the bartered a night at the bride chinese opera...the bartered bride comic opera in three acts by...

25th

ANNIVERSARY

A Night at theChinese Opera

The BarteredBrideBedřich Smetana Judith Weir

Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre8-15 September 2012

Presented by British Youth Opera in association with Southbank Sinfonia

DOWNLOADABLE PROGRAMME


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Welcome to British Youth Opera’s 25th Anniversary Season

‘Following the success of Peter Knapp’sproduction of The Marriage of Figaro with a groupof young singers from Cleveland in the summerof 1986 it is proposed to establish a British YouthOpera Company which will develop this idea on anational scale ... The company’s aim will be toprovide an intensive training programme of thehighest quality, leading to an actual run ofperformances in front of a paying audience. The best experience is gained under theseconditions.’

So wrote BYO Founder Denis Coe for the launch ofBritish Youth Opera in January 1987. Nine months later,BYO’s first production, Don Giovanni, opened at theTyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle, beforetransferring to the Bloomsbury Theatre, London.

25 years, 46 London productions of 26 different operas,and more than 1,000 singers later our aim is the same: to discover, develop and display the next generationof opera professionals.

The main celebration of our 25th anniversary will takeplace on Sunday 18 November (see back cover), whenthe largest ever gathering of BYO alumni will be atCadogan Hall to celebrate a quarter of a century of BYO.That leaves us free to concentrate on the next generationhere at the Peacock Theatre.

The Bartered Bride and A Night at the Chinese Opera areboth new operas for BYO, chosen for this anniversaryyear to highlight the range and diversity of our

productions as well as for the richness of opportunitiesand experience they provide to the season’s 82 singers,trainee conductors, directors, repetiteurs, designers,lighting designers, production managers, stage managersand wardrobe assistants (all of whose biographies appearon pages 16-36 of this free programme – part of ourmission to ‘display’).

BYO is privileged to have creative and production teams(see pages 37-41) who foster a generous, nurturingenvironment within the context of a full-scaleprofessional opera company (‘the best experience isgained under these conditions’). We are also extremelygrateful to Judith Weir and the distinguished singerswho have passed on their experience of specific rolesfrom one generation to the next through our LinkScheme (see page 41).

British Youth Opera could not have been at the heart ofso many singers’ journeys into successful operatic careerswithout the support of hundreds of people. On behalf ofeveryone involved, I would like to thank the volunteers,Friends, donors, charitable trusts and organisations whosupport us financially or in-kind.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s performance – and manymore by BYO singers – and will be encouraged tosupport our activities (see pages 45-51), thereby playingyour own part in the development of the next generationof opera professionals.

Ivan RockeyExecutive Director

Contents

The Bartered Bride 5

A Night at the Chinese Opera 11

Biographies 16

Artistic and Production Staff 37

The Link Scheme 41

Southbank Sinfonia 42

British Youth Opera 45


Welcome

PatronHRH The Prince of Wales

FounderDenis Coe

PresidentSir Thomas Allen CBE

Vice PresidentsDame Janet Baker CHNoelle Barker OBEChevalier José CuraTimothy DeanDr Jane Glover CBESir John HannamDame Felicity Lott CBEValerie Masterson CBERt Hon Baroness Perry of SouthwarkBryn Terfel CBE

ChairmanHugh Merrill MVO

TrusteesLady EllisRichard GreenhalghDonald MaxwellJane McCulloch (Finance)Rodney MilnesSimon Moore CBMartin Saville (Deputy Chairman)Dipesh Shah OBE FRSAMichael Simmons

Artistic DirectorPeter Robinson

Executive DirectorIvan Rockey

General ManagerMarcella Santese

Artistic AdministratorStuart Barker

Friends’ SecretaryAnne Burton

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Welcome to the Peacock Theatre for British Youth Opera’s 25thanniversary season productions of The Bartered Bride and A Night atthe Chinese Opera.

