About Meet our contributors
Philip Eisenbeiss

Philip Eisenbeiss only ever had one real ambition: to become an opera singer. But scores of frustrated voice coaches convinced him to abandon this aspiration. Today he is a partner at a leading Hong Kong based executive search firm, where he runs the Wealth Management practice. He started his career in journalism and spent nearly a decade in banking. He was born in Germany and holds degrees in history and international relations from Columbia University.

Philip Eisenbeiss full pic

Philip’s first book Bel Canto Bully: the life and times of the legendary opera impresario Domenico Barbaja (Haus Publishing) has become one of the most talked-about books on opera, to his own and his publisher’s enormous surprise. An eponymous music CD featuring selections from operas commissioned by Barbaja was issued by Naxos Music. This book has been published in Italian (Il Padrino del Belcanto, EDT) and German (Domenico Barbaja: Schillernder Pate des Belcanto; Sieveking).

Philip spent nearly 10 years as a Board Director of Opera Hong Kong. In 2023 he joined the Board of Trustees of Opera Rara, the London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

He regularly writes and lectures about opera.

Living in Asia for over thirty years, Philip will fly anywhere for a good opera. The airlines love him. He no longer sings.

Contributed Posts
Jul 6, 2022 A Worthwhile Wait of 180 Years
Mercadante’s Il Proscritto Brought to Life by Opera Rara
Apr 22, 2022 I Lombardi at La Fenice in Venice
Jan 17, 2022 The Next Operatic Stars
Five Promising Young Singers That You Should Watch Out For in 2022
Aug 25, 2021 Pizzi Party: Moïse et Pharaon at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro
Aug 3, 2021 One night only: I due Foscari in Aix-en-Provence
Jul 23, 2021 Metro to Nowhere for Music From the Heavens
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
May 6, 2021 Pure Class – and in a Class of Her Own: Christa Ludwig (1928-2021)
Dec 23, 2020 Lawrence Brownlee and Michael Spyres
“Rossini: Amici e Rivali”
Nov 16, 2020 The Next Operatic Stars
Five Promising Young Singers That You Should Watch Out For
Mar 24, 2020 My Beethoven by Philip