Born in New Zealand, baritone Paul Whelan studied at the Wellington Conservatory and then when on to the Royal Northern College of Music in England, where he won several prestigious prizes and scholarships. In 1993 he won the Lieder Prize in the Cardiff ‘Singer of the World’ competition.

Whelan began his career as a baritone and performed with many major companies including Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera. In subsequent years, he has sung many prominent operatic and cantata roles, by a vast range of composers including Bach, Mozart, Wagner, Britten and Sondheim. During his decade-plus as baritone, Whelan found his voice maturing and settling, and therefore decided to concentrate on the bass-baritone and lyric bass repertoire. The numerous engagements reflecting this repertoire change have included Christus in a staged version of Bach’s St. John Passion. In 2008 he performed Terra Incognita, a symphonic cantata about Antarctic explorer Scott for bass soloist and choir, written for Whelan and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra by compatriot Gareth Farr.

Whelan pursues an active concert and recital career. Engagements have included concerts under Rattle, Bertini, Nagano, Hickox, Menuhin, Siniasky, Olmi and Willcocks. He has performed with many leading UK orchestras, as well as the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.