On behalf of the trustees of British Youth Opera I would like tothank everyone who makes our work possible, from the professionalartistic, production and management teams to the volunteers,Friends, donors, sponsors and grant-making organisations thatenable us to continue training so many talented young people.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my fellowTrustees as this season will be my last as Chairman, although I willremain deeply involved and committed to BYO. I am delighted thatone of my colleagues who led our recent strategic review, RichardGreenhalgh, has stepped forward to take my place from next month.BYO will continue to be a success in his, and our staff’s, very capablehands, and I look forward to attending many more wonderful BYOperformances over the coming years.

It is worth remembering that the performances you see here tonightnot only mark the culmination of our annual programme ofauditions, workshops, coaching and rehearsals, but also mark atransition point in the lives of many of those involved. Our missionis to help bridge the gap between music colleges and a career inopera, and so it is always a most gratifying privilege to see BYOparticipants go on to roles with major opera companies.

Such is the success of so many BYO alumni that starting to singlethem out for attention is an activity that once begun soon becomeshard to stop, but I would like to congratulate two of last year’ssingers already undertaking principal roles elsewhere. EllieLaugharne (Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro, BYO 2011) will be singingSusanna in Glyndebourne on Tour’s Figaro later this year – alongsideanother BYO alumnus, Derek Welton (Nick Shadow, The Rake’sProgress, BYO 2009) as Figaro – and Elin Pritchard (Female Chorus,The Rape of Lucretia, BYO 2011) will sing Violetta for ScottishOpera’s La traviata.

More senior BYO alumni continue to traverse the world’s stages,from Bayreuth to New York to Sydney, and it is not just the singers;several circles are completed this year as we welcome back StuartBarker (trainee Assistant Director, Eugene Onegin, 1994) andCordelia Chisholm (trainee Assistant Designer, BYO 2003) asmembers of the professional staff (Director, A Night at the ChineseOpera and Designer, The Bartered Bride).

In November we will be celebrating the success of many more BYOalumni, spanning the whole of our 25 years (see back cover), so Ihope you will join us then, as well as joining me in wishing everyfuture success to the young people involved in this week’sproductions.

Hugh Merrill Chairman

The Bartered Bride

Comic opera in three actsby Bedřich SmetanaLibretto by Karel SabinaFirst performed at the Provisional Theatre, Prague, 30 May 1866English translation by Kit Hesketh-Harvey for the Royal Opera House, first performed on 7 November 2001New production for British Youth Opera 2012

Performances8, 11 and 14 September 2012Cover performance15 September 2012

There will be an interval of 25 minutes after Act One and an interval of 15 minutes after Act TwoThe performances will finish at approximately 10.10pmPhotography and the use of audio or visual recording equipment are prohibited in the theatre

The performance on 8 September is sponsored by Marianne FalkThe performance on 14 September is sponsored by David and Mary Bowerman

Conductor Peter RobinsonDirector Rodula GaitanouDesigner Cordelia ChisholmLighting Designer David HoweChoreographer Mandy DemetriouVocal Coach Isobel FlinnProduction Manager Andrew QuickSenior Stage Manager Ray BingleCompany Manager Lindah BalfourCostume Supervisor Sharon Marlow

in association with Southbank Sinfonia

In order of singingJeník Luis GomesMařenka Katherine CromptonKecal, a marriage broker Matthew StiffKrušina, Mařenka’s father Matthew WrightLudmila Mařenka’s mother Katie ConnorVašek Samuel FurnessThe Ringmaster Simon GfellerEsmeralda, a circus performer Jennifer FranceIndian, a circus performer Joseph KennedyHáta, Vašek’s mother Ting WangMícha, Vašek’s father Frazer Scott

Villagers and circus performersSopranos Belén Barnaus, Holly Marie Bingham, Amelia Burns, Claire Candy, Gabriella Cassidy,

Hazel McBain, Gina May WalterMezzo-sopranos Olivia Barry, Jenny Bianco, Vivien Conacher, Rachael Cox, Alicia Gurney,

Daniella Varadi, Grace WainTenors Richard Bignall, Gitai Fisher, Timothy Langston, Mark McCloskey,

Michael McLaughlin, Stephen Mills, Matthew Nicholls Basses Matthew Durkan, Emmanuel Gendre, Joseph Kennedy, Dionysios Kyropoulos,

