British Tenor Ian Bostridge will be returning to Canada this May to perform with pianist Wenwen Du of Nebula Performances. The tour will include performances at Ottawa’s Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre on May 6, and at the Vancouver Playhouse on May 14.
The duo will also co-lead an Art Song Master Course at Nebula in Vancouver.
Ian Bostridge, tenor
Ian Charles Bostridge CBE has built an international reputation for his performances of operas and Lieder, with a specialty in the work of composer Benjamin Britten. He was born in London, UK into a family that includes writer and critic Mark Bostridge, Ian’s brother, and their great-grandfather, John “Tiny” Joyce, a famed Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper of the early 20th century.
Bostridge studied history at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and earned a D.Phil. degree in history from Oxford. He went on to work in the TV documentary field, and taught at Corpus Christi College in Oxford as a post-doctoral fellow.
Ian also sang alongside his academic and TV careers, and began to sing professionally at the age of 27. He made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1993, and gave his first solo recital at that venue in 1995. Ian made his operatic debut in 1994.
His musical career grew with recitals in Europe, and early appearance with the London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, and the Berlin Philharmonic.
As a recording artist, Bostridge has released multiple albums under the Hyperion and EMI Classics labels. He is a three-time GRAMMY Award winner, and his recordings have collected many other accolades, including the Edison, Japanese Recording Academy, Brit, South Bank Show Award, Diapason d’Or de l’Année, Choc de l’Année, and Echo Klassik awards, and the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis.
Along with touring the world’s concert stages, Ian has held residencies at Carnegie Hall, London’s Barbican Centre, Vienna Konzerthaus and Schwarzenberg Schubertiade, the Luxembourg Philharmonie, the Wigmore Hall and Hamburg Laeiszhalle.
He has also written several bestselling books, including Song and Self: A Singer’s Reflections on Music and Performance in 2023.
During 2025/26, his engagements have included Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw for Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; Britten War Requiem with the St Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stéphane Denève; staged performances of Bach St Matthew Passion directed by Romeo Castellucci at the Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with Kent Nagano; and Britten Nocturne and Serenade with the Munich Rundfunkorchesterk, among others.
Ian Bostridge sings Britten::
Wenwen Du
Wenwen Du is a pianist, performer, musical director, and artist presenter. She has performed on concert stages in three continents. Du co-founded Nebula Performances in Vancouver in 2024 to curate concerts, masterclasses, and workshops.
She was the Music Director for a full operatic production of La Tragédie de Carmen with stage director David Walsh.
Together with Nebula President Alice Chee, Wenwen has developed programs that include the Nebula International Vocal Workshop, Chamber Workshop, Summer MusicFest, and Pianist Program. Their work is based on the principle of cooperation over competition, and the organization works with both established and emerging artists.
She has been working with Ian Bostridge for several years, including a 2015 eight-concert North American tour which brought them to the Park Avenue Armory, Spivey Hall, San Francisco Performances, and the Vancouver Recital Society. The duo has also toured to South Korea, China, The Dallas Opera, Cal Performances (Berkeley), Music Beyond (Ottawa), Schloss Elmau (Germany), and return engagements to San Francisco Performances and Vancouver Recital Society.
Wenwen Du: The Interview
Du first met Bostridge as a member of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program.
“He was teaching,” she recalls. “I believe that was his first public master class. I applied for the young artist program from Canada.”
The process involved a few rounds of auditions.
“I got selected. I think they pick six pianists and 12 singers. I got paired up with two tenors,” Du says. She was already familiar with a great deal of material for the tenor voice. That’s where she connected with Bostridge as a teacher.
“It was amazing,” she says. “We had a final concert where Ian was going to sing one song,” she says. However, Ian’s usual accompanist wasn’t able to perform that particular day. “During the course, one day, he casually asked me, can you play for me at the final concert?”
She was surprised, but said yes. They completed their first performance together without much discussion.
“He didn’t say much.”
After the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program, Du went on to courses in Germany. Some time later, Bostridge emailed her about an upcoming North American tour. “I believe that was in 2014,” she says.
Festivals in Oxford and Germany followed. “I had to fly to Europe for the art song festival,” she recalls.
Working with Ian Bostridge
Their collaborations have continued over the years. What makes them work so well together?
“It’s very funny, because we don’t talk about things like that,” she says. “We don’t even rehearse,” she laughs. The duo has performed together so often it’s no longer necessary.
Bostridge brings a special quality to his performances. “In an interview he said, that for never a second, he lets you fall back and relax,” she says. “He casts a spell on you. He burns every second when he’s on stage. That’s my philosophy for performing arts as well,” she adds.
Allowing each other artistic freedom within the duo has also been part of their winning formula. “Working with him, one thing different from other artists, he enjoys giving pianists freedom,” she says. “You have to have freedom to create, and that’s what’s extraordinary,” Wu states.
“He’s an incredible listener,” she adds. “I think we’re both good at listening to each other when we play, so we don’t have to communicate so much in words.”
She describes Bostridge as a gifted storyteller as well as vocalist.
“Any language he is singing, his expression, his diction and everything is so clear,” she says. “Every word counts.”
It’s one of the reasons why she enjoys and appreciates his work as an educator as well. He teaches what’s behind the expression of performance. Du teaches many Gen Z students, and she’s noticed they focus almost exclusively on the notes themselves.
“But, what’s behind the notes? You have to have that emotion first,” she says. “Never forget what’s the first emotion that initiates this art piece.”
Ian Bostridge sings “Villes” from Britten’s Les Illuminations:
Canadian Concerts
“Ian and I — I think in Canada we have performed three different programs before,” she says. “This time we have a new program.”
It includes Britten’s Winter Words, which she notes they played in recital in Dallas. Britten’s The Holy Sonnets of John Donne will be performed in full. Excerpts from Hugo Wolf’s Goethe-Lieder will be included in the first half of the recital.
“The poet and composer are equally important,” Du says. “Britten sets the sonnets so brilliantly.”
Du made up the program and sent it to Bostridge. “He texted me and said, that’s a hard core program,” she laughs. “But I think it will be very, very powerful.”
Performances
Performances take place at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre in Ottawa on May 6, and the Vancouver Playhouse on May 14. The Vancouver masterclass takes place May 9 to 11.
- Find tickets and show details for both performances, and apply for the Vancouver masterclass, [HERE].
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