Franco-Canadian
counter-tenor Eric Crockett is a former professional soloist ballet
dancer whose early training took place in Geneva, Switzerland, and
continued at the Royal Ballet’s Upper School in London, England. He
performed with such companies as the National Ballet of Canada, the
Cincinnati Ballet and the San Francisco ballet, at major venues across
North America and Europe. These included the Royal Opera House - Covent
Garden, Royal Albert Hall, Grand Théâtre de Genève,
Opéra Royal -
Versailles, and Houston Grand Opera. Guest appearances in the United
States and Canada were followed by tours to Singapore, Germany,
Switzerland and France.
He began his vocal studies at the Conservatoire Jean-Philippe Rameau in
Paris with Christiane Issartel, rapidly receiving encouragement to
audition for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. While
studying with Andrew Watts at the Guildhall, he sang in numerous
concerts of French mélodies, English songs and German lieder, as
well
as appearing in masterclasses with Emma Kirkby and Derek Lee Ragin. He
also performed operatic excerpts from baroque operas such as Handel’s Xerxes at venues that included
Beaulieu Abbey, Selbourne Church, The Draper’s Hall, LSO St Luke’s, and
St Andrew’s Church Holborn.
After successfully graduating from the Guildhall with a Bachelor of
Music, First Class Honours, he pursued post-graduate studies at the
Royal Academy of Music with Elizabeth Ritchie. His appearances while at
the Academy included Holst’s Hymns
from the Rig Veda with the Academy Chamber Choir, a lieder
recital entitled Schumann and the
poetry of Heinrich Heine, Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
conducted by William Christie with the RAM Baroque Choir at Christ
Church, Spitalfields, Vivaldi’s Stabat
Mater at the Duke’s Hall, Richard Rodney Bennett’s Time’s Whiter Series for guitar and
counter-tenor, and the UK première of Jake Heggie’s song cycle Encountertenor at
the church of St Anne & St Agnes with Mark Packwood. His
participation in the Academy’s opera scenes led him to sing the part of
Refugee in Jonathan Dove’s Flight,
as well as the title roles of Rossini’s Sigismondo and Tancredi and Handel’s Tamerlano. He graduated from the
Academy with a Master of Music in Performance and Research.
Performances with the Clemens non Papa Consort have included a
programme of Handel opera arias and Vivaldi cantatas, and a semi-staged
version of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas
singing the role of Sorceress. He has recently made a recording in
collaboration with composer Ross Turner, due to be released in the
autumn.