Seamus McGowan, Huw Montague Rendall

Artistic and Production traineesAssistant Conductor Dane LamAssistant Director Olivia HowieAssistant Designer Natalie JacksonAssistant Lighting Designer Alexander RidgersRepetiteurs Richard McGrath, Ian Tindale,

Soojeong JooAssistant Production Manager Alex GrovesStage Manager Ellen DawsonDeputy Stage Manager Marian SharkeyAssistant Stage Manager Megan JamesWardrobe Assistants Holly Megan Baxter, Valeria Cantelli

CoversJeník Adam SmithMařenka Hannah SandisonKecal Bradley TravisKrušina Timothy NelsonLudmila Augusta HebbertVašek Simon GfellerThe Ringmaster Gitai FisherEsmeralda Holly Marie BinghamIndian Matthew DurkanHáta Alicia GurneyMícha Dionysios Kyropoulos

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Cast


Synopsis1956. A village hall in Prague, Oklahoma, has beentransformed into a dance hall for the weekend’s May Daycelebrations.

Act OneFriday, early evening.

The young villagers arrive excited at the prospect ofdancing – their way of flirting. The parents in the small,conservative society keep a careful eye on their children.

Mařenka is upset at finding out that her parents aretrying to arrange a marriage between her and Vašek, thesimple son of the wealthy Toby Mícha. She confides inher lover Jeník, an itinerant who was driven away fromhis wealthy family by his stepmother at an early age. Heassures Mařenka that the love they share replaces thelove he lost.

Kecal, the local marriage broker and promoter of the oldvalues, takes the opportunity to do business at thecelebration. He tries to finalise an agreement withKrušina, father of Mařenka. Krušina owes a large debt toMícha, and in order to pay off this debt he has pledgedhis daughter to Vašek. Krušina’s wife, Ludmila, tries toprotect Mařenka from the deal but she doesn’t succeed;this is a man’s world. The parents and Kecal announcethe news to Mařenka and she responds by saying that shealready has a chosen lover.

Kecal judges a beauty contest between the village girls.They are excited about the prospect of him finding thema good man, if they win.

Act TwoFriday, late night.

Kecal arranges a marriage between a wealthy, middle-aged village man and the young winner of the beautycontest. Mařenka and Jeník are horrified at this and anargument ensues between those who toast to love andthose who toast to money. The girls diffuse the situationby dancing the Furiant.

Vašek arrives, stressed at the prospect of obeying hisstrict mother’s orders. Mařenka, not revealing heridentity, persuades him to swear not to marry her, sayingthere is another girl in love with him.

Meanwhile, Kecal persuades Jeník to sign an agreementstating that he will not marry Mařenka. Jeník agrees onthree conditions: that he must be paid 10,000 crowns,that Krušina’s debt to Mícha is paid off, and thatMařenka must marry ‘the true son of Mícha’. Witnessing

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the signing of the agreement, the villagers show theirdisgust at Jeník’s apparent treachery.

Act ThreeSaturday afternoon.

A travelling circus arrives and presents a ‘teaser’ number topull in the crowds for their evening show. One of the troupe,however, is drunk and won’t be able to perform as thegrizzly bear! Esmeralda, the star artist of the circus, persuadesVašek to put on the costume and take the bear part. She, inturn, falls for Vašek, charmed by his gentle nature.

Vašek’s parents – Mícha and Háta – arrive, with Kecal.Vašek tells them that he no longer wants to marryMařenka, having heard about her true nature from abeautiful, strange girl. They are horrified. Vašek runs off,and moments later Mařenka arrives with her parents.She has just learned of Jeník’s deal with Kecal. Mattersare further complicated when Vašek returns, recognisesMařenka as his ‘strange girl’, and says that he will happilymarry her. Mařenka is urged by her parents and Kecal tothink things over. They all depart, leaving her alone.

Mařenka sings of her betrayal. When Jeník appears sherebuffs him angrily and declares that she will marryVašek. Kecal arrives and is amused by Jeník’s attempts topacify Mařenka, who orders her former lover to go.

