Northern Irish baritone, Ben McAteer trained at the National Opera Studio in London, as an Emerging Artist for Scottish Opera, and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Before embarking on a musical career, he studied Chemistry at the University of St Andrews.
Operatic highlights to date include Falke Die Fledermaus for Welsh National Opera; Count Le Nozze di Figaro and Father Hansel & Gretel for Irish National Opera; Papageno The Magic Flute for Northern Ireland Opera; Dr Pangloss/Voltaire Candide with the Xi'an Symphony Orchestra; and Frank-Fritz Die Tote Stadt with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Ben McAteer is also a natural performer of Gilbert and Sullivan and has performed Pish-Tush The Mikado for Scottish Opera, and Earl of Mountararat Iolanthe for English National Opera.
In the 2021/2022 season, highlights include Officer Two & Blazes in Peter Maxwell-Davies’ The Lighthouse for Irish National Opera, Grand Inquisitor The Gondoliers for Scottish Opera in both Scotland and London, and Brahms Requiem with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. He also features on a disc of undiscovered songs by Irish composer Ina Boyle with Iain Burnside, released on Delphian Records in August 2021.
This biography is for information only and should not be reproduced.
The Gondoliers / Utopia Ltd (Grand Inquisitor / King Paramount), Scottish Opera
(November 2021)
Ben McAteer upped his artistic profile with a deliciously camp portrayal of the Grand Inquisitor – a mature, stage-filling impersonation that kept within the bounds of taste.
Andrew Clark, Opera Magazine
Ben McAteer’s Grand Inquisitor, a delicious picture of pomposity, gives an outstanding comic performance.
Mark Brown, The National (Scotland)
Outstanding were Ben McAteer’s charmingly easygoing King Paramount…
Ken Walton, The Scotsman****
Though the production maintains a light-heartedness, an ounce of villainy can be sniffed out by Ben McAteer’s Grand Inquisitor, a booming and delicious role. And though not necessarily the most diabolical of Gilbert & Sullivan’s rogues, McAteer devours the scenes, capitalising on every opportunity with his bass-baritone and imposing vocals.
Dominic Corr, The Reviews Hub - Scotland
La bohème (Schaunard), Irish National Opera
(March 2021)
Ben McAteer was an excellent Schaunard...
Opera Magazine
Recording: 3 English operettas (Sullivan, Ford and Cellier)
BBC Concert Orchestra / Dutton Vocalion (2020)
Ben McAteer’s urbane strikes a better balance” [Haddon Hall] / “…the title roles provide Ben McAteer with well-taken comedy chances.” [Mr Jericho and Captain Billy]
Opera Magazine
Die Fledermaus (Eisenstein), Northern Ireland Opera
(September 2019)
Ben McAteer was a game Eisenstein…
Robert Thicknesse, Opera Now
Ben McAteer found ample humour in Eisenstein's self-inflicted quandary...
Michael Quinn, Opera Magazine
La belle Hélène (Calchas)
Blackheath Halls Opera (July 2019)
Ben McAteer gave an object lesson in comic opera as Calchas.
Yehuda Shapiro, Opera Magazine
Opera Repertoire
| Bernstein | Candide (Voltaire/Pangloss/Martin) |
|---|---|
| Britten | The Rape of Lucretia (Tarquinius) |
| Gilbert & Sullivan | HMS Pinafore (Captain Corcoran) |
| Henze | Boulevard Solitude (Lescaut)* |
| Humperdinck | Hansel & Gretel (Peter) |
| Janáček | From the House of the Dead (Goryanchikov) |
| Korngold | Die Tote Stadt (Frank/Fritz) |
| MacRae | The Devil Inside (James) |
| Massenet | La Navarraise (Remigio) |
| Mozart | Così fan tutte (Guglielmo) |
| Puccini | La Bohème (Marcello) |
| Purcell | Dido & Aeneas (Aeneas) |
| Rorem | Our Town (Mr Webb) |
| Strauss | Die Fledermaus (Falke) |
| Tchaikovsky | Eugene Onegin (title role)* |
| Verdi | Rigoletto (Marullo) |
| *role studied/covered |
Oratorio / Masses Repertoire
| J.S. Bach | Christmas Oratorio |
|---|---|
| Beethoven | Symphony No. 9 – “Choral" |
| Brahms | Requiem |
| Durufle | A German Requiem |
| Elgar | The Apostles (Jesus) The Dream of Gerontius The Kingdom (St Peter) |
| Fauré | Requiem |
| Handel | Dixit Dominus |
| Haydn | Nelson Mass |
| Mealor | Crucifixus |
| Mendelssohn | Elijah |
| Mozart | Requiem |
| Orff | Carmina Burana |
| Stravinsky | Pulcinella |
| Sullivan | The Golden Legend |
| Vivaldi | Magnificat in G |
Orchestral Song / Other Repertoire
| Adams | The Wound Dresser |
|---|---|
| Copland | Old American Songs |
| Delius | Cynara |
| Finzi | Let Us Garlands Bring |
| Hay | The Wind Among the Reeds |
| Schubert | Mass in G |
| Stanford | Songs of the Fleet |
| Turnage | At Sixes & Sevens |
| V. Williams | Fantasia on Christmas Carols |
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