James Chamberlain is an up-and-coming dramatic tenor. He has sung such roles as Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, Roberto in Puccini's first opera Le Villi, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pollione in Norma, and Don Jose in Carmen. He has also performed both Turridu and Canio in a night of Cavallaria Rusticana and I pagliacci. He has sung principal roles with Houston Grand Opera, Sarasota Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, St Petersburg Opera, Opera in the Heights, Opera Ithaca, and Bel Cantanti Opera. James spent three summers attending the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices where he studied under the watchful eye of opera legend Dolora Zajick. While attending Penn State University he studied as a baritone and sang roles such as Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Rigoletto in Milton Granger's Talk Opera, Doctor Gregg in Douglas Moore's Gallantry, and King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors. He also performed in children's opera by Seymour Barab Chanticleer as the Fox and Little Red Riding Hood as the Wolf, and finally in Hansel and Gretel as Peter. James' orchestral works include the Tenor solo in Beethoven’s 9th symphony and Pilate in Bob Chilcott's St John's Passion.

“This Siegfried was exceptional, thanks mostly to James Chamberlain in the title role. He gave a powerful, muscular performance, even a heroic one – clearly he was his father’s son. But also a lyrical one. The forging scene was as thrilling as I’ve heard in years, but those few moments of introspection in the forest in Act II were just as affecting.”

“...he was able to shape the character into something like a sympathetic figure. Instead of stupid and brutal he was innocent and energetic. Naïve, yes, and unformed, and with much to learn – about fear and everything else – but basically decent. The best a young person could be and not the worst.” - C. Tennyson Crowe on Siegfried, Wagner in Vermont 2023