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Christopher Ainslie

Christopher Ainslie

Born: 1978, Cape Town

Nationality: South African

Artist's website: http://christopherainslie.com/

The South African countertenor Christopher Ainslie began singing as a treble at St George’s Cathedral Cape Town, but started his working life as a chartered accountant, switching his focus to singing in 2005 when he enrolled at the Royal College of Music in London; early successes included prizes at the London Handel Competition, the Gianni Bergamo Competition and the Richard Tauber Competition.

Ainslie’s discography includes the Thomas Arne’s Artaxerxes with the Early Opera Company (‘Ainslie is outstanding in the title role’– The Sunday Times), Zephyrus in Mozart’s early Apollo et Hyacinthus with Classical Opera, Ottone in Handel’s Agrippina from the Göttingen Festival, and Britten’s Abraham and Isaac with tenor Ben Johnson on Signum.

Further Reading: Christopher Ainslie

Recording of the Week, Arne: Artaxerxes

Ian Page and the Classical Opera Company resurrect the British composer’s ornate depiction of skulduggery in Ancient Persia, premiered in London in 1762, with Christopher Ainslie in the title-role and Elizabeth Watts as his firebrand sister.

Recent Best Sellers: Christopher Ainslie