Simon Kirkbride studied at the Royal College of Music and upon graduation he was awarded The Presidents Rose Bowl, the highest award given to a student by the RCM.
Simon Kirkbride made his operatic debut in 1997 singing Publio La clemenza di Tito for Welsh National Opera, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. Further debuts included Morales Carmen at Scottish Opera, Figaro Le nozze di Figaro for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Masetto Don Giovanni in Pisa, Vichy, Cremona, Treviso, Mantova and Como, Lycomedes in Handel’s Deidamia for the London Handel Festival, and Thaddeus in the premiere of Birtwistle’s The Last Supper at the Staatsoper Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim, a role he repeated at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2001. Other roles at this time included Leporello Don Giovanni, Mr Redburn Billy Budd, Count Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro, Don Alfonso Così fan tutte, Zuniga Carmen, Minskman in Jonathan Dove’s Flight, Garibaldo Rodelinda and Bartolo Il barbiere di Siviglia. In 2004 Simon Kirkbride made his debut at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence singing Priest of Jupiter in Luc Bondy’s production of Hercules, conducted by William Christie which was later revived for Opéra National de Paris at the Palais Garnier, Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, the Vienna Festival, the Barbican (London) and again for Nederlands Oper, this time conducted by Christopher Moulds. He made his debut at Vlaamse Opera singing Ratcliffe in the world premiere of Battistelli’s Richard III, returning later to sing Cadmus Semele. Later that year sang his first Musiklehrer Ariadne auf Naxos for Norske Opera, and also made his debut in Luxembourg singing Publio.

Recent performances include Starveling A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Glyndebourne, Voice of Neptune Idomeneo for Les Arts Florissants in Paris and New York, Pilatus Johannes Passion directed by Robert Wilson conducted by Emmanuel Haïm at the Châtelet, Dr Bartolo Le nozze di Figaro conducted by Daniel Harding at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Theseus A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Opéra de Lyon.

On the concert platform Simon has sung most of the major works of Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Britten, Elgar, Walton, Mendelssohn and Beethoven, and has performed with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Calgary Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Les Arts Florissants, Le Concert d’Astrée, The King’s Consort, Florilegium, Haydn Festival Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Norwegian Baroque Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and London Baroque. Notable recent appearances include include Mendelssohn’s Paulus in Oslo, Christus Johannes Passion in Lisbon with The Kings Consort, Elias with Oslo Baroque Orchestra and Messiah in London.

Recordings include Saint-Saëns’s Requiem with the London Philharmonic on Cala and Pippo Il tutore burlato by Soler with Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset for Decca. He appears as Priest of Jupiter Hercules with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie in the Opéra National de Paris production recorded for DVD by Bel Air Classiques.

Engagements this season and beyond include Theseus A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Athens, Sprecher Die Zauberflöte for Glyndebourne, Nazarene Salome and Hobson Peter Grimes for Grand Théâtre de Genève, Thaddeus in concert performances of The Last Supper in Milan and Turin, a European tour of Purcell’s Ode to Saint Cecilia with Collegium Vocale Gent and Philippe Herreweghe, Haydn’s Creation with the Prague Philharmonia, and Handel’s Alexander’s Feast with the Ulster Orchestra.