From Ireland, Paul McNamara has sung in theatres throughout Europe where his many notable successes have included his debut in Venice at La Fenice as Wagner’s Tannhäuser conducted by Omer Meir Wellber, and critically acclaimed performances at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in Braunfels’ Szenen aus dem Leben der heiligen Johanna. Further afield, the tenor won widespread approbation for his North American debut with the American Symphony Orchestra under its chief conductor Leon Botstein, where his performance in Max von Schillings’ opera Mona Lisa was hailed by the audience and critics alike.

Operatic engagements elsewhere include the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, NI Opera, Cape Town Opera, the Opera Lesna in Sopot (Poland), Opera Ireland, the Janáček Festival in Brno, the National Opera in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, the Landestheater Linz, and with the Salzburg Festival at the Beijing Music Festival. Concert appearances have taken him to many of the world’s leading venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and New York’s Carnegie Hall as well as to the Telemann Festival in Hamburg with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

McNamara has appeared in roles such as Wagner’s Claudio (Das Liebesverbot), Erik, Tannhäuser, Loge, Tristan, Siegfried, Mime and Parsifal. In addition to operas by Berg, Braunfels, Schillings, Schreker, Strauss, and Zemlinsky, his extensive repertoire also includes work by Cavalli, Monteverdi, Mozart, Weber, Meyerbeer, Leoncavallo, Tchaikowsky, Janáček, Britten, Previn, Penderecki and John Adams.
An alumnus of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Paul McNamara is an honours graduate of the University College Cork, the Cork School of Music and the Royal College of Music London. Artistic Leader of the Dutch National Opera Academy (DNOA) – the collaborative masters programme in opera performance of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, he a faculty member at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, casting consultant for the Stichting Omroep Muziek and Opera Adviser to the Arts Council of Ireland (An Chomhairle Ealaíon).

He is much in demand as a career consultant, teacher and juror in international vocal competitions.