New Zealand baritone Hadleigh Adams has amassed an incredibly diverse portfolio of work at the highest level. Equally at home on either the concert or opera stage, the New Yorker described him as simply “...a tour de force”. 

As a principal artist on the opera stage Mr. Adams has amassed a body of work remarkable in its breadth, and his performances are renowned for their intensity. Opera News said of his 2018 performance of Philip Glass’ les Enfants Terrible, performed with Opera Parallèle and under the composer’s supervision, “looking pale, youthful and slightly dazed as Paul, Adams was the evening’s vocal standout, projecting the text with elegant line and idiomatic French, he imbued the character with a sense of unhinged delicacy”). With the San Francisco Opera, he has performed over 85 mainstage performances. He also has the distinction of being the first New Zealander in the company’s history to be named both a Merola artist, and an Adler Fellow. 

In traditional repertoire Mr. Adams has performed a wide range of characters in a variety of musical styles: Ravel under the baton of Esa Pekka Salonen, Bernstein under Marin Alsop and Michael Tilson Thomas, Handel under Nicholas McGegan, Puccini under Nicola Luisotti, Mozart under the stage direction of Sir Thomas Allen, Handel under the stage direction of Christopher Alden, and Puccini under the stage direction of Les Miserables director, John Caird. His European debut was at London’s Royal National Theatre in a staged performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, playing the role of Jesus, and directed by Sir Jonathan Miller. The Guardian called his performance “simply beguiling”. 

A strong proponent of modern opera, he has performed as a principal in the premieres of over ten new operas, including Crossing by Matt Aucoin at BAM, under the direction of Tony award winner Diane Paulus. His US premiere was in Mark Adamo’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and he most recently performed in the premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You. He has performed modern and contemporary opera with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Opera, Nederlandse Reisopera, San Francisco Symphony, Opera Parallèle and West Edge Opera. Opera News said of his 2018 daring performance of Luca Francesconi’s Quartett, “Baritone Hadleigh Adams was an impressive Valmont, singing with dark strength and supple, expressive tone…”. He was invited to the Netherlands National Touring Opera (Nederlandse Reisopera) to perform Carl Magnus in their new production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Among many glowing reviews, Bachtrack said of his performance “Hadleigh Adams’ robust baritone fits the dashing but dim, testosterone fueled Carl-Magnus like a glove”.

On the concert stage he has performed as a soloist with the London Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa Pekka Salonen, the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra under Nicola Luisotti, Chicago Symphony orchestra under Marin Alsop at the Ravinia Festival, Louis Langree with the Lincoln Center Festival, and Philharmonia Baroque under Nicholas McGegan. He has also performed with the American Bach Soloists, Nashville Symphony, and Colorado Symphony. Renowned for his Handel, he has performed The Messiah in excess of 100 times.

He has appeared in concert performances at Wigmore Hall as a Voiceworks artist, performed Brahms with the late Leon Fleisher at the renowned Marlboro Music Festival, and for his debut American recital, a Schwabacher Debut Recital, he was accompanied by renowned American pianist, Steven Blier. The San Francisco Chronicle said “The undeniable standout of the afternoon… The palpable honesty of his approach and the masterful beauty of his singing were irresistible.”

Engagements that were interrupted by Covid-19 included Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi, Bach’s Easter Oratorio with the Houston Symphony Orchestra under Jane Glover, Partenope (Ormonte) with the San Francisco Opera, The Messiah, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Nic McGegan, Beethoven 9 with the Colorado Symphony and the Seattle Symphony, and Fellow Travelers with Opera Parallèle, San Francisco.

Upcoming engagements in the 2021-2022 season include productions of Everest, (Doug) by Jody Talbot and Glass’s la Belle et la Bette with Opera Parallèle, il Barbiere di Siviglia (Bartolo cover) with the San Francisco Opera, Fellow Travelers (Hawkins Fuller) with Florida Grand Opera, The Enchanted Pig (Pig) with the Australian Contemporary Opera Company, special guest at the Season Opening Gala Concert with Hawaii Opera Theater and Messiah engagements, with Nic McGegan and Apollo’s Fire, with the Jacksonville Symphony under Courtney Lewis, and with the San Antonio Symphony under Lee Mills.

ADES | Powder Her Face | “Duke, Judge, Hotel Manager” | West Edge Opera | Mary Chun, cond. 

“Other cast members take multiple roles, with Hadleigh Adams particularly effective as the vapid Duke, the condescending hotel manager, and the hypocritical judge who condemns and sentences the Duchess even while being pleasured under his robes. Adams handled the rangy role, from sleazy low glides to forceful, ringing top notes, with perfect detachment and sneer.” — Judith Malafronte, Opera News

BACH St. Matthew Passion | Royal National Theatre, London | Paul Goodwin, cond. 

“Adams is tremendous. The presence of Hadleigh Adams’s beguiling Jesus ensures that the arias and choruses become reactions to the life and death of an individual, rather than abstract expressions of devotion: after his solitary walk to his off-stage Calvary, we are painfully conscious of his absence.” — Tim Ashley, The Guardian

BRITTEN | Billy Budd (Excerpts) | Title role | San Francisco Opera at Stern Grove | George Manahan, cond. 

