George Robarts
A “phenomenal actor” with “impeccable delivery of lyrics” (Kurt Weill Foundation), British baritone George Robarts is the winner of the 2025 Lotte Lenya Competition in New York.
George made his debut with English Touring Opera in 2026 with a “side-splitting” turn (The Guardian) as Luiz in The Gondoliers. He has performed at Garsington, the Grange, Buxton, Opera Holland Park, the International G&S Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, and many local opera companies and festivals. A strong and versatile actor, he starred as Bottom in Longborough’s acclaimed opera-drama adaptation of The Fairy Queen (“lanky and delightful” – Plays to See).
In recital, he has appeared alongside celebrated pianist Graham Johnson at the Oxford International Song Festival and Leeds Song Festival. With a gift for patter and a “great penchant for comedy” (Opera Scene), he has performed Noël Coward songs in recital alongside Dame Felicity Lott, who described his work as “laugh-out-loud funny”.
He was a prize winner at the International Vocal Competition’s “Theatre in Song” edition in 2025 for an eclectic programme ranging from Schubert to Flanders & Swann, earning plaudits for his “musical and comedic timing”. 2026-27 engagements include Kurt Weill songs at St Martin-in-the-Fields and Bridgewater Hall, and recital debuts at the London Song Festival and the Luxembourg Philharmonie.
George’s translations for the stage include Orpheus & Eurydice for ETO, The Marriage of Figaro for Oxford Opera, and The Revolting Maid (from Pergolesi’s La serva padrona), for which he was awarded the John Dryden Prize. Future plans include Ludmilla, a cabaret-operetta farce composed at Westerbork transit camp in 1944, which he will perform in his own translation for the 2027 Brundibár Arts Festival.
George is a City Music Foundation Artist and a graduate of Oxford University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