The crowds gather for the finalisation of the agreement.Háta and Mícha are shocked to see Jeník, Mícha’s long-lostson! Jeník can legally claim Mařenka for his bride, alongsidehis half of Mícha’s fortune and Krušina’s debt is paid.

Kecal, humiliated, disappears from the village, helped bythe Ringmaster. Vašek appears dressed as the grizzlybear, delighted to tell his mother that he’s joined thecircus. The parents give their blessing to Jeník andMařenka and the villagers celebrate the triumph of thebartered bride.

Olivia Howie


Pages 7-9: The Bartered Bride in rehearsal 2012

The Bartered Bride: passion and politics

A comic opera bursting at the seams with vibrant folkdances, a bumbling ‘mummy’s boy’, and a ragtag circustroupe must constitute the unlikeliest of politicalstatements. Yet, arising out of the zeitgeist of 19th-century Czecho-Slovak nationalist fervour in the boundsof the all-consuming Austro-Hungary of the Hapsburgs,The Bartered Bride stands as a testament to theburgeoning Czech independence movement. Gainingmomentum in the latter half of the 19th century, theindependence sentiment in Czech lands captured theimagination of its artists, including one Bedřich Smetanawho, after attending a subversive gathering ofintellectuals in 1857 was deeply affected by the ethnicstereotyping of the Czech people as derivative artists,bereft of original ideas in stark contrast to the perceivedcreative genius of the Germanic peoples. Despite itswealth of vital, distinctive folk music, there were nowidely-recognised examples of Czech art and music thateven aspired to ascend the Pantheon of such greatmasters as Beethoven or the more contemporaneousWagner. The gauntlet had been decisively thrown downand it was Smetana who took it upon himself single-handedly to distil the essence of Czech national identitythrough his art, swearing that ‘no other than I shouldbeget a native Czech music.’

When Smetana began work on The Bartered Bride in1863 he had already finished the first of his eight operas.In contrast to The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, which was aserious affair, The Bartered Bride’s comic piquancymustered the seemingly-perfect combination of musical,dramatic and patriotic elements that gave the opera its

lasting appeal. While it was moderately successful at its1866 Prague premiere, it was not until its third showingat the Vienna Music and Theatre Exhibition in 1892after a raft of revisions that it found the widespreadpopularity it enjoys today by capturing the imaginationof the Hapsburg capital – a critical triumph for Czechmusic.

Arguably the most distinctive element of Smetana’scolourful score is his inclusion of several Czech folkdances. Strains of the iconic polka are heard in theopera’s first act while the ‘double entendre’ rhythmic playof the furiant characterises Act Two. Finally the bustlingskocná of the ‘Dance of the Comedians’ completes thethree dance interludes from Czech musical life. However,apart from these explicit reworkings of traditional folkdances, Smetana also weaves Czech musical elementsmore subtly into the work.

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Notes


The clarinet melody heard over a rustic drone at thebeginning of Act One evokes images of peasant life evenas it segues into an exuberant outpouring of communitytogetherness in the chorus’ spring celebration. Thisrustic flavour is continued deftly into Act Two with theduet for Kecal and Jeník as its folksy oom-pahaccompaniment over a Sullivan-esque patter songriotously unfolds. Similarly, Moravia’s significant Jewishpopulation is given voice in the Klezmer-influenced duetbetween Jeník and Mařenka in Act Three.

Alongside Smetana’s evocation of national characteristicsstands his masterful depiction of the characters’ musicalpersonalities. Vašek, the unfortunate, stutteringsimpleton is depicted by a quasi-onomatopoeicorchestral introduction of stilted, disjointed chords thatreinforce his musical stammering in the vocal line. Moretender music is also reserved for the star-crossed Jeníkand Mařenka in each of their arias, while the purity oftheir love projects itself through a simply harmonisedpair of clarinets over whispering strings in the couple’slove duet.

