He was given the award, which is Glyndebourne Opera House’s most prestigious prize, during a speech made by Glyndebourne chairman Gus Christie on the last night of the festival. Charles follows in the footsteps of fellow Royal Academy Opera Company alumni Michael Ronan and Patrick Keefe who won the award in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
Charles was a student at the Academy for his undergraduate and postgraduate studies, before joining RAO. Charles appeared at Wigmore Hall as a member of Academy Song Circle and studied with Giles Underwood and Joseph Middleton. His roles with RAO include King of Scotland in Ariodante, Tobias Mill in La cambiale di matrimonio, Keeper of the Madhouse in The Rake’s Progress and Guccio in Gianni Schicchi, in addition to scenes from Le nozze di Figaro, The Rape of Lucretia, Die Zauberflöte, Lucia di Lammermoor and Albert Herring. Charles also won the 2023 Leeds Lieder/Schubert Institute UK Song Prize, received Second Prize in the 2023 Richard Lewis/Jean Shanks Award, and was a finalist in the 2022 Kathleen Ferrier Awards.
The John Christie Award is given by Glyndebourne in partnership with the Musicians’ Company, which has supported the award since it was created in 1965. The award includes a £15,000 scholarship and is designed to support the career of an outstanding young talent in the Glyndebourne Festival company.