Joshua Ellicott’s sweet-toned, flexible yet powerful lyric tenor voice and versatile musicianship are apparent in the wide range of repertoire in which he excels, from song to opera to concert, and in the list of conductors and ensembles with whom he works worldwide.
In the field of early music, he has worked with Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Concentus Musicus Wien), Sir Roger Norrington (Zurich Chamber Orchestra), Harry Bicket (The English Concert), Harry Christophers (The Sixteen, Boston Handel and Haydn Society), Robert King (The King's Consort), Paul McCreesh (The Gabrieli Consort, Wrocław Baroque Orchestra), Bernard Labbadie (Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment), Emmanuelle Haïm (Le Concert d'Astree), amongst others.
Joshua Ellicott has developed a particular affinity with the works of Bach, Handel and Monteverdi and within that a special love for the role of the Evangelist in Bach's Passions. He also enjoys interpreting later repertoire and he has been privileged to work with such luminaries as Sir Mark Elder, Daniel Harding and Esa Pekka Salonen in works as varied as "Parsifal" and "Tristan und Isolde" (Wagner) to "The Seven Deadly Sins" (Weill) and "Wozzeck" (Berg).
Song is another important feature of Joshua Ellicott’s artistry. One of the greatest successes of recent years has been a programme devised around the First World War letters of Joshua's Great Uncle Jack in which through his dramatic readings of letters and interspersed song, audiences have been left deeply moved. A particularly special performance took place at the Cologne Early Music Festival where some of the letters were translated into German and read by Joshua Ellicott.
Recent highlights include singing the Evangelist in Bach's "Saint Matthew Passion" at Deutsche Oper Berlin and also with Residentie Orkest in the Netherlands, Damon in Handel's "Acis and Galatea" at WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne, Handel's "Samson" with the International Bachakademie Stuttgart, Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" with Les Passions de l'Âme in Switzerland and also with Casa da Musica, Handel's "Jephta" with the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, the role of Tempo in "Il trionfo del tempo e del desinganno" (also Handel) in a new production at the Royal Danish Opera, the UK premiere of George Walker’s "Lilacs" with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under John Storgårds, the Evangelist in a staged production of Bach’s "St John Passion" at Teatro Arriaga in Spain, and the same role in his debut at Théâtre du Châtelet, a new work by Stuart MacRae at the Lammermuir Festival, Florestan in Beethoven's "Leonore" and also Caldara's "Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo" with Freiburger Barockorchester, Britten's Serenade with the Royal Nothern Sinfonia, Handel's "Judas Maccabaeus" with Capella Cracoviensis, and Handel's "Messiah" with the New York Philharmonic.
In the 2024/25 season, he returns to the Lammermuir Festival to perform his "Jack" recital, he performs a recital with Anna Tillbrook and also sings James MacMillan‘s "All the Hills and Vales" at the Cumnock Tryst Festival, performs Elgar's "The Dream of Gerontius" in Nottingham, Handel's "Messiah" with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Handel's "Susanna" with the Dunedin Consort at St Martin-in-the-Fields and Wiener Konzerthaus, Bach's "St Matthew Passion" (Evangelist) again with a Residentie Orkest under Richard Egarr, and a Handel programme with the Dresdner Philharmonie under Hans-Christoph Rademann.
Joshua Ellicott was born in Manchester and is a graduate of the University of York where he read music. From there, he progressed to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied singing, aided by a full scholarship. A landmark in his developing career came in 2006 when he was the overall winner of the International Voice Competition in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.