+++
date = "2015-04-08T10:24:00-04:00"
discipline = "Baritone"
lastmod = "2015-04-08T10:24:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1715540217/Joshua_Hopkins_pc_Simon_Pauly_c_300dpi.jpg"
primary_image_credit = "Simon Pauly"
publishDate = "2015-04-08T10:24:00-04:00"
related_companies = ["scene/companies/canadian-opera-company.md","scene/companies/the-metropolitan-opera.md","scene/companies/lyric-opera-of-chicago.md","scene/companies/vancouver-opera.md","scene/companies/opera-lyra-ottawa.md","scene/companies/houston-grand-opera.md","scene/companies/the-dallas-opera.md","scene/companies/the-santa-fe-opera.md","scene/companies/washington-national-opera.md"]
slug = "joshua-hopkins"
title = "Joshua Hopkins"
website = "http://joshuahopkins.com/"
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Known as one of the finest singer-actors of his generation, JUNO Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins has been hailed by _Opera Today_ as having "a glistening, malleable baritone of exceptional beauty, and the technique to exploit its full range of expressive possibilities from comic bluster to melting beauty."

Having established himself as a prominent leading artist throughout the United States and Canada, Joshua appears regularly at The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, The Santa Fe Opera and Washington National Opera amongst many others, and has performed under the baton of renowned conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis, Alan Gilbert, Matthew Halls, James Gaffigan, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Hans Graf.

In the 2023-24 season, Joshua Hopkins will return to Los Angeles Opera to sing the title role _Il Barbiere Di Siviglia_, as well as a return to La Monnaie to sing Apollo in the world premiere production of _Cassandra_ by Bernard Foccroulle. He will also return to Lyric Opera of Chicago for his role debut as Dandini in _La Cenerentola_. Concert engagements include Bach's _Christmas Oratorio_ conducted by Bernard Labadie with Orchestra of St Luke's and Handel's _Messiah_ with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jane Glover. Mr. Hopkins will sing Mozart's _Requiem_ with the Lyric Opera of Chicago conducted by Enrique Mazzola.

In his 2022-23 season, highlights included Joshua's debut at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Japan, in the title role of _Don Giovanni_, as well as a return to The Metropolitan Opera to sing Belcore in _L'Elisir d'amore_ and to reprising Papageno in _The Magic Flute_ in Julie Taymor's renowned production. He also returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago to make his role debut as Raimbaud in _Le Comte Ory_, conducted by Enrique Mazzola.

On the concert platform, he sung Brahms' _Ein deutsches Requiem_ with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra under Peter Oundjian, joined the MET Orchestra Chamber Ensemble for Poulenc's _Le Bal Masqué_ at Carnegie Hall, and performed Peter Lieberson's _Songs of Love and Sorrow_ with the Monterey Symphony.

His most personal work, _Songs for Murdered Sisters_, is a song cycle by composer Jake Heggie and author Margaret Atwood, conceived by Hopkins in remembrance of his sister, Nathalie Warmerdam. Following the critically acclaimed film and JUNO-nominated album releases, the chamber version of _Songs for Murdered Sisters_ received its live world premiere at Houston's Rothko Chapel in March 2022, in partnership with Houston Grand Opera. In 2023, he gave the live world premiere of the work's orchestral version with Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Shelley in Ottawa, Toronto and Kingston.

Latest role debuts have included Belcore in _L'Elisir d'amore_ at Lyric Opera of Chicago, the title role of _Billy Budd_ with Central City Opera, Malatesta in _Don Pasquale_ with Pittsburgh Opera, and Athanaël in a concert version of Massenet's _Thaïs_ with Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis and recorded for Chandos Records. Past seasons have featured roles Count Almaviva in _Le nozze di Figaro_ at the Glyndebourne Festival, Verbier Festival, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera and Washington National Opera; Figaro in _Il barbiere di Siviglia_ at Opéra de Rouen and Den Norske Opera in Oslo, as well as The Santa Fe Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, and the Glimmerglass Festival in a new production by Francesca Zambello; Guglielmo in _Così fan tutte_ in his company debut at Oper Frankfurt and at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Silvio in _Pagliacci_ at Palm Beach Opera, directed by James Robinson; Papageno in _The Magic Flute_ at the Metropolitan Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Washington National Opera, Vancouver Opera, as well as Marcello in _La bohème_ at the Canadian Opera Company and Houston Grand Opera.

