Born in London, Iain Bell is best known for his vocal music (opera and song), and has worked with singers including Rolando Villazon, Stuart Skelton and Jamie Barton. He has developed a close artistic partnership with Diana Damrau, for whom he has written various works including his first opera 'A Harlot’s Progress' (2013, Theater an der Wien - Vienna) and 'Aurora', his 2018 concerto for coloratura soprano. 

His subsequent operas have been staged at houses including the Royal Opera House ('In Parenthesis'), Houston Grand Opera ('A Christmas Carol'), Welsh National Opera ('In Parenthesis', 'A Christmas Carol'), New York City Opera ('Stonewall'), English National Opera ('Jack the Ripper: the Women of Whitechapel'), Teatro de la Ciudad - Mexico City ('Stonewall') and the Teatro Sociale - Trento ('A Christmas Carol').

On the concert stage, he has been commissioned by/performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Munich Opera Festival, BOZAR - Brussels, the BBC Proms, the Enescu Festival and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, working alongside such esteemed musicians as Carolyn Kuan, Carlo Rizzi, Gianandrea Noseda, Helmut Deutsch and Kathleen Kelly.

Recent highlights include Krystian Lada's production of his monodramas 'The Man With Night Sweats' and 'Comfort Starving' in Krakow - Poland, a collaboration with the LSO on his orchestral song cycle 'The Hidden Place' and 'BELL Canto' a gala at Prague's Smetana Hall with the Prague Philharmonia featuring excerpts from three of his operas, with Damrau and Petr Nekoranec as soloists. Future plans include the world premiere of 'Beowulf' with the BBC Symphony & Chorus at London's Barbican Centre, a new production of his monodramas in Salzburg, and the unveiling of 'Stonewall'69: A Symphonic Suite' with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carolyn Kuan.