James MacLennan

Tenor James McLennan has appeared on opera and concert stages across Canada in a wide range of leading and supporting roles, and has performed with Manitoba Opera, Edmonton Opera, and Pacific Opera, among others.

In the faculty

MPS Instructor, Voice

Education

  • BMus, Brandon University
  • BA in Translation, York University
  • MMus, University of British Columbia

Performance highlights

James McLennan has appeared on opera and concert stages across Canada in a wide range of leading and supporting roles.

In 2019, Mr. McLennan made his role debut as Little Bat in Susannah with Manitoba Opera, and prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, his 2019-2020 calendar also included a return to Pacific Opera Victoria as Remendado in Carmen, a debut with Opera on the Avalon as the Electrician in Powder Her Face and as Georgie in Ours, and an appearance as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Last season’s credits included Gastone in La Traviata with Pacific Opera Victoria and Edmonton Opera, Handel’s Messiah with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and a company debut with Dry Cold Productions as the “coldly sadistic prison warden” (CBC) in Kiss of the Spider Woman. He also appeared with the Regina Symphony as the tenor soloist in Riel, Heart of the North by Neil Weisensel and Suzanne M. Steele, a work that had been slated for a second performance with the Winnipeg Symphony in the fall of 2020. 2020's season was also to include turns as the Beadle in Sweeney Todd and Spoletta in Tosca with Manitoba Opera, and a performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Winnipeg Symphony.

2017-2018 credits included Goro in Madama Butterfly at Manitoba Opera and Luther Billis in South Pacific for Calgary Opera. That season also saw him at Edmonton Opera in the critically acclaimed production of Les Feluettes as Jean Bilodeau, a role he originated for the world premiere at Montreal Opera in 2016. An avid performer of new music, James’ concert appearances included a tour of the Canadian prairies with A Prairie Boy’s Life, a new chamber work by John Greer. In 2018, James was awarded a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts for six weeks of study in France under internationally renowned clown and acting teacher, Philippe Gaulier.

Ongoing research and creative works

Mr. McLennan is also sought after as an adjudicator, most recently for the Southeastern Manitoba Festival and Opera Idol.

An alumnus of the Second City Training Centre in Toronto, he is also a certified French translator and a board member of the Association of Translators, Interpreters and Terminologists of Manitoba.