Praised for his vocal phrasing and colour, James is one of the most versatile singers to emerge from Australia in recent years. He has been lauded by audiences and reviewers alike for his performances throughout the opera houses and concert halls of Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
Critical acclaim has been received for his portrayals of favourite operatic roles, such as the Title roles in Macbeth, Rigoletto, Falstaff, The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro and the Mikado as well as Giorgio Germont La Traviata, Count di Luna Il Trovatore, Iago Otello, Tonio Pagliacci, Alfio Cavalleria Rusticana, Escamillo Carmen, Sharpless Madama Butterfly, Lord Enrico Ashton Lucia di Lammermoor, Marcello La bohème, Don Alfonso Cosi fan Tutte, Leporello Don Giovanni,Balstrode Peter Grimes and The Forester The Cunning Little Vixen.
Concert appearances have included Messiah and Le damnation du Faust (New Zealand Symphony Orchestra), Haydn’s Mass in Time of War and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria (Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) Faure Requiem, Sir Andrew Davis’ Messiah, Hansel and Gretel and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Verdi’s Requiem and Carmina Burana(West Australian Symphony Orchestra).
In 2024 James will perform the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto for New Zealand Opera.
In 2021, James Clayton performed the title role in The Barber of Seville, And as a soloist in Bach’s Easter Oratorio for West Australian Symphony Orchestra. for The Adelaide Festival, he sang Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
In 2020 James sang Don Alfonso in Cosi fan Tutte for West Australian Opera and the Baritone solos in Carmina Burana for West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
James made his Opera Australia debut as Baron Douphol in La traviata – in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour – and his Japanese debut as Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte for Biwako Hall, Japan.