A master of English music, he has performed Britten’s Church Parables in St Petersburg, in London and at the Aldeburgh Festival, Nocturne with the NHK Symphony in Tokyo and War Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony and the National Youth Orchestra of Germany. Recent highlights have included the role of Rev. Adams in Deborah Warner’s award-winning production of Britten’s Peter Grimes at the Teatro Real in Madrid and for his company debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as well as with Bergen Philharmonic conducted by Edward Gardner at the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Festival Hall, Grieghallen and Den Norske Opera.

Further notable appearances include Haydn’s Creation in a staged production with Garsington Opera and with Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Elijah with Goteborgs Symfoniker conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, and Bach’s St Matthew Passion at King’s College, Cambridge as part of Stephen Cleobury’s final Easter week as Director of Music. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and the St John and St Matthew Passion feature prominently in James’ schedule, and he is celebrated as perhaps the finest Evangelist of his generation; as one review noted, “he hasn’t become a one-man Evangelist industry by chance”.

Highlights of the 2023-24 season include Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Richard Egarr, Mozart’s Requiem with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Handel’s Messiah with the Hallé Orchestra and Stephen Layton and with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Valladolid, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio on tour in Austria with L’Orfeo Barockorchester. Future plans include a reprise of the role of Rev. Horace Adams in Deborah Warner’s acclaimed production of Britten’s Peter Grimes in his house debut at the Opera di Roma.