Jimi James (Lord Mountararat) is pleased to return to the Young Victorian Theater for his third year with the company after his acclaimed performances as The Pirate King in “The Pirates of Penzance” in 2009 and as Giuseppe in “The Gondoliers” in 2008. Praised by critics for “his strong, inherently dramatic vocal resources” and “dynamic acting” the baritone also boasts a unique presentation for an operatic actor: stilt walking. He has twice performed his 9-foot tall Papageno on 4-foot stilts.

     Highlights of Jimi’s recent season included recitals in New York and New Hampshire, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, “Cavalleria rusticana” and “Pagliacci” with Baltimore Concert Opera, and appearances with Oswego Opera, Nashua Symphony Orchestra, and Annapolis Chamber Orchestra. Among the artists wide variety of staged roles are portrayals of Alfio, Tonio, Germont, Escamillo, Dr. Bartolo, Figaro, Schaunard, Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto, Enrico, Masetto, Mustafa and Billy Bigelow, with such companies as Opera Memphis, Tri Cities Opera, Opera Vivente, Annapolis Opera, Mercury Opera, Granite State Opera, and Connecticut Concert Opera. His concert appearances include Haydn’s “Creation”, Rutter’s “Mass of the Children”, “Carmina Burana”, the requiem settings of Brahms, Fauré, Mozart and Verdi, Bach cantatas 68, 78, 145 and 211, Moravec‘s “Songs of Love and War”, “Elijah”, Schubert’s Mass in G, “Messiah”, “Polar Express”, “Peter vs. the Wolf” and Vaughan Williams’ “Songs of Travel”.

     Jimi is a frequent featured soloist with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and also Springfield Symphony in Missouri, West Virginia Symphony, Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, Finger Lakes Choral Festival, Long Island Masterworks, and Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. Jimi is particularly fond of his more than 900 outreach performances, including “The Three Little Pigs”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “Hansel and Gretel”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Little Red’s Most Unusual Day”, “Never Tickle a Mule” and “Love Cabaret – Love Songs of the Gershwin Brothers”. He was a finalist in the Chester Ludgin Verdi Competition in New York, NY, and winner of the JDAF Vocal Competition in New York, NY. Jimi’s upcoming schedule includes Scarpia in “Tosca” with Springfield Symphony Orchestra and the songs of Lehar and Romberg in recital with the Canandaigua Music Festival. Visit Jimi at www.JimiJamesBaritone.com