Joshua has developed a reputation for his work in contemporary operas by celebrated American composers, creating leading roles for the world premieres of new works both in the U.S. and Europe. Recent original roles have included Niccolò Machiavelli in the premiere of Mohammed Fairouz and David Ignatius's _The New Prince_ in his company debut at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam; Harry Bailey in Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's _It's a Wonderful Life_ at Houston Grand Opera and in his debut at San Francisco Opera; and creating the role of Orpheus in the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl's_ Eurydice_ at Los Angeles Opera, which he also performed at The Metropolitan Opera last season including a worldwide simulcast as part of The MET's _Live in HD_ series.

Joshua made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Ping in _Turandot_ in the 2009-10 season, conducted by Andris Nelsons. His notable past engagements have also included Cecil in Sir David McVicar's new production of Donizetti's _Maria Stuarda_ for The Metropolitan Opera, his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Tadeusz in _The Passenger_ in David Pountney's acclaimed production, and his role debut as the title character in _Don Giovanni_ with Utah Opera. Further highlights include the role of Junior in Bernstein's _A Quiet Place_ with New York City Opera, Sid in _Albert Herring_ at The Santa Fe Opera under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis, Dr. Falke in a new production of _Die Fledermaus_ at The Santa Fe Opera, Mercutio in _Roméo et Juliette_ with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Valentin in _Faust_ at Houston Grand Opera and Washington National Opera.

Past concert engagements have included his European concert debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias in Spain, performing Peter Lieberson's _Songs of Love and Sorrow_, Bach's Magnificat with Orchestra of St. Luke's under the baton of Robert Spano at Carnegie Hall, and both Nielsen's Symphony No. 3 and Mozart's Mass in C minor with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Alan Gilbert. Mr. Hopkins toured North America with Bernard Labadie and Les Violons du Roy in Bach's _Christmas Oratorio_ and Handel's _Messiah_ in Quebec, Montreal, Los Angeles, and at Carnegie Hall in New York. He has also performed and recorded Bach's St. John Passion with Portland Baroque Orchestra and Arion Orchestre Baroque. Joshua Hopkins has performed Handel's _Messiah_ with San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra. Additional highlights of his concert schedule include his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy in performances of _Peer Gynt_, Haydn's _Creation_ with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Handel's _Dettingen Te Deum_ with the San Francisco Symphony, _Die Zauberflöte_ with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra led by Bernard Labadie, and Brahms' _Ein deutsches Requiem_ with Hans Graf and the Houston Symphony.

Profoundly committed to the art of song, Mr. Hopkins' first recital disc, _Let Beauty Awake_, features songs of Barber, Bowles, Glick, and Vaughan Williams on the ATMA Classique label. He has given recitals in Chicago, Montreal, New York, Santa Fe, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington, D.C. Highlights of his varied appearances at Carnegie Hall include the world premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas's _Rilke Songs_ and a concert highlighting Benjamin Britten alongside Ian Bostridge and Iestyn Davies. Joshua Hopkins has collaborated with Julius Drake, Richard Goode, Marc-André Hamelin, Graham Johnson, and Warren Jones.

Joshua Hopkins has won numerous awards and distinctions. Most recently, he won a JUNO Award for his portrayal of Athanaël in Chandos Record's recording of Massenet's _Thaïs_ in concert with Toronto Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. He was the winner of both the Verbier Festival Academy's 2008 Prix d'Honneur and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2006. He was also a prizewinner at the prestigious 2006 ARD Musikwettbewerb in Munich and at the 2005 Operalia Competition held in Madrid. In 2002, José Carreras presented him with the first-place prize in the Julián Gayarre International Singing Competition in Pamplona. Joshua has also received prizes from the George London Foundation, the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, and won the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award from the Canada Council for the Arts.