Born in Hawke’s Bay, baritone Phillip Rhodes is a former Emerging Artist with New Zealand Opera and has since appeared regularly with the company in roles including Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana, Silvio in Pagliacci, Marcello in La bohème, Giorgio Germont in La traviata, Scarpia in Tosca and most recently, the title role in Macbeth.
Other highlights in the region include Giorgio Germont in La traviata and Escamillo in Carmen for Opera Australia, and Don Pizarro in Fidelio in concert with the Auckland Philharmonia. He has also appeared in concert with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for their Puccini Gala.
Equally active internationally, he has performed roles such as Escamillo in Carmen at Covent Garden, Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera, Monterone in Rigoletto at Covent Garden and Irish National Opera, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera North and Ford in Falstaff with Scottish Opera. This season, he has returned to Opera Australia as Escamillo and performed Tonio in Pagliacci with English Touring Opera.
A graduate of the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, Phillip won the Lexus Song Quest and New Zealand Aria Competition, later achieving second place at the Montserrat Caballé International Competition. He continues to acknowledge the invaluable support of the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation.