), Bacchus Ariadne auf Naxos (Trentino Music Festival), and Alfred Die Fledermaus (Kentish Opera). Further recent performances include Loge Das Rheingold (Regents’ Opera), Le Prince Charmant Cendrillon (RCS Opera), Don Jose Carmen (Opera in Oborne), Laca Jenufa (Fulham Opera) and Eisenstein Die Fledermaus (Opera Gold). James has also performed scenes of Siegmund Die Walküre (Wagner Society, UK), Peter Grimes Peter Grimes (RCS Opera) and Le Mari Les Mamelles de Tiresias (RCS Opera).

Recent contemporary projects include Jawad in Orlando Gough’s Weather The Storm (Garsington Opera/Rosetta Life), as part of the Tete a Tete: The Opera Festival at RADA Studios Nebuchadnezzar inJoseph  Cabons’ opera  To  Himself, Alone, and Jon/Composer/Musical Director of lockdown micro-opera Threshold for OperaVision’s 2020 competition Opera Harmony.

He won the 2024 Mastersingers Prize & Audience Prize (Carole Rees Awards) in London, sang in the final of the Clonter Opera Prize (2024), won the Ye Cronies Competition at RCS (2023) and reached the final of Marmo All’Opera in Carrara, Italy (2022). James has generously been supported by ABRSM, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Trust and The Opera Awards Foundation Bursary.

Upcoming performances include Narraboth Salome (Regent’s Opera), Froh Das Rheingold (Grange Park Opera), Conte di Lerma Don Carlo (Grange Park Opera), Boris Grigorjevič Káťa Kabanová (New Palace Opera) and Parsifal (Regent’s Opera).

James studies with Richard Berkley Steele and previously worked with Stephen Robertson and Timothy Evans Jones.

General Management Worldwide.

Please note that this biography is not to be used for programmes. Current information is available on request.