Rowan Hellier

Lauded worldwide for her appearances on the operatic and concert stage, critics have praised Scottish mezzo Rowan Hellier for ‘the lovely richness of her tone’ (Opera Today) and her ‘focus, drama and clarity’ in performance (The Herald). Possessing an extensive vocal range, she is a singing actor of great versatility.

Rowan has appeared in concert with many of the world's leading orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Shadows on the Wall - Five Hauntings) at St Magnus International Festival conducted by Alexander Verdernikov, London Philharmonic Orchestra (Das Rheingold) under Vladimir Jurowski over several seasons, Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Carmen - title role), Stavanger Symphony Orchestra (Christmas Oratorio) conducted by John Butt, the Seattle Symphony (Mozart Requiem) under Itzhak Perlman, with conductor Nicholas Collon at both the Bregenz Festival (orchestral song cycle woman.life.song) and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Grania and Diarmid), and at LSO St. Luke’s with conductor André de Ridder (woman.life.song), and has made appearances at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Müpa Budapest conducted by Peter Eötvös. She has given multiple live radio broadcasts and recordings in Europe and for the BBC. Rowan will make her Shanghai Concert Hall debut in the forthcoming season with the renowned Kuss Quartet.

On the operatic stage, she has appeared at the Berlin Staatsoper (Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen, Die Zauberflöte, Babylon, Madama Butterfly, Der Kaiser von Atlantis, La Traviata) Grand Théâtre de Genève (Sleepless), Hamburg Staatsoper (Vanitas), Staatstheater Braunschweig (Götterdämmerung, Das Rheingold, Dead Man Walking, Dante, Die Zauberflöte) Welsh National Opera (Le nozze di Figaro), with Theater Magdeburg and at the Royal Opera House as Frau Grubach / Waschfrau in the world and Romanian premieres of The Trial by Philip Glass, and Salzburg Landestheater (Hänsel und Gretel, Orfeo ed Euridice, The Orphic Moment, Carmen, Il turco in Italia, Brokeback Mountain, Idomeneo, Don Giovanni) under the musical direction of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. She was a member of the ensemble at both Staatstheater Braunschweig and Salzburg Landestheater. As a member of the International Opera Studio at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, overseen by artistic director Daniel Barenboim, Rowan was the recipient of the Liz Mohn Kultur und Musikstiftung scholarship.

An eclectic concept-based programme curator, and creator and producer of new opera-related formats and work, her recent collaboration with composer Kate Whitley and Ted Hughes Award-winning poet Hollie McNish produced Gorgeous Beasts, commissioned by and premiered at Oxford International Song Festival 2021, and subsequently performed during all-female composer programme, wom3n, at Wigmore Hall for International Women’s Day 2022, with duo partner Sholto Kynoch.

Further performances in song include recitals for Opéra de Lille, Perth Festival of the Arts, with the Prince Consort, and multiple appearances at Wigmore Hall.

In baroque repertoire, Rowan has performed as soloist with prominent ensembles The King’s Consort at Château de Versailles, Trevor Pinnock and Friends, with whom she sang the title role in Dido and Aeneas at Wigmore Hall, Dunedin Consort — notably as mezzo soloist on their Gramophone Award-winning Mozart Requiem recording, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and with Ensemble Resonanz — most recently in a live broadcast of the Christmas Oratorio in cooperation with Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Bachfest Leipzig.

Her discography includes the Gramophone Award-winning Mozart Requiem with the Dunedin Consort for Linn Records, The Trial by Philip Glass for Orange Mountain Music, Honegger's König David with the Prometheus Ensemble and Junges Ensemble Berlin for Rondeau Productions, and a disc of Wolf Lieder on Stone Records from Oxford Lieder, together with Roderick Williams, Katarina Karnéus, Neal Davies, Adrian Thompson and pianist Sholto Kynoch.

Updated:26/09/2023