James Hampton, Tenor, has received critical acclaim as both a stage director and singer. The Washington Post applauded his “pungent”, “tightly paced” direction of Ned Rorem’s opera Our Town at The Catholic University of America. For The Dallas Opera, he directed and wrote the translation for a new production of Bizet’s Doctor Miracle. For The University of Texas at Austin, he has directed productions of Handel’s Rinaldo, Orff’s Antigone, Robert Ward’s Roman Fever, and numerous opera scenes evenings. He has directed Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor and Menotti’s The Medium for East Carolina University. He has also directed Der Schauspieldirektor for The Mostly Opera Theater in Dallas. On stage, he has been praised for his “mellifluous tenor” (The Towson Times) and his “flair for comedy” (The Washington Post). He has been a soloist with the Metro Opera Project, The Texas Early Music Project, The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin, Cockpit in Court Summer Theater, The Johns Hopkins Chorale, and the Handel Choir of Baltimore. Ensemble credits include the Washington Opera, Baltimore Opera, Washington Concert Opera, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.  

James received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin. He previously taught at Angelo State University. He established himself as a leading arts administrator in positions at The Dallas Opera and Austin Lyric Opera and was selected by Opera America for their intensive leadership development program.