Stephen Milling | |
Birth Place: | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Nationality: | Danish |
Education: | Royal Danish Academy of Music |
Children: | 3 |
Awards: | Seattle Opera's Artist of the YearGrammy Award for Best Opera RecordingGrammy Award for Best Classical Album |
Stephen Milling is a Danish operatic bass who has had an active international career since the mid-1990s.[1] Although his repertoire encompasses a wide range, he is particularly known for his roles in the operas of Richard Wagner.[2] [3] [4]
Born 1965 in Copenhagen, Milling studied voice at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and has been a member of the Royal Danish Opera since 1994, serving as a principal bass from 1994–2012.[5] In addition to his operatic performances, he is a concert artist and has performed with well-known conductors throughout Europe.
Highlights of Milling's career since 2009 include:
Milling received the Gladsaxe (Denmark) Music Prize in 1997. The prize is awarded each year to a young performing musician of "considerable talent."[12]
In December 2000, Milling performed Narbal in Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz with Sir Colin Davis conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.[13] A recording of this performance won Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album and Best Opera Recording in 2002.[14] [15] [16] In April 2002, Milling sang the same role with the Chicago Symphony under Zubin Mehta.[17]
The Seattle Opera awarded Milling its Artist of the Year Award in 2003 for his portrayal of Gurnemanz in Parsifal.[18]
A number of recordings that include Milling are available on CD. In addition, a 2009 production of Der Ring des Nibelungen that was staged in Valencia by the Spanish group La Fura dels Baus under the direction of Zubin Mehta is available on DVD.[19]
Milling grew up in the village of Annisse by the lake Arresø in Denmark. Milling is married and has three sons. He has taken his family to Seattle for rehearsals, starting when his youngest was only 13 days old.