About

Hailed by Edinburgh Music Review as possessing a voice that is “rich and powerful over the full range” with “compelling characterisation” , New Zealand/British tenor Aidan Thomas Phillips is emerging as a distinctive and exciting voice in the lyric and young dramatic repertoire.

In the 2026/27 season, he makes his company debut with Longborough Festival Opera in Tristan und Isolde, sings , Gregor in The Makropulos Affair with Edinburgh Players Opera Group, Turiddu (cover) in Cavalleria Rusticana with Aria Alba, 4th Knappe in Parsifal with The Mahler Players and Parpignol (cover Rodolfo) in La Bohème with Clyde Opera Group.

Recent performances include Leukippos in Daphne, Don José in Carmen, and Ismaele in Nabucco. On the concert platform, his appearances include the tenor solo in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the Evangelist/Tenor in J.S. Bach’s St John Passion, Handel’s Messiah, Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man, Handel’s Utrecht Te Deum & Jubilate, Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ and Paukenmesse, and Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle.

He is an alumnus of the Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he studied with Iain Paton. His roles there included the title role in Idomeneo, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, and Filippo in L’infedeltà delusa. He now continues his studies with Brian Smith Walters. He is also an alumnus of Dramatic Voices Programme Berlin, Berlin Opera Academy, New Zealand Opera School and the University of Waikato.

Aidan is also an active performer of contemporary composition, new operatic work, and a champion of international collaboration. He currently works with Opera Co-Pro, supporting the development and presentation of new opera, and has been involved in a range of contemporary projects including Lucky Penny Opera’s Canadian-led 48 Hour Opera, a cross-border project in which international artists wrote, filmed, and edited a short opera within 48 hours; Janet Jennings’ New Zealand opera Flowing Waters and its première CD recording, available through SOUNZ; performances of Derek Williams’ James Joyce songs at the 2024 International James Joyce Symposium at the University of Glasgow; and the première of Shamus Baker’s Three Songs on Hebrew Texts, which received Best Performance at the 2019 Lilburn Trust Composition Competition.