The international career of the Trinidadian born opera singer Neil Latchman began in 1997 when he was chosen as the tenor to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the life of Maria Callas in London.
In London he has performed as soloist at the Barbican Centre, the Royal Festival Hall, the Wigmore Hall, The London Palladium and St. John’s, Smith Square amongst other venues. At the Wembley Arena he has performed The American Songbook and Broadway repertoire. In 1998 Neil made his debut with The Orchestral Soloists of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden performing the songs of Tchaikowsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.
Neil has performed for various members of The British Royal Family and at the Lord Mayor’s Mansion House Residence in London on numerous occasions.
Neil was invited to Kunming, China where he was the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. He also gave recitals of Arias and Songs, including Chinese provincial songs to open Expo ’99.
He is regularly asked to sing at the opening of many world events, most recently being the 2009 Summit of the Americas.
His love of the recital platform has taken him across the world performing the songs of Bellini, Verdi and Donizetti. Given his South American background, the Tangos and Rhumbas of composers such as Lecuona and Cordero have become synonymous with his concert programmes. In recital, he often collaborates with the Spanish pianist Maria Garzon, the Egyptian-Canadian pianist Amira Fouad, the Japanese pianist Yoshiko Endo and British-French Cellist Corinne Morris
Oratorio roles include Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Verdi’s Requiem and the Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez. Operatic roles include, Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata and Sali in Delius’ A Village Romeo and Juliet. Conductors have included Richard Hickox, Sir Charles Mackerras, Martyn Brabbins, Farnoosh Behzad and John Wilson.
In recent years, Neil has enjoyed exploring his rich multi-cultural heritage through new works and commissions. With pianist Maria Garzon he has performed the music of Greece, Venezuela, Cuba and Latin America. Projects include re-interpreting songs of the Middle East, Iran and India and taking them back to their original source.
Recordings include 20 of the songs of Francesco Paolo Tosti at the Wigmore Hall, London with Maria Garzon.
Neil has recorded for and appeared live on BBC1 TV, including Songs of Praise, BBC Radio 3 and RAI TV and also recorded theme songs for various feature length films.