Duncan Stenhouse
Bass

Named one of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “30 hot classical musicians under 30, Duncan Stenhouse is a Canadian-British-Irish bass and composer. In the summer of 2025 he made his US debut as a Resident Artist at the Glimmerglass Festival. In his final year of the Ensemble Studio at COC Duncan will be singing Count Ceprano in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and will perform in the young artist show of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia as Basilio.

He will also be covering The Duke and role studying Friar Laurent in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, as well as role studying Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Duke Bluebeard in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. In the 2024/25 season, Duncan debuted as a member of Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, singing the roles of The High Priest of Baal in Verdi’s Nabucco, First Apprentice in Berg’s Wozzeck, and Zaretsky in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. He also covered the roles of The Bonze in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, the Assistant to Déscartes in Bilodeau & Bouchard’s La Reine-Garçon, and Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music where he received his Advanced Diploma in Opera, and Master of Music (Honours). While at the Academy, Duncan sang as Bottom in the school’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Spinelloccio and Notaio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, the Keeper of the Madhouse in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Bartolo in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Norton in Rossini’s La cambiale di matrimonio, and Superintendent Budd in Britten’s Albert Herring. He also sang as Il Commendatore, John Claggart, Olin Blitch, and Count Walter in the school’s scenes shows. Outside of the Academy, Duncan has sung the roles of Colline in Puccini’s La bohème for Longborough Festival Opera and Zaccaria in Uncovered Opera’s concert performance of Verdi’s Nabucco. He sang as an Alvarez Young Artist with Garsington Opera for two summers, performing in the chorus and covering the roles of Waiter 3 and Boots in their award-winning production of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier and Dvorák’s Rusalka.

Prizes and awards include first place in the Christina and Louis Quilico competition, the Sarah Harrison Prize at the Hurn Court Opera Singer of the Year Competition, and the Sybil Tutton Opera Award from Help Musicians. He also placed 3rd at Canadian Opera Company’s 10th Centre Stage Competition and was a finalist in the Emmy Destinn Foundation’s Czech Music Competition.