Joshua Sanders

This season at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Mr. Sanders debuts as Alfredo in La traviata and also sings Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Guglielmo in Viva la Mamma, Cosimo in Alles Liebe!, and headlines as Pretty Lamé in a cabaret titled “Alles Pretty,” which will also be featured at the Internationale Maifestspiele. He debuts at the Münchener Biennale and returns to the Internationale Maifestspiele in the world premiere of Isithunsi by Monthati Masebe and Shanice Ndlovu. He closes the season with a return to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Le nozze di Figaro (Don Curzio) with conductor Andris Nelsons.

In his first season with Wiesbaden, Mr. Sanders was seen in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Count Almaviva), Der fliegende Holländer (Steuermann), Tosca (Spoletta), Die Zauberflöte (1st Armored Man/Priest), and Fantasio (Facio). He returned to The Metropolitan Opera to cover the role of Sam Clay in the world premiere of Mason Bates’ new opera, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. He also made notable debuts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Die tote Stadt (Victorin); Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Der fliegende Höllander (Steuermann); Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci in a revival of Baldassare Galuppi’s rarely performed Didone abbandonata (Iarba & Nettuno) with the Nereydas Ensemble, recorded for Deutschlandradio; the Internationale Maifestspiele in both Der fliegende Höllander (Steuermann) and Tosca (Spoletta); and Stadttheater Fürth in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Conte Almaviva).

In the 2023/24 season, Mr. Sanders joined the Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola and Los Angeles Opera to cover Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. He made debuts with Opera San José in both Roméo et Juliette (Roméo) and Il barbiere di Siviglia (Count Almaviva); and with Nashville Opera in Die Zauberflöte (Tamino). He also returned to the Metropolitan Opera to sing Sam Clay in the workshop of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. In the 2022/23 season, Mr. Sanders joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera for Robert Carsen’s production of Der Rosenkavalier and Palm Beach Opera as a Benenson Young Artist, singing the role of Goro in Madama Butterfly and covering Ferrando in Così fan tutte.

Mr. Sanders made his international debut in 2017 at Teatro Regio Torino in Tristan und Isolde (Der Hirte), conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. During his year-long tenure at Teatro Regio, he sang roles in Turandot (Principe di Persia), Salome (Zweiter Nazarener), Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Eco/secondo spirto), Le nozze di Figaro (Don Curzio), and Verdi’s I Lombardi alla prima crociata (Il Priore di Milano), which was recorded for Naxos. In that same season, he also debuted at Deutsche Oper Berlin in Un ballo in maschera (Il giudice) conducted by Donald Runnicles.

In concert, Mr. Sanders made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 as a soloist in Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music. He has appeared as a guest soloist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra as the titular character in Berlioz’s Lélio and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom Exhibit, featuring the music of Schubert. He has also performed at The Public Theater in a cabaret curated by Justin Vivian Bond for New York State’s NY PopsUp concert series. Additional concert credits include: tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St. John Passion, and Vaughan Williams’ Pilgrim’s Journey.

Past seasons include performances with Heartbeat Opera in Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio), Berkshire Opera Festival in Rigoletto (Borsa), Madison Opera in Sweeney Todd (Tobias Ragg), and a concert version of Frank Martin’s rarely heard Le Vin Herbé, co-produced by Wolf Trap Opera and Washington Concert Opera. Mr. Sanders trained at Wolf Trap Opera as a Studio Artist, where he performed in Le nozze di Figaro (Don Curzio) and The Ghosts of Versailles (Wilhelm). As a Young Artist at Bel Canto at Caramoor, he performed in Manuel Garcia’s Un avvertimento ai gelosi (Il Conte) and covered Gualtiero in Bellini’s Il Pirata.

A highly awarded artist, Mr. Sanders was a finalist in the 2023 Belvedere Competition and was awarded a study grant from The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2021, after being named a national semifinalist in 2020. He was the winner of the prestigious Amber Capital Scholarship from the Opera Foundation in 2017, the Sachi Liebersgesell award from Opera Index in 2019, and the 2017 Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Competition. He also won second prize in the 2019 Opera at Florham Violetta DuPont Competition and third prize in the 2018 Grand Stage International Song and Lieder Competition. Mr. Sanders holds a Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.