Joanna Harries, mezzo-soprano
Born in New Zealand and raised in Wales, mezzo-soprano Joanna Harries is a 2021/22 Young Artist at the National Opera Studio in London. She previously studied at Cambridge University, the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and holds a Sybil Tutton Opera Award and a Tait Memorial Trust Award.
In opera her roles include Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Varvara in Janáček’s Kat’a Kabanova, and the title role in Holst’s Sāvitri. She has performed with companies including Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Grange Park Opera, Opera Holland Park, Longborough Festival Opera and British Youth Opera.
As concert soloist her performances include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Macmillan’s Seven Last Words From The Cross with the BBC Philharmonic at Harrogate Royal Hall and Bach’s Easter Oratorio at the Bach Festival Świdnica in Poland.
A keen recitalist, Joanna has performed with Oxford Lieder, the Britten Studio at Snape Maltings, Pushkin House and the National Portrait Gallery. She is an Opera Prelude Young Artist, Britten-Pears Young Artist and Handel House Talent artist.
Joanna is co-founder of SongPath bringing together music, walking and nature for mental health, and was awarded a 2021 Royal Philharmonic Society Enterprise Award for her new podcast Songs of the River.
Following 125 applications and live auditions in London we were blown away by the artists who applied for the programme. We have been able to expand the programme, allocating opportunities on an artist by artist basis, tailoring it to individual needs. Each singer and instrumentalist has something unique to offer the classical music industry and we can’t wait to share their stories with you through training, performance and evergreen digital content.