About this Artist

American tenor Joshua Stewart, has been praised for his “big, warm, confident” voice (Palm Beach Arts Paper) and “interpretive conviction” (Philadelphia City Paper). Displaying compelling artistry and versatility, he is quickly making a name for himself in the world of opera without losing touch with his jazz roots.

In the 2017/18 season, the tenor appeared as the Shepherd in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and directed by Peter Sellars at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm with the Royal Opera Orchestra of Stockholm. In addition, he created the role of Lazarus in the world premiere of Wake at the Birmingham Opera Company, directed by Sir Graham Vick. In April, he was the tenor soloist in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, Madrid, conducted by Tim Murray. He is making his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut in the role of the Narrator in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri under the music direction of Gustavo Dudamel and stage direction of Peter Sellars. The 2018/9 season will open with his debut at the Arizona Opera in Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD.

Recent debuts include the title role in Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD with Madison Opera, Trin in La Fanciulla del West at the Hamburg State Opera, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Opéra de Lausanne and Opéra de Fribourg, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Toledo Opera, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera Carolina, Abdallo in Nabucco at the Oberammergau Passionstheater, the part of tenor soloist in Carmina Burana with the Toledo Symphony, and of the Erzengel in Das Spiel von der Auferstehung des Herrn by Walter Braunfels with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester. He also performed the Shepherd in Oedipus Rex at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and at London’s Royal Festival Hall – “strikingly good” (The Guardian) – under the musical direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen.

As a member of the Bavarian State Opera’s studio, Stewart made his debut in 2012 as the Priest in the world premiere of Babylon by Jörg Widmann. Additional roles as a studio member include Conte d’Albafiorita in Mirandolina, Joe in Gershwin’s Blue Monday, Jeppo Liverotto in Lucrezia Borgia, Albazar in Il Turco in Italia, and Capitano in Simon Boccanegra. Other notable roles in his repertoire include Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress, Nemorino in L’elsir d’amore, Prunier in La Rondine, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Toni Reischmann in Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers, and the title role in Idomeneo.

Joshua Stewart has appeared at key festivals including Festival d’Aix (France), Rossini Opera Festival (Italy), Marlboro Music Festival (USA), Boyne Music Festival (Ireland), New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (USA), and St. Bart’s Music Festival (Caribbean). He has worked with renowned conductors, including Paolo Carignani, Bertrand de Billy, Paolo Arrivabeni, Marco Armiliato, Maurizio Benini, Carlo Montanaro, Constantin Trinks, Kent Nagano, Corrado Rovaris, Andrea Battistoni, George Manahan, and James Meena. He has had the honor of performing for several world leaders, including King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, President Barack Obama, and President George H. W. Bush.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Stewart is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Opera degrees. He was a prize winner in the 2013 International Voice Competition “Vokal genial” in addition to other awards.