Internationally renowned as both a singer and conductor, Paul Agnew is widely regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of the Baroque and Classical repertoires. His long-standing collaborations with many of the leading conductors in the field of early music have resulted in a discography of more than one hundred recordings. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, before embarking on an international career that has taken him around the world.

At the forefront of the revival of French Baroque repertoire, Paul Agnew made a critically acclaimed debut in the title role of Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie at the Palais Garnier under the direction of William Christie. He subsequently returned to the Opéra national de Paris for new productions of Rameau’s Platée, Les Boréades, and Les Indes galantes. He has performed the demanding haute-contre roles of the French Baroque repertoire throughout the world, notably at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Opernhaus Zürich, and in Sydney, Australia.

He later broadened his repertoire to include Mozart’s Idomeneo under William Christie, Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at the Opéra national de Bordeaux under Jane Glover and at the Opéra de Rennes, Haydn’s L’anima del filosofo with the Kammerorchester Basel in Vienna and Eisenstadt, Haendel’s Jephtha at the Det Kongelige Theater in Copenhagen, and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites at the Opéra de Nice. Paul Agnew made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in its production of Haendel’s Acis and Galatea, presented to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death.

Following a highly successful conducting debut with Les Arts Florissants in Paris in 2007, William Christie appointed him Co-Musical Director of the ensemble. Since then, he has led Les Arts Florissants on tours to major venues including the Wiener Konzerthaus, throughout France, Salzburg, New York, and China. He made his London conducting debut with the ensemble at the Barbican as part of its 30th-anniversary celebrations. In 2009, Paul Agnew succeeded Christophe Rousset as Musical Director of the Orchestre Français des Jeunes Baroque and has since been deeply involved in training the next generation of specialist musicians. He is also Co-Director of Le Jardin des Voix, the academy for young singers.

Since then, Paul Agnew has conducted, among others, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, the Trondheim Symfoniorkester, the Orquesta Nacional de España, the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Saint-Étienne, Music of the Baroque in Chicago, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota, the Staatskapelle Dresden, and the Finnish Radio Chamber Orchestra in Helsinki.

He made his operatic conducting debut with Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor at the Opéra de Rennes in 2010. Since then, he has conducted Robert Carsen’s production of Rameau’s Platée at the Theater an der Wien and the Opéra Comique, Platée again at the Göteborg Opera and Garsington Opera, and Haendel’s Giulio Cesare at the Nationaltheater Mannheim.

As Co-Musical Director of Les Arts Florissants, he completed a Monteverdi recording series that received a Gramophone Award in 2014. More recently, he completed a recording of Gesualdo’s six books of madrigals, which received both a Gramophone Award (2022) and Classica’s Disque de l’année (2023). His extensive discography also includes Lamentazione (works by Scarlatti and Caldara) for Virgin, The Food of Love (a Purcell programme) for Ambroisie, Sally Beamish’s In Dreaming for Virgin Classics, Rameau’s Dardanus for ABC, and songs by Dowland for Metronome. His DVD recordings include Les Boréades and Les Indes galantes for Opus Arte, Lully’s Armide, Bach’s Messe en si mineur and Passion selon saint Matthieu, as well as his celebrated performance in Platée for TDK.

Paul Agnew has been represented by RSBA since 2023.

General Management (except Spain)

RSB Artists
Tel: +33 6 747 617 97
Email: rsbweb@rsbartists.com

Management (Spain)

Enrique Rubio
Imusica
C/Téllez 52 local b
28007 Madrid
www.e-imusica.com
Phone: +34 91 506 15 31