Hadleigh Adams

Hadleigh Adams is a United States based baritone who has received international acclaim for his performances on stage and in concert. He is renowned for his dynamic stage presence and ability to draw true, honest characters in his performances. His broad repertoire spans from Baroque and Bel Canto through Britten and contemporary composition. He has collaborated with some of today’s greatest artists on the concert platform and on the opera stage.

New-Zealand born, Hadleigh began his operatic studies at the University of Auckland gaining a bachelor of music, with first class, first division honors and then completed his masters of music at the New Zealand School of Music. From here he was invited to join the New Zealand Opera as a Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist. In 2009 he relocated to Australia as the inaugural Gertrude Johnson Scholar at The Opera Studio, Melbourne. He then received a full three-year scholarship to London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied with Rudolf Piernay and Janice Chapman, gaining a Masters of Music with Distinction, and completed the Opera Program with first class, first division honors.

Following his studies, Hadleigh performed in concert at London’s St Martin-in-the-Fields, the London Song Recital series, and has performed at the Wigmore Hall as a Voiceworks series artist. Whilst studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Hadleigh made his debut at London’s Royal National Theatre singing the role of Christ in Jonathan Miller’s production of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, to critical acclaim.

Following these performances, Hadleigh was invited to join the Merola Opera Program, at the San Francisco Opera. After his time Hadleigh was invited to join the San Francisco Opera as an Adler Fellow, the first New Zealander to ever hold the position. During his two-year tenure with the company Hadleigh appeared in over 75 MainStage performances, and over 20 concert performances. His final performance with the company was in the role of Schaunard in la Boheme.