 “Hadleigh Adams‘ delivery of Billy’s final soliloquy from Billy Budd was so sweet-toned and poignant that it left a listener eager to hear him undertake the whole role.” — Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

GOSFIELD | War of the Worlds | Los Angeles Philharmonic | Christopher Rountree, cond. / Yuval Sharon, director 

“The baritone Hadleigh Adams delivered a comic tour de force as General Lansing, who becomes unhinged as he extolls a Trumpian “wall of defense” that is supposed to keep aliens at bay. Gosfield gives him a full-on mad scene, with deranged atonal coloratura.” — Alex Ross, The New Yorker

HANDEL | Messiah | Apollo’s Fire | Nicholas McGegan, cond.

“One of the most engaging aspects of the performance was watching baritone Hadleigh Adams, whose stage presence radiated charisma even when he wasn’t singing….All of his musical decisions felt fresh. His rich commanding voice seemed to resonate throughout the entire space, yet he remained part of the group, perfectly in unison with the low strings during “the people that walked in darkness.”  -- Stephanie Manning, ClevelandClassical.com

HARRISON, LOU | Young Caesar | “Nicomedes” | Los Angeles Philharmonic | Marc Lowenstein, cond / Yuval Sharon, director  

"A standout was the Nicomedes of New Zealand-born Hadleigh Adams, who joined the cast at the eleventh hour. Adams' resonant baritone maintains unique beauty of tone throughout his range." — Opera News

ORFF | Carmina Burana | San Francisco Symphony | Christian Reif, cond. 

“Soloists…All were excellent, perhaps especially Hadleigh Adams, whose robust baritone rang forth with great command and fine Latin and German diction. Adams also negotiated beautifully the vocal shift into falsetto in Dies, nox et omnia/Day, night and all the world.” —James Roy MacBean, Berkeley Daily Planet

PUCCINI | La Boheme | Schaunard | San Francisco Opera | Giuseppe Finzi, cond. 

 “However, it was the fluid and touchingly attentive performance by Hadleigh Adams as Schaunard which completely captivated me. It’s rare to encounter a Schaunard who can demonstrate so much genuine charisma and communicate so much compassion.” — George Heymont, Huffington Post

RAMEAU | Castor et Pollux | Pollux | Pinchgut Opera | Antony Walker, cond. 

“The rôle of Pollux was famously sung in Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s pioneering 1972 studio recording of Castor et Pollux by the celebrated Gérard Souzay, who cast a poignant spell in his performance. New Zealand-born baritone Hadleigh Adams possesses both a stronger voice and a more extensive sense of Rameau’s musical style, however, and his Pollux sets a standard for secure, masculine singing of the part. This is a burly warrior who nonetheless wears his heart on his sleeve, and Mr. Adams’s singing of ‘Non, demeure Castor, c’est moi qui te l’ordonne,’ in which he cedes Télaïre to his brother, simmers with affection, both for Castor and for the fiancée whom he is willing to lose in order to preserve his brother’s happiness. After Castor is felled by Lincée, Pollux’s quest for vengeance is resoundingly conveyed, Mr. Adams’s performance of ‘Peuples, cessez de soupirer’ bristling with energy and testosterone. Mr. Adams launches Act Three with a beautiful account of ‘Présent des Dieux, doux charmes des humains,’ which he follows with singing of rapt involvement in ‘Ma voix, puissant maître du monde.’ Similarly effective is his voicing of the brief but marvelous ‘Tout l’Eclat de l’Olimpe est en vain ranimé,’ but the climax of the performance is the interview between Pollux and Castor in the Underworld. The sheer joy with which Mr. Adams sings ‘O moment de tendresse’ is indescribably moving”  — Joseph Newsome, Voix Des Arts

SONDHEIM | A Little Night Music | “Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm” | Nederlandse Reisopera | 

”Standing out in particular in a great cast to start with, are Hadleigh Adams. . .Adams’ character Count Malcolm is unreasonable and jealous. He’s flammable but passionate, and his vocals are ridiculously stunning.  

— Chantal Kunst, Broadway World Netherlands

STRAVINSKY | Oedipus Rex | “Creon, Tiresias, The Messenger” | Philharmonia Orchestra | Esa-Pekka Salonen, cond. 

 “A small cast of superb vocal soloists...Hadleigh Adams giving strongly etched performances of Creon, Tiresias, and The Corinthian Messenger” — Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

VIVALDI | Bajazet | Title role | Pinchgut Opera, Sydney | Erin Helyard, cond. 

“New Zealand baritone Hadleigh Adams took the title role of this tragedy of passion and power. While born from maturity and experience, his Bajazet was a man sure of his own worth with a stunning voice, which was flawless in many ways…He commanded the stage when he was on it and with a considerable maturity and mellowness of tone. His vocal achievement for me was a joy and privilege to behold…. Adams could impressively sustain the intensity of the colours in the bottom register of his voice, while excelling in both the middle and upper reaches of the arias he was singing…He was truly noble… …What a formidable force he is. Younger singers would learn a great deal from observing his considerable grace and style of movement on stage.” — Carolyn McDowell, The Culture Concept