Ian Caley was born in Preston, Lancashire and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music entering as a pianist but soon changing to singing.  He became one of Britain’s most versatile tenors with a repertoire ranging from pre-classical to contemporary via Mozart, Verdi and Wagner.  His professional debut was with Glyndebourne Festival Opera and he remained a Glyndebourne regular for several years where he was particularly know for singing Tom Rakewell in the famous John Cox production with sets by David Hockney. His first performances were also the operatic debut of Simon Rattle, a partnership which has continued.  He then sang with the ENO and with the Royal Opera and was a frequent guest at Scottish Opera.

His operatic career became firmly established in Europe, developing firstly in France, then in Italy, Switzerland and Germany.  His debut at the Paris Opera was in “Katya Kabanova” at the Palais Garnier where he was the last British singer heard before the company moved to La Bastille.  There, he became the first British artist to sing in the new house and, within a few years, the Paris Opera’s most-engaged foreign artist.  In Italy, he has appeared at La Scala, Milan and La Fenice, Venice as well as at the Rome Opera and the historic Teatro San Carlo in Naples.  He has had long-term engagements in Germany with the operas of Frankfurt and Stuttgart and has sung in the Staatsopern of Berlin (both Unter den Linden and Deutsche Oper), Munich and Hamburg.  In Switzerland he sang his first Florestan in Fidelio, Parsifal and first professional Peter Grimes.  He has also sung many performances at La Monnaie in Brussels and at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

Alongside his operatic work Ian Caley has had a successful concert career which has taken him all over Europe, to the USA, Canada, Japan, Brazil and even to the Seychelle Islands.  He has made many radio and television appearances and has appeared on a number of recordings.  Throughout his career he has worked frequently with major conductors (Barenboim, Boulez, Davies, Giulini, Groves, Ozawa and Pappano) and with internationally known directors (Götz Friedrich, Willy Decker, Peter Hall, François Rochaix and  Peter Sellars).  Now towards the end of his career, he is devoting more time to teaching and coaching.  He has given classes at the RNCM and is also a coach and mentor at the National Opera Studio. 

For  The Marriage of Figaro Ian will be taking on the role of Musical Director.