As with any artist, Smetana was not immune to theinfluence of his musical predecessors andcontemporaries. For any composer of the later 19thcentury, Wagner’s ground-breaking musical anddramatic innovations cast an all-encompassing shadowover the musical landscape. While Smetana’s vehementrefutations of his indebtedness to Wagner are clearly onthe record, there are nevertheless some uncannyinstances of Wagnerian colour to some of The BarteredBride’s music. A prime example of this can be heard inMařenka’s Act Three aria with its heaving chromaticviola line and unresolved, Tristan-esque cadences.Wagner’s influence can also be sensed more broadly inthe simple, leitmotivic themes that illustrate ideas,emotions and characters throughout the piece, includingthe clarinet love melody, Vašek’s stumbling music, andthe overture’s vibrant syncopations.

Against the backdrop of all this is the story of Mařenkaand Jeník: lovers fighting fiercely for their ownindependence against parental and societal oppression.Could this thumbing of the nose against paternalisticmanipulation be seen as a parallel for the Czech peopleagainst its domineering neighbours? Certainly, Smetana’spatriotic streak is well-documented and his embrace ofhis country’s heritage gave impetus not just to composersDvořák and Janáček, but also inspired great Czechsincluding Franz Kafka, Sigmund Freud and Václav Havel– indeed to the eventual independence of the Czechnation. This inspiration of the human spirit is even morepertinent to us in 2012 in the wake of the ‘Arab Spring’and the emergence of the world’s newest state, SouthSudan. Yet, apart from the evident politicalundercurrents, The Bartered Bride’s abundance ofmemorable tunes and beloved characters presents anoperatic cornucopia to be enjoyed by all people, in alltimes, in all places.

Dane Lam9


Why The Bartered Bride?Smetana’s second and most successful opera is receivingits first-ever production by BYO, and maintains thecompany’s tradition of occasionally exploring the 19thand early 20th century lyric repertoire. Recent seasonshave seen productions of La bohème, La rondine, EugeneOnegin and Roméo et Juliette, all of which call for a sizeablechorus. The Bartered Bride offers a variety of challenges toour company of young singers: lyrical and expansivesinging alongside precise and sharply-delivered comedy;vigorous choral writing together with energetic andentertaining choreography; and the opportunity for castand chorus to create a credible and close-knit communityof people. The orchestral score is highly colourful andvirtuosic, with some especially distinguished andattractive writing for the wind. We are performing thepiece in Kit Hesketh-Harvey’s brilliant Englishtranslation, commissioned a few years ago by the RoyalOpera House, Covent Garden.

Peter RobinsonArtistic Director

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Why A Night at the Chinese Opera?I was fortunate enough to attend a performance of JudithWeir’s first opera when it was first performed by KentOpera, who commissioned it, in 1987. The piece made apowerful and lasting impression on me, and I wasengaged and intrigued by both its music and its libretto. I am therefore delighted to have been able to facilitate anew production (only the fourth in this country) forBYO.

In many ways it is ideal for BYO’s resources – a companyof ten singers, sharing fifteen roles, and an orchestralscore which fits both the resources of the SouthbankSinfonia and the capacity of the pit in the PeacockTheatre. It is perhaps no accident that non-chorusEnglish-language operas have become a regular featureof BYO’s repertoire during the last few years – The Rapeof Lucretia, Euridice, Flight, Albert Herring – and we areproud and privileged to be able to add A Night at theChinese Opera to this list.

Peter RobinsonArtistic Director

The Bartered Bride in rehearsal 2012

A Night at the Chinese Opera in rehearsal 2012

A Night at the Chinese OperaMusic and lyrics by Judith WeirCommissioned by the BBC for Kent Opera and firstperformed at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, 8 July 1987New production for British Youth Opera 2012By arrangement with Novello & Co Ltd

Performances12 and 15 September 2012Cover performance14 September 2012

There will be an interval of 25 minutes after Act IIThe performances will finish at approximately 9.35pm (12 September) and 9.05pm (15 September)Photography and the use of audio or visual recording equipment are prohibited in the theatre

The performance on 12 September is sponsored by Sir Vernon and Lady EllisThe performance on 15 September is sponsored by Geoffrey Collens

