James Hurley is a young director working primarily in opera. He is a graduate of Cambridge University, where he read English and completed an MPhil in American Literature, specialising in dramatist David Mamet.

His productions include Aida, The Elixir of Love (Riverside Opera); The Mikado (Cambridge Arts Theatre); The Bartered Bride, Madama Butterfly (Surrey Opera); Semele, The Magic Flute, Venus and Adonis, Dido and Aeneas (Hampstead Garden Opera); Suor Angelica (Beethoven Ensemble); Savitri/Hymns from the Rig Veda (Round Church, Cambridge); Don Giovanni, Les Incas du Pérou (West Road Concert Hall); States of Shock (ADC Theatre); Tape (Bateman Auditorium).

James has worked at English National Opera, Opera North, English Touring Opera, and Opera Holland Park, assisting on productions by Martin Duncan, Daniel Kramer, Catherine Malfitano, James Conway, Liam Steel, Giles Havergal, and Martin Lloyd-Evans.

James is also a passionate short-film maker. Recent work includes Recital (Cheddon Films), Not in Service (Trapdoor Films), and A Beautiful Pursuit (CineCam).

Future plans include Carmen at Sadler’s Wells and work on Tim Albery's Madama Butterfly for Opera North.