David Butt Philip

This 2025–26 season, Butt Philip’s highlights include his highly anticipated company and role debut as Siegmund in Die Walküre in David McVicar’s new Ring at Teatro alla Scala under the baton of Alexander Soddy; a return to the Wiener Staatsoper as Florestan in a new production of Fidelio; and Bacchus in Laurent Pelly’s new production of Ariadne auf Naxos with the Glyndebourne Festival under the baton of Robin Ticciati. Further highlights this season include his company debut as the Prince in Rusalka at the Royal Swedish Opera and his return to the role of Apollo in Daphne with Seattle Opera. On the concert platform, performances include Das Lied von der Erde at Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía under the baton of Sir Mark Elder; Erik in concert performances of Der fliegende Holländer; Gurre-Lieder and a Liederabend with James Baillieu at the Tokyo Spring Festival; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall; Florestan in Fidelio in concert with The Cleveland Orchestra; Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi; Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos in concert with the Bayerische Staatsoper Orchestra at the Herkulessaal; and The Dream of Gerontius with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano.

Last season, Butt Philip returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Florestan in Fidelio, a role he also performed at the Semperoper Dresden in his company debut. He also reprised the title role of Lohengrin at the Wiener Staatsoper under the baton of Christian Thielemann and the title role in Der Zwerg at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he also starred as the Kaiser in a new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten. On the concert platform, he performed the Glagolitic Mass and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Czech Philharmonic; the title role of Candide in concert performances at Semperoper Dresden; and The Dream of Gerontius for the Huddersfield Choral Society and the Opera North Orchestra under conductor Martyn Brabbins.

Further highlights included several appearances at the Wiener Staatsoper (Laca Jenůfa, Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Don José in Carmen, Apollo in Daphne and the title role in Lohengrin); Don José in Carmen, and the title roles in Der Zwerg and Lohengrin at the Deutsche Oper Berlin; Florestan in Fidelio and Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Bayerische Staatsoper; his company and role debut at the San Francisco Opera as Der Kaiser in David Hockney’s production of Die Frau ohne Schatten, conducted by Sir David Runnicles; and a return to the Royal Opera House as the Prince in a new contemporary staging of Rusalka by Natalie Abrahami and Ann Yee. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Grigory in Boris Godunov and in the American premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet as Laertes; Boris in a new production of Káťa Kabanová at the Salzburg Festival and in Glyndebourne; the title role in Brett Dean’s Hamlet, this time in a new production by Matthew Jocelyn in Cologne; the Prince in Christof Loy’s new production of Rusalka; Froh in Das Rheingold; and Essex in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Gloriana, all at Teatro Real. He also appeared as Erik in Der fliegende Holländer at Opéra de Lille; Florestan in Fidelio at the National Theatre in Prague and subsequently at the Royal Opera House in Tobias Kratzer’s acclaimed production, replacing an ailing Jonas Kaufmann. The performance starring Butt Philip and Lise Davidsen was subsequently aired on BBC Four and met with great acclaim. British audiences have seen him at the Royal Opera House as the Prince in Rusalka, Grigory in Boris Godunov, Narraboth in Salome, and in a Christmas concert conducted by Mark Wigglesworth; at English National Opera as Rodolfo in their Drive & Live production of La Bohème, Daniel Kramer’s new production of Britten’s War Requiem—for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award—Don José in Carmen and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly; at Opera Holland Park in his role debut as Canio in Pagliacci, as Count Vaudémont in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and as Folco in Mascagni’s Isabeau; at Opera North as Laca in Jenůfa and Luigi in Il Tabarro; and at Glyndebourne as Laertes in the premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Glyndebourne Festival and later as the title role on tour.

His notable concert appearances include Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Christian Thielemann and at the Bergen International Festival with Edward Gardner; his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Dvořák’s Stabat Mater conducted by Jakub Hrůša; Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for his debut at the Spring Festival in Tokyo; and Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Edward Gardner.

Born and brought up in Wells, Somerset, Butt Philip was a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral. He is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio, and was also a Samling Artist, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, and winner of the prestigious John Christie Award in 2011.