Conductor Lionel FriendDirector Stuart BarkerDesigner Simon BejerLighting Designer David HoweMovement Director Caroline LambVocal Coach Ian ShawDialogue Coach Simon ColePuppetry Consultant Darren EastProduction Manager Andrew QuickSenior Stage Manager Ray BingleCompany Manager Lindah BalfourCostume Supervisor Sharon Marlow

in association with Southbank Sinfonia

CastIn order of singingA Nightwatchman Samuel SmithThe Military Governor James HallA Mongolian Soldier Jean-Baptiste MouretChao Sun, an explorer and mapmaker Jamie RockMrs Chin, housekeeper Helen BruceLittle Moon, wife of Chao Sun Louise KemenyOld P’eng, a scholar Thomas ElwinChao Lin, son of Chao Sun and Little Moon Johnny HerfordThree Actors Catherine Backhouse

Louise KemenyPeter Kirk

A Fireman Jamie RockMarco Polo Samuel SmithOld Crone Helen BruceOld Mountain Dweller Thomas Elwin

Artistic and Production traineesAssistant Conductor Peter FoggittAssistant Director Imogen TedburyAssistant Designer Natalie JacksonAssistant Lighting Designer Alexander RidgersRepetiteurs Lliam Paterson, Jonathon Swinard,

Soojeong JooAssistant Production Manager Alex GrovesStage Manager Adam StreetDeputy Stage Manager Alice MarnerPuppet and Props Maker Claire BannisterWardrobe Assistants Holly Megan Baxter, Valeria Cantelli

CoversA Nightwatchman Raoni Hübner de BarrosThe Military Governor Tom VerneyA Mongolian Soldier Oskar PalmbladChao Sun Luke D WilliamsMrs Chin Charlotte KingLittle Moon Elizabeth KaraniOld P’eng Vasili KarpiakChao Lin Ed BallardThree Actors Elizabeth Desbruslais

Elizabeth KaraniJan Capiński

A Fireman Luke D WilliamsMarco Polo Raoni Hübner de BarrosOld Crone Charlotte KingOld Mountain Dweller Vasili Karpiak

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SynopsisAct ILoyan, a city on the north-west borders of late 13th-century China.As the Nightwatchman oversees the sleeping city ofLoyan, it is invaded by Khubilai Khan’s army.

Chao Sun, explorer and mapmaker, has been working ona map of Loyan’s nearest mountain range, watched overby his loving wife Little Moon, his baby son Chao Lin,and his neighbours Mrs Chin and Old P’eng. WhenChao Sun leaves the city of Loyan to live in exile awayfrom the constraints of the new Mongolian regime, hiswife dies of grief. The child, Chao Lin, is exposed to theattractions of the Mongolian rulers.

The years pass. China is assailed by floods. TheMongolians seek advice and engage Chao Lin, now ayoung man, gaining his expertise and his allegiance.When Chao Lin arrests a troop of unemployed actors, herecruits them to work on his new canal. Chao Lin’s oldneighbours pass by, and Old P’eng gives Chao Lin hisfather’s map, which describes the very mountainsthrough which Chao Lin’s canal will run.

The Actors prepare to deliver one final performance oftheir play The Orphan of Chao. Mrs Chin, Old P’eng andthe Nightwatchman join the audience. Chao Lin decidesto attend the performance himself.

Act IIThe Orphan of Chao.The evil General Tu-an-Ku and Chao-the-Loyal-Civil-Servantare in competition for the Emperor’s favour. After having 300of the Chao family murdered, the General forges an officialletter from the Emperor, containing an order for Chao tocommit suicide.

Chao’s wife places her newborn son under the protection ofCh’êng Ying, a loyal retainer, before taking her own life.Ch’êng Ying and the Orphan of Chao escape with the help ofkindly General Han Chueh, who also silences himself to avoidrevealing their whereabouts to General Tu-an-Ku.

