Joshua Hopkins

Baritone

Biography

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 his 2022-23 season, highlights include 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 reprise the role of Papageno in The Magic Flute in Julie Taymor’s renowned production. He also returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago to make his role debut as Raimbaud in Bartlett Sher’s production of Le Comte Ory, conducted by Enrique Mazzola.

On the concert platform, he sings Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra under Peter Oundjian, joins the MET Orchestra Chamber Ensemble for an all-French programme at Carnegie Hall, and performs Peter Lieberson’s Songs of Love and Sorrow with the Monterey Symphony.

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Reviews

“He owns a gorgeous voice, a voice with gold in it. I am not talking about its bankability, but rather its tone…this young Hopkins is one of those golden singers, and he filled the Koch Theater with this gold, this glow.”

Jay Nordlinger

The New Criterion

“The drastic change, however, concerns the Count himself, whose promiscuity, in the context of 1970s ideas about open sexuality, originally turned him into a greater social rebel than Figaro. In a superbly judged performance, however, Joshua Hopkins makes him sinister as well as sexy.”

Tim Ashley

The Guardian

More Reviews

“Joshua Hopkins is likewise superb as the Count, contrasting a smooth, honeyed tone with a characterisation that is lecherous and abusive. ”

Laura Battle, Financial Times

“And the baritone Joshua Hopkins won your heart as the tormented, yet charming Junior. Mr. Alden has written that it was difficult to deal with this somewhat dated character: a gay man who is “punished” with mental illness. Yet Bernstein’s music ennobles and animates Junior, and with his mix of anguish and vitality, Mr. Hopkins triumphed over stereotype. ”

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

“…one element of the endeavour transcends even this overall consistent standard – the quality and lithe exuberance of baritone Joshua Hopkins’ Figaro. Vancouver audiences have enjoyed Hopkins as a lieder singer who combines an innately appealing instrument with musical sensitivity and precision. Here he delivers a stunning interpretation of Figaro, rooted in his physical sense of the character. He has the tone, the timing, and the confidence to make it appear effortless fun; from quicksilver recitatives to solo work and ensembles, Hopkins is the focus of the production. And he couldn’t be better.”

David Gordon Duke, Vancouver Sun

“An athletic Joshua Hopkins capered comically and sang stunningly as the bird-catcher Papageno…Hopkins has a perfectly placed, resonant baritone with a gorgeous, easy sheen to it…he is a singer to watch and will doubtless achieve real heights in both song and opera, for he has brains and joy to go with his voice.”

Craig Smith, The New Mexican

“Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins’s Marcello was the star among the bantering bohemians: his was a consummate performance, with impressive singing and convincing acting. ”

Marcia J. Citron, Opera News

“There are two casts. One features Joshua Hopkins as Papageno, and he is reason alone to catch this “Flute.” The baritone seems to have it all — a warm, supple voice; easily communicative phrasing; and such assured, effortless acting that he could clearly be at home on any stage, not just the operatic variety.”

The Baltimore Sun