In 2021, James Clayton performs lead roles in The Barber of Seville, Elijah, in Patrick Nolan’s The Marriage of Figaro for West Australian Opera and Macbeth for State Opera of South Australia. For West Australian Opera, he also sings Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci; for The Adelaide Festival, he sings Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. James’ scheduled concert appearances included Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem and Bach’s Easter Oratorio for West Australian Symphony and Mozart’s Requiem for Sydney Symphony.

In 2018, James Clayton sang Marcello (La bohème), Escamillo (Carmen), Leporello (Don Giovanni) and The Forrester (The Cunning Little Vixen) for West Australian Opera; he appeared in concert with the Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras and Orchestra Wellington. In 2019, he sang Germont (La traviata), Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd) and the title role in Macbeth in Perth, The Forrester in Adelaide and Peter (Hansel and Gretel) in Melbourne.

James made his Opera Australia debut as Baron Douphol in La traviata – in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour – and his Japanese debut as Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte for Biwako Hall.

Concert appearances include Messiah and Le damnation du Faust (New Zealand Symphony Orchestra), Haydn’s Mass in Time of War and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria (Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Verdi’s Requiem (West Australian Symphony Orchestra).