Ch’êng Ying hides the Orphan at the house of Kung-Sun Chu-Ch’iu, a loyal former colleague of Chao’s. When GeneralTu-an-Ku arrives, there is some confusion over the identity ofthe Orphan, resulting in the evil General’s failure to murderthe Orphan. Instead he unknowingly adopts the child as agesture of gratitude to Kung-Sun Chu-Ch’iu.

Many years later, General Tu-an-Ku enlists the assistance ofhis adopted son in plotting against the Emperor, despite thebest efforts of a disapproving god. With a little help, theOrphan unravels the mystery of his origins...

Suddenly, the play is interrupted by news of anearthquake. Chao Lin is left contemplating thesignificance of what he has seen.

Act III In the Mountains.The act is introduced by Marco Polo, who recounts hisexperiences of canal construction and irrigation inChina.

The morning after their interrupted performance, theactors begin their labour under Chao Lin. But even theMilitary Governor’s presentation of a Mongolian seal ofoffice reminds him of The Orphan of Chao.

As Chao Lin travels through the mountains, using hisfather’s map, he reaches the summit with the help of twomysterious guides. His revelations lead him to confrontthe Military Governor on the mountain path.

Chao Lin must then face the consequences of his actions,as the actors perform the final scene of The Orphan ofChao.

Imogen Tedbury

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Pages 13-15: A Night at the Chinese Opera in rehearsal 2012

parody is reserved for the Chinese Opera itself in Act II.Devotees of Weir’s music will find familiar elementsrunning through all three acts: a fluid use of modalityand pan-tonality; beguilingly simple rhythmic elementsoffset against more complex undercurrents (the MilitaryGovernor’s aria in Act I); good ol’-fashioned melodies,occasionally given an unexpected twist (Little Moon’sfolksong, or the Mezzo Actor’s Chansonette). Much of thisis executed with a sense of pseudo-academic rigour – butnot straight-lacedness – and finely-judged irony: theSextet in Act I features five singers and a mute baby.

Where groups of characters meet, so do differingharmonic and melodic styles: the Septet at the end of ActI features Chao Lin and the Mongolian Soldier, whosemusic is generally octatonic and moves by large intervals;against them are counterpointed two groups, the first ofwhich consists of Mrs Chin and Old P’eng. These two,

Notes‘A fourteen, a seven, a nine and lychees’, orStereotypes and Modality in A Night at the Chinese Opera

Ordering by numbers – the time-honoured tradition thatsaves us from having to learn how to pronounce difficultforeign words – and watching kung fu movies: theunadventurous Briton’s experience of Chinese-ness.Elements of Oriental culture other than sweet-and-sourand Jackie Chan are also familiar to us: an easily-parodied love of concision; devotion to hard work;pentatonic music (think Chopsticks).Judith Weir’s first full-length opera (1987) riffs on theseoccidental perceptions of the East, but of greater interestin this context is the way in which she adapts images andstereotypes of the Orient to serve the peculiar purposesof a folk tale – which itself includes a folk tale-within-a-folk tale. Though the libretto of A Night at the ChineseOpera occasionally draws on the ‘Confucius-he-say’school of sentence structure – most notably in the OldCrone’s scene in Act III – and features a hapless martialartist in the form of the Nightwatchman, the bulk of the


representing pre-invasion China, sing in gracefulpentatonic lines accompanied initially by a pair of oboes.The three Actors, meanwhile, also inhabit the angularoctatonicism that Chao Lin and the Soldier firstintroduce, but their music moves unwillingly, by step, intightly-wrought triadic harmony – as though everythingthey say is intended as a mockery of their oppressors.

It is in the field of parody where this meeting of East andWest becomes particularly interesting: there areremarkably few instances of pure imitation, but plenty ofoccasions where quasi-Chinese pentatonicism takes onrather more adventurous harmonic or melodicdimensions. The Mezzo Actor’s first appearance (Act IScene 5) is initially an innocuous modal melodyaccompanied by a badly-tuned lute, but as theaccompaniment develops, so does the melody, becomingincreasingly chromatic. At the very end of the opera, theActors’ chorus tries valiantly to take on the mantle of anassertive and final C major, yet the orchestra keepsproviding harmonic thorns in the side of the vocal parts’cheery worship-song diatonicism. A rather differenteffect, but using similar means, is achieved at the start ofAct Three: Marco Polo’s recitativo concerning theconstruction of canals is delivered predominantly in Cmajor; the cadential chords, however, refuse to conform.

