Christopher Ainslie

Christopher Ainslie began his career as a chorister in the choir of St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. In 2005 he moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music and he has continued to study privately with Mark Tucker, Paul Farrington and Audrey Hyland.
Among the countertenor’s favourite operatic parts are numerous works by Handel; his performance in the title role of Poro, conducted by Laurence Cummings at the London Handel Festival, was highly acclaimed. Other opera roles include Innocent 4 in the world premiere of Birtwistle's The Minotaur at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. His appearances as a soloist in oratorio have included Blow’s Venus & Adonis (Cupid) in Bruges (with B’Rock directed by Gary Cooper), the title role in Handel’s Solomon (2007 London Handel Festival) and Belshazzar (Cyrus) in Dresden.
Christopher gives frequent recitals, most recently with Harry Bicket and players from the English Concert.