Rosemary Joshua

Rosemary Joshua is the director of the Dutch National Opera Studio, a two-year trainee programme for young artists that started in September 2018.

Joshua’s career as a singer has spanned over three decades. She appeared on all the main international stages in the world, in roles such as Adele in Die Fledermaus (Metropolitan Opera), Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (La Scala di Milano), Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress (Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, La Monnaie Brussels), Despina in Così fan tutte (ROH Covent Garden, LA Philharmonic), and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Glyndebourne, Oper Köln, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera). At Dutch National Opera she appeared as Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen, as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera and as Helen in Manfred Trojan’s Orest. Her extensive concert repertoire has been in collaboration with some of the greatest conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Mark Elder, Vladimir Jorowski, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Collin Davis, Rene Jacobs and William Christie.

Above all, Joshua made a name for herself as a specialised Handel interpreter from her debut in Aix-en-Provence in 1996 as Angelica in Orlando with William Christie (also in ROH Covent Garden and Bayerische Staatsoper München), as well as with roles as Poppea in Agrippina (Oper Köln, La Monnaie Brussels, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Paris), Ginevra in Ariodante (San Diego Opera, Bolshoi Theatre Moscow), Nitocris in Belshazzar (Aix-en-Provence Festival, Staatsoper Berlin, Innsbruck Festival), and the title role in Semele (Aix-en-Provence and Innsbruck Festival, Oper Köln, English National Opera). She also has an extensive discography in the baroque repertoire.

Joshua has been teaching, coaching, and advising young singers since 2015 and was appointed as head of the Dutch National Opera Studio in September 2018, helping to create a brand new, relevant international programme supporting and representing some of the brightest talents of the new generation.

Joshua has appeared as the head of the jury in the highly successful TV programme ARIA by Omroep Max in The Netherlands, which enters its third season in September 2024. She is also a frequent guest on juries of other prestigious competitions such as BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition and Voix Nouvelles, and she will be the head of the jury at this season’s International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Last update: 06-09-2024