Alongside these conscious parodies of Italian opera,Chinese folk song, and modern hymnody (or is it musicaltheatre?) exists an equally broad range of other musics:the Prisoners’ Chorus in Act III, although modal, is sorhythmically distorted and uneven – set in 7/8 withdecreasing phrase-lengths – that even its relativelyconservative harmonic world sounds surprisingly fresh.The two rhythmicised spoken sections (Chao Sun’s map-making ‘aria’ and the proverbs uttered by the Old Crone

in Act III Scene 2) are accompanied by swiftly-movingchords that hover inches from Messiaenic harmony.Chao Lin’s meeting with the Old Mountain-Dweller, akind of yodelling song heard through a kaleidoscope,eventually breaks down to thick counterpoint intremolando strings.

With all this stylistic shifting going on, one might expectA Night at the Chinese Opera to sound like a compendiumof parody and pseudo-exoticism. Although Act II (theopera-within-an-opera) is intended to be heard inenormous musical quotation marks, the rest of the musicbalances what might be termed ‘authentic’ modes againsttonality and modern modality. The refraction of so manystyles through a single artistic lens creates a music bothsurprisingly homogenous and successful in its fusion – amillion miles away from exoticism-by-numbers.

Peter Foggitt15


Biographies

Catherine BackhouseActorA Night at the Chinese Operagrew up in Edinburgh, has anhonours degree in music fromDurham University and is on theOpera Course at the GSMDstudying with John Evans. Shewon second prize in the 2011AESS Patricia Routledge NationalEnglish Song Competition. Roles

include Hippolyta A Midsummer Night’s Dream (BarbicanTheatre), Rossweisse Die Walküre (St EndellionFestival), Ino Semele and Sesto La clemenza di Tito(Hampstead Garden Opera), Soeur Anne Dialogues desCarmélites (GSMD) and Mabel/Nurse Wallace UnknownDoors by Iain Burnside (Barbican Pit Theatre). Futureplans include Jean Le portrait de Manon by Massenet andCherubino Le nozze di Figaro (GSMD). She is supportedby the Worshipful Companies of Actuaries andPlaisterers, David and Wendy Hamilton and the SirJames Caird Travelling Scholarships Trust.

Ed BallardCover Chao LinA Night at the Chinese Operais currently studying at the RAMunder Glenville Hargreaves andAudrey Hyland. Winner of theMarjorie Thomas Art of SongPrize and a Maidment Scholarshipadministered by the MusiciansBenevolent Fund, he is a memberof the RAM Song Circle and a

soloist in their Kohn Foundation Bach Cantata Series.

Operatic roles include Count Almaviva The Marriage ofFigaro (Winterbourne Opera), Guglielmo Così fan tutteand Demetrius A Midsummer Night’s Dream (ShadwellOpera), Aeneas Dido and Aeneas (Dartington) and Johnthe Butcher Hugh the Drover (Hampstead Garden Opera).In concert he has appeared with, amongst others, theBritten Sinfonia in St John’s Smith Square, theBrandenburg Sinfonia in St James’s Piccadilly and King’sCollege Choir in Chester Cathedral. www.edballard.co.uk

Claire BannisterPuppet and Props MakerA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Bristol. Afterspending two years volunteeringas backstage crew for theeducation department at Bath’sTheatre Royal, she trained as aProsthetic Make up Artist atVancouver Film School. Afterreturning to the UK and working

on a number of productions including X-Men: First Class(20th Century Fox) she returned to university where sheis currently about to enter her final year of a TechnicalEffects for Performance degree at London College ofFashion. Now knowing that her passion lies in creatingcharacters, she has spent the last six months volunteeringwith the costume and props departments for the London2012 Olympic Ceremonies.

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AbbreviationsBYO British Youth OperaCUOS Cambridge University OperaSocietyENO English National OperaETO English Touring OