Celebrated for his 'clean tone, and bright heroic sound that made the walls ring' (Pelkonen), American heldentenor, James Chamberlain, is equally at home in the Italian and German dramatic repertoire. James's debut in the title role of Siegfried in August 2023 was a revelation, a true Wagnerian tenor ripe and ready for this repertoire.

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Even with the challenges of a post-pandemic opera industry, James has hit the ground running with an impressive collection of role and company debuts since 2022. Some highlights from these years include three Wagner roles, Siegmund in Die Walküre, Siegfried in Siegfried, and Siegfried in Götterdämmerung, all with TUNDI Productions Wagner in Vermont Festival. He has performed as Cavaradossi in Tosca for both Druid City Opera and Mobile Opera. He also returned to Mobile Opera for more for Puccini, with Ruggero in La Rondine. 

Earlier in his career, James made his mark on the role of Canio in Pagliacci with Opera Ithaca, Opera in the Heights, and Kingwood Opera, where he also took on Turiddu in the double-bill with Cavalleria Rusticana. It was with Kingwood Opera that he made his debut as Don Jose in Carmen, another role he has returned to several times, including as a cover for Sarasota Opera, and more recently in HOPERA’s production of CARMENcita. Other performance credits include Pollione in Norma and Bacchus (cover) in Ariadne auf Naxos for St Petersburg Opera, and Roberto in Le Villi for Bel Cantanti Opera. 

On the concert stage, James has performed recitals for the Wagner Society of Washington D.C., and for Cypress Creek Face’s Promenade Series. Orchestral concerts have included Opera on the Lake with Wichita Grand Opera, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Doctors Orchestra of Houston (now the Texas Medical Center Orchestra), and the role of Des Grieux in a concert performance of Manon Lescaut for the Soma International Foundation. In 2014, James sang the role of Pilot in one of the first performances of Bob Chilcott's St John's Passion in the United States.

After completing his training with Sarasota Opera as a Studio Artist, James spent two seasons as an Emerging Artist at St Petersburg Opera. James’s career has also been supported for several years with training at the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, and in summer 2024 he returned to this program in Reno, as part of the American Wagner Project. In 2022, James became a grantee of the Olga Forrai Foundation, who continue to support his career as he breaks into the dramatic repertoire. 

James’s 2025 includes a return to the title role of Siegfried in July. He will finish off the season when he returns to Vermont in the summer where he will sing Siegfried in the final two operas of TUNDI Productions complete Ring Cycle.