Jessica Mills on Becoming Hanna

Interview - November 8th, 2025

QUICK QUESTIONS

• Favourite project you have been a part of?

  Stuart Maunder’s Pirates of Penzance. I have done it twice now and I don't think I've ever laughed more!

  
  

• Is there an aria you could sing endlessly?

  It's a tie between Adelaide's aria from The Enchanted Pig and Caro nome from Rigoletto. Adelaide is a drama queen and Gilda is so beautifully vulnerable.

  
  

• What’s a dream role you haven’t had the chance to perform yet?

  I would love to perform Gilda in Rigoletto.

  
  

• Can you share a fun fact about yourself that most people wouldn’t know?

  I was a pole vaulter in high school!

  
  

• If you were the Artistic Director of an opera company, which opera would you choose to program first?

  La Traviata - it's passionate, fun, dramatic, and audiences love it!

  
  

On Your 2025 Performances

Ticking a dream role (Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow) off the bucket list has definitely been a highlight this year! Other highlights include co-producing and starring in The Telephone and The Old Maid and the Thief, and performing in/Dance Captaining Romeo et Juliette for State Opera South Australia. I am also incredibly lucky to have worked with so many amazing colleagues this season!

We experience a lot of rejection in this industry, which is always a challenge to navigate. Whilst this year has been a fantastic one, I have definitely had my fair share of rejections! I believe it's important to focus on showing up as your authentic self and doing your best at what is in your control.

On the Merry Widow

The Merry Widow has been so much fun! The run is going really well. Touring this show in Victoria and South Australia has been great. We also have a fantastic team - I always love working with director Macintyre Howie-Reeves, and James Nicholson’s costume designs have made me feel like a princess!

We've had some really positive feedback! Particularly regarding our German language at the performance in Melbourne, which was a part of German Week. We've had some amazing audiences who have loved the show and my performance. The Women's March in Act Two has become quite the showstopper, which (as the choreographer) has been lovely to see.

On Hanna

I love playing Hanna. It is always a treat to play such a strong female character. I love her cheekiness, her wit, her vulnerability and her ability to command a space. The challenge for me has been making sure I do justice to her character arc. Finding her has been very creatively fulfilling.

(Getting to sing Vijla every night is also pretty special.)

On SOSA 2026

I am so excited about Into the Woods! Stephen Sondheim is one of my favourite composers and I cannot wait to bring this show to life with such a great team.

I performed in Into the Woods Jr. when I was a teenager and played Cinderella's Stepmother. That production was actually performed in the old State Opera South Australia rehearsal space so this is a bit of a full circle moment!

I'm really looking forward to performing Rapunzel and Cinderella's Mother. Rapunzel will be interesting to tackle psychologically. Without giving anything away, I think I understand her journey a little more after experiencing COVID-19 lockdowns. I think we can all relate to being indoors for weeks on end - imagine how you'd feel being locked in a tower your entire life!

I am also looking forward to working with long time mentor/colleague/friend Rosie Hosking! Rosie is playing The Witch (aka Rapunzel's "mum") and we have some great scenes together. On Improving the Opera Industry

I love passion, storytelling and connection. All of these are such huge parts of the opera industry. The power music has to make us feel never ceases to amaze me and opera is like nothing else.

I think opera needs to be more accessible. I truly believe that opera is seriously cool and I would really love to see more young people in opera audiences. It's a tricky one because opera is expensive... I guess this is my shout out to the government to increase arts funding so more young people can afford to go!

Image provided by artist