Joshua Owen Mills

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Born in Neath, South Wales, Joshua studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and was a Jerwood Young Artist with Glyndebourne Opera. Between 2015-17 Joshua was a member of the Opera Studio at the Bayersiche Staatsoper, Munich. Following this, in his season 2017-18 he joined Stadttheater Klagenfurt as a member of the opera ensemble.

With a particular passion and flare for Mozart, last season Joshua made his debut in the role of Don Ottavio Don Giovanni at the Staattheater Klagenfurt, and more recently, took over the role last minute at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. His appreciation of this repertoire is illustrated by the prizes awarded at Garsington Opera (Tamino Die Zauberflöte) and Glyndebourne respectively, as well as winning second prize at the National Mozart Singing Competition. On the concert platform Joshua has sung Mozart’s Requiem at the Royal Festival Hall.

During Joshua’s tenure at the Bayerische Staatsoper, he had the opportunity to explore contemporary works, and debuted roles in two world premieres: Hohe Schattern in Mauerschau by Hauke Jasper Berheide, and Henry ‘Birdie’ Bowers in the world premiere of Miroslav Srnka’s South Pole. Further roles in Munich have included new productions of Don Gaspard La Favorite, Mr Upfold Albert Herring, Nerèo Mefistofele, Nika Magadoff The Consul and Berra in the children’s opera Kannst du Pfeifen Johanna by Gordon Kampe, which he will revisit in spring 2019. Last season Joshua returned to Munich as a guest soloist to sing Nerèo Mefistofele, Jeppo Liverotto in Lucrezia Borgia, and Junger Mann in Nikolaus Brass’ Die Vorübergehenden. Further operatic roles include Gastone La Traviata, (Glyndebourne & Bayerische Staatsoper), and Hotel Porter Death in Venice (Garsington Opera). Joshua has appeared with Bayersiche Staatsoper on live recordings of Donizetti’s La Favorite (Deutsches Grammophon), and Mefistofele and Un ballo in maschera, (both Unitel Editions).

In concert, Joshua has appeared at the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Künstlerhaus & Nymphenburg Palace, and the North American Festival of Wales in Minneapolis, and has performed under the baton of conductors Paolo Arrivabeni, Andrea Battistoni, Daniele Callegari, Karel Mark Chichon, Asher Fisch, Friedrich Haider, Lothar Koenigs, Oksana Lyniv, Zubin Mehta, Kirill Petrenko, Lorenzo Viotti, Omer Meir Wellber and Simone Young. Highlights include an appearance at the Last Night of the BBC Proms in Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music,  returning to his native Wales for a ‘St David’s Celebration’ with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Bayerische Staatsorchester. He has sung Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with a number of British chamber orchestras, including at LSO St Lukes, led by violinist Candida Thompson, as well as understudying Ian Bostridge with Sir Antonio Pappano and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome. Further appearances include St John Passion with the Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra in Finland, Messiah with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Chorus; and ‘Italienische Sommernacht’, an evening of arias and duets with the Munich Symphony Orchestra.

This season on the operatic stage Joshua will return to Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich to sing Berra in a revival of Kannst du Pfeifen Johanna, and Cricket in Z by Minas Bordoudakis, as part of the Munich Opera Festival 2019. On the concert platform Joshua will sing Handel’s Messiah in Chiemsee, Germany, Haydn’s Creation with the Munich Brahms Choir, will sing in the world premiere of Brian Hughes’ Sorrows of the Somme with National Youth Arts Wales as part of the ‘Wales Remembers’ programme, and joins the Oxford Lieder Festival both for ‘Schubert & Co,’, an exceptional ensemble recreating the intimate salon performance setting as part of the main festival, and later in the season for two recitals accompanied by Oxford Lieder’s Artistic Director Sholto Kynoch.

Artist Website: www.joshuaowenmills.com

Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Hazard Chase to make sure you receive the most up to date version.
Email: Evie Parker

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