About
Lyric tenor Joshua Ellicott was born in Manchester and read music at York University before continuing his vocal studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. There he won a full scholarship to study on the Postgraduate Vocal Study and Opera courses. A milestone in his thriving international career came in 2006 when he won the prestigious International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. As well as the First Prize he claimed a further three prizes for song, opera and finest all-round musicianship. This puts him in a select band of previous winners which includes Thomas Hampson, Nelly Miricioiu and Sarah Connolly.
His career is now becoming as varied as it is distinguished with interests ranging from early music to contemporary repertoire and from recitals and concerts through to opera, performed with some of the finest ensembles and musicians.
Recent performances include Handel Arias with the English Concert and Harry Bicket, Shepherd and Sailor in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde for the Philharmonia Orchestra with Esa-Pekka Salonen, tours of Handel Messiah and Bach St Matthew Passion with The King’s Consort, a staged St Matthew Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Mozart Requiem in Japan with Daniel Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Handel L’ Allegro with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra and Handel Theodora with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra both under Kenneth Montgomery, Birtwistle’s The Last Supper with Elgar Howarth and the London Sinfonietta, St Matthew Passion with Harry Bicket and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Roger Norrington at the Last Night of the Proms and Howells Stabat Mater with the Brabants Orkest and David Atherton.
Future plans include the Evangelist in Bach’s St Matthew Passion for the Boston Handel and Haydn Society under Harry Christophers, Andres (Wozzeck) in a tour taking in L.A., New York and Berkeley with the Philharmonia under Salonen and Schubert Mass in E flat with Daniel Harding at the St Denis Festival.
No stranger to the opera stage, he has worked regularly with Opera North, and is shortly to perform as Richard Dauntless in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore in their Summer 2012 season. Other roles there have included Jaquino (Fidelio), Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) and Sergei (Paradise Moscow) He appeared as Pedrillo (Die Entführung) for English Touring Opera, Der Narr (Wozzeck) for La Monnaie Brussels and he has also worked with Scottish Opera. 2013 sees Joshua’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden debut, as Basilio in Marriage of Figaro under Sir John Elliot Gardiner.