Christopher Maltman (born 6 February 1970) is a British operatic baritone. Christopher Maltman was born in Cleethorpes and grew up mostly in Lincolnshire, attending King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth,[citation needed] then Warwick University where he received a degree in Biochemistry and subsequently studied music at the Royal Academy of Music. While a student he won the Great Elm Festival Vocal Award (now the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards) as well as the Anna Instone Award, then curated by Capital Radio.[citation needed] In 1997 he received the Lieder Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. He made his debut with The Royal Opera in 1997 and has since sung over fifteen principal roles there including Don Carlo di Vargas, La forza del destino, Conte di Luna, Il trovatore, Enrico, Lucia di Lammermoor, Papageno, Die Zauberflöte, Count Almaviva, Le nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, the Forester, The Cunning Little Vixen, and Lescaut, Puccini's Manon Lescaut. He currently enjoys an international career in the great opera houses of Europe and North America specialising in Italian dramatic baritone repertoire, most especially the role of Rigoletto.