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The Dutch born Australian counter-tenor, Tobias Martin Piers Trevor Cole, was born in Leiden, while his father was working at the Leiden University as a radio astronomer. In 1976 he commenced his education at Newington College. Aged 8, he joined the choir of St. James Church in Sydney, as a treble. As a boy soprano, he sang with The Australian Opera (in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Tosca) and with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. As a teenager, in 1986-1987 he toured Europe with the Chapel Choir of Newington College. He was later appointed head chorister of the choir. He is an honours graduate in music from the University of Sydney, having studied singing, composition, conducting and musicology. He was awarded a 1994 Churchill Fellowship, sponsored by Dame Roma Mitchell, to continue his vocal training with Ashley Stafford at London's Royal College of Music and to also further his studies in Early Music. He later received a Queen's Trust Achiever Award for operatic studies in London. In 2002, he was the first counter-tenor to win Opera Foundation Australia's Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Study Award and spent three months in New York studying at The Metropolitan.
After the Met experince, Tobias Cole made his USA debut in 2004 playing Ottone in in L’Incoronazione di Poppea, returning to sing Apollo in B. Britten's Death in Venice and Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream all for the Chicago Opera Theater. He has sung with West Australian Opera (George Frideric Handel's Orlando), Opera Queensland (Julius Caesar), The Renaissance Players, The Song Company, Kent Opera (Masque of Dioclesian), Australian Ballet (Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Stabat Mater), at Sydney and Melbourne Festivals Shaun Parker’s “This Show is About People”, London Handel Festival (Deidamia) with director Keith Warner and with the English Bach Festival (The Fairy Queen).
Tobias Cole is one of Australia’s most successful counter-tenors, having performed throughout Australia, the UK and USA. He was Principal Artist at Opera Australia from 1997 to 2012. Highlight performances include the title role in G.F. Handel's Julius Caesar, Medoro in G.F. Handel's Orlando, Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Mozart Anniversary Concerts for Opera Australia; the title role in G.F. Handel's Xerxes (Handel) for NZ Opera and Victorian Opera (winning a Green Room Award); Studz in Alan John’s How to Kill Your Husband for Victorian Opera; Roberto (Griselda) and Athamas (Semele) for Pinchgut Opera; La Speranza and Pastore 3 in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo Australian Brandenburg Orchestra; Carmina Burana for West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Music Festival; G.F. Handel's Messiah and J.S. Bach's St. John Passion (BWV 245) with Queensland Symphony Orchestra; Dr Who Symphonic Spectacular with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; Dido and Aeneas and John Adams’ El Ñino with Sydney Philharmonia, and J.S. Bach’s B minor Mass (BWV 232) at the Canberra International Music Festival.
Recent engagements have included the Lycanthropy Aria from Torsten Rasch’s The Duchess of Malfi with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, title role in Philip Glass’ Akhnaten for State Opera of South Australia, the title role in the Australian premiere of G.F. Handel's Alexander Balus with Canberra Choral Society, J.S. Bach’s B minor Mass (BWV 232) for The Song Company and at Woodend Winter Arts Festival , a staged version of J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) (Opera Queensland), Didymus in G.F. Handel's Theodora (Canberra Choral Society), Carmina Burana (Canberra Symphony Orchestra) and G.F. Handel's Messiah (Canberra Choral Society and Collegium Symphonic Chorus Perth), as well as appearances at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. In 2015 he returned to West Australian Symphony Orchestra to perform Carmina Burana, The Canberra International Music Festival in their Bach on Sunday and Russian Masters concerts, and to Canberra Choral Society as Lychas in G.F. Handel's Hercules.
Tobias Cole was Artistic Director of Canberra Choral Society (2011-December 2016); and has been Artistic Director od Clarion Ensemble (since September 2014) and Artistic Director of Handel in the Theatre in Canberra (since April 2016). He is Distinguished Artist in Residence at the Australian National University. |
