Martin Lamb
Opera Singer
Writer & Director
Singing
Biography
Martin was born in Southport in Merseyside into a family where music was a huge part of everyday life. His grandfather was the variety entertainer Billy 'Uke' Scott, and it was obvious from an early age that performing was in Martin's blood.
After singing in his parents' local church as a boy, once Martin's voice broke he started appearing on stage both at school and with a local drama group, The Hoghton Players. After completing his English degree at St John's College, Oxford, he took the decision to train his voice and try for a career as a professional performer. Now, almost thirty years later, his work sees him working not only as a soloist in opera and concerts, but also writing, directing and appearing in straight theatre.
Martin has worked for some of the UK's leading opera companies, including English National Opera, Scottish Opera, English Touring Opera and Garsington Opera. He is well known as an interpreter of some of the most famous buffo bass roles, including Dr Dulcamara, both the Mozart and Rossini Bartolos, and Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro. More recently, Martin has won great acclaim for his forays into heavier German repertoire, specifically Wagner and in particular the role of Alberich, and he won the Audience Prize at the 2014 Wagner Singing Competition in London.
Martin has a long connection with and enthusiasm for the works of Gilbert & Sullivan: he made his professional debut with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company at the Savoy Theatre as Sergeant Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard in 2003, and is delighted to have returned to that role along with the title role in The Mikado and Sir Marmaduke in The Sorcerer for the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company's 2016 season.
Martin's most recent performances include Kaspar in Der Freschütz and Pietro in the world premier of Marianna Bettini's rediscovered 1822 work Elena e Gerardo (both for Random Opera), Bartolo and Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro on tour throughout the UK for Heritage Opera, creating the roles of Patrick Brontë, Mr Rochesters and M Heger (Lisa Logan's Brontë: the Opera for the Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre), and Don Alfonso in Così fan Tutte in a production for the Gap Festival in Goring & Streatley which he also directed and translated.
Please note that this biography is not to be used for promotional purposes - please contact Martin direct if you would like to reproduce information about his work.
You can see Martin as Kaspar in Der Freischütz in April 2022 here.
If you would like further video samples of Martin's singing, please contact him direct.