The British baritone Simon Neal made his debut at Oper Frankfurt with the role of Mandryka in 2009/10. He returned for Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde in 2010/11 and again, earlier this season for, Achilles in Schoeck’s Penthesilea and the Four Villains in Hoffmanns Erzählungen/The Tales of Hoffmann. He was the leading baritone at Theater Dortmund from 2006-2011, during which time his roles included Offenbach’s Four Villains, Ford, Herald, Jochanaan, Nick Shadow, Alfio / Tonio, Sharpless, Scarpia, Giorgio Germont, Alberich, Gunther, Escamillo, the title roles in Rigoletto and Don Giovanni, Michele and Gianni Schicchi in Il trittico and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor. He studied at Leicester University and began his career as a marketing director at at leading British company before deciding to concentrate on singing. His career as an opera singer began at companies in Great Britain, including Welsh National Opera and English National Opera. Other engagements in recent seasons have included appearances at the Sidney Opera House (Pizarro in Fidelio, Escamillo and Scarpia), in Zurich and at the Opéra National de Paris (world premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s L’espace dernier).