At just 19 years old, Courtney Ann Mills made her first professional orchestra debut as the soprano soloist for Beethoven’s Egmont at Chautauqua Festival and at just 23 years of age, Courtney began her career on the prestigious stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. American soprano, born in Illinois, trained at the well-known Interlochen Art Academy and at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
An eclectic artist, she has given numerous concerts and recitals, from the United States to the African continent, broadcast on radio and television. She has also taken part in various festivals throughout Europe, including the Verbier festival in Switzerland, the Salzburg in Austria, the Grachenfestival in the Netherlands and the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Her performances have been awarded several times. Among the most recent awards are the Salvator Licitra in Milan, Teatro Reunione in Viterbo and the Beppe Tomaso in Reggio Calabria. Recently, she played the roles of Madame Butterfly in Madame Butterfly (March 2019) and the Brunnhilde in Wagner’s Valkyrie (April 2019) at the Petruzzelli Theater in Bari for their matinee performances.
In 2020, in full quarantine, she performed on a balcony, the time for a short concert, followed on social networks by more than 12 million admirers, before interpreting Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana at the Teatro Unione in Viterbo. In 2020 – 2021 she will debut the role of Turandot in Petruzzelli in Bari and Oper I’m Steinbruch in Sankt Margarethen, Austria.
In September 2020, in collaboration with Heineken, she participated in the opening of the Italian Grand Prix, interpreting the Mameli anthem on the circuit before taking part in the first performance of the OSE opera festival in France where she is also the Artistic Director. This summer the OSE festival will be featured in two French locations. Courtney will also be performing a French recital at the Royal Abbaye of Nieul-sur-l’Autise in Vendee.
In November 2020, she inaugurated the Holy Deer Unplugged a series of musical events organized by San Lorenzo Lodges and SF Events Italy, inside the former papal apartment Holy Deer San Lorenzo City Lodge in Rome. Ms. Mills performed as the first opera artist from the prestigious balcony overlooking Piazza Navona, the same location as the famous film “La Grande Bellezza.”
Miss Mills has won awards and grants including the following foundations, Verbier Festival, Olga Forrai Foundation, George Solti Foundation, Gerda Lissner, Giulio Gari competition, Licia Albanese Puccini Competition, and the title of the Nico Castel Singer of the World competition at Carnegie Hall.
Recently Courtney has opened for Pitbull with for the Opening of the Season in Riyadh, performed for Bastille day at the French Embassy in Rome, was featured on TV in 6 countries as a special guest for an event in Zambia.
Courtney’s most recent operatic performances include her debut as Turandot for Oper im Steinbruch (Austria) and Soprano Soloist in the Verdi Requiem for the Bulgarian National Opera and Ballet.
Apart from Courtney’s opera career, she has recently opened an Aerospace Startup focusing on R&D and Marketing in MicroG environments. Along side this project she has also partnered with an American NGO to create a satellite NGO in Italy focused on Arts and Culture and STEM.
