Biography
Described by Opera Magazine as a singer “with flair, his tenor simultaneously caressing and resilient”, Joel Williams is a graduate of King’s College Cambridge, and the Royal College of Music International Opera Studio, where he was the Kiri te Kanawa Scholar. He is a former member of the Centre de Perfeccionament Palau de les Arts in Valencia and the Studio of Bayerische Staatsoper Munich.In the season 24-25 he will return to Bayerische Staatsoper for his role debut as Léodès in the new production of Fauré’s Pénélope at the Münchner Opernfestspiele as well as to reprise his role of Vittellozzo in Lucrezia Borgia. In concert he will perform a.o. Mozart’s Requiem with Bochumer Symphoniker and Bach’s Matthäuspassion with Noord Nederlands Orkest and Peter Dijkstra.
Most recently he debuted at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Eurimaco in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, performed Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos at Bayerische Staatsoper and in guest performances in Hong Kong, made his house debut as Zotico at Opernhaus Zürich in a new production of Cavalli’s Eliogabalo by Calixto Bieto, sang Hirt/Seemann in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Grand Théâtre du Luxembourg, and returned to Valencia for his role debuts as Chapalitsky in Richard Jones’ new production of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame and as Arnalta/Nutrice in Ted Huffman’s acclaimed production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea.
Other roles he performed at Bayerische Staatsoper and Valencia include Gaston and Victorin in Die Tote Stadt, Rooster/Cunning Little Vixen, Basilio/Le nozze di Figaro, Nencio/L’infedelta delusa, Bardolfo/Falstaff, Beppo/Pagliacci, Le Mari/Les mamelles de Tirésias, Hirte and Stimme eines jungen Seemanns in Tristan und Isolde, Gernando in Manuel Garcia’s L’isola Disabitata, Parpignol/La Bohème, 4.Knappe/Parsifal, Don Luigino/Il Viaggio a Reims and Narr in a new production of Wozzeck. Joel also appeared as Delfa in Alessandro Melani’s opera L’empio punito at Innsbrucker Festwochen für Alte Musik.
He has worked with conductors like James Gaffigan, Vladimir Jurowski, Leonardo García Alarcón, Daniele Rustioni, Christopher Moulds, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Antonino Fogliani, Lothar Koenigs, Ulf Schirmer and Mikko Franck and stage directors such as Robert Carsen, Simon Stone, Barrie Kosky, Marie-Eve Signeyrole, Christof Loy, Pierre Audi and Andreas Kriegenburg.
Joel made his operatic debuts as a boy treble at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera and Glyndebourne and performed in oratorio with Paul McCreesh and toured with the Monteverdi Choir and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
In concert, he has collaborated with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hermann-Levi-Akademie of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and Vladimir Jurowski, the Verbier Festival Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, the Choir of King’s College Cambridge and Stephen Cleobury, the Noord Nederlands Orkest, Het Residenti Orkest, EuropaMusicale Festival Strings, Cambridge University Musical Society and Richard Farnes and Merton College Choir.
As a Pembroke Lieder Scholar with Joseph Middleton, he has also appeared as recitalist at the Oxford Lieder Festival, Leeds Lieder, the Barber Institute at Birmingham University, the Leeds University International Concert Series, the Victoria Rooms in Bristol and at Wigmore Hall, broadcasted live on BBC Radio 3.
During his studies he performed Le Ruisseau/Les Fêtes D’Hébé at Opéra de Bastille in Paris, Don Ottavio/Don Giovanni at Opera Holland Park, Lysander/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Count Belfiore/La Finta Giardiniera, the title role in Offenbach’s Robinson Crusoe, Mayor/Albert Herring, Hexe/Hänsel und Gretel, Dr Blind/Die Fledermaus, all as part of the Royal College of Music International Opera Studio.
Joel is a Britten-Pears Young Artist, a Young Artist at Opera Holland Park and an Alvarez Young Artist at Garsington Opera. He is the recipient of the Somerset Song Prize and second prize in the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards.
ANY PUBLIC USE OF THE ABOVE TEXT IS NOT PERMITTED WITHOUT SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATION OF SOREK ARTISTS MANAGEMENT.
More
single-artists.php