"[4] Shimell joined the chorus of Kent Opera in 1978 and sang an usher in Rigoletto with them in 1980[2] and Venus and Adonis in the UK and Venice.
[3] At Covent Garden he made his debut as Schaunard in La bohème in 1985, going on to sing in Così fan tutte (1986 and 1992 – as Guglielmo), Werther (1987 – Albert), Capriccio (1991 – Olivier), La bohème (1996 – Marcello), The Rake's Progress (2010 – Nick Shadow), Così fan tutte (2010 – Don Alfonso), and Manon (2010 – De Brétigny).
[5] At the Metropolitan Opera in New York Shimell made his debut in La bohème in 1996 as Marcello, continuing with Così fan tutte (1996 and 2010 – Don Alfonso), Madama Butterfly (2000 – Sharpless), Manon (2005 – De Brétigny) and Iphigénie en Tauride (2007 – Thoas).
[6] With major companies, Shimell has sung the title roles in Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, Papageno, Dandini, and Malatesta.
He has appeared on a few audio recordings, including the title role in Don Giovanni under Riccardo Muti,[10] A Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley, Mass in B minor BWV232 by JS Bach, Summer's last will and testament by Lambert, Funeral cantata on the death of Emperor Joseph II, and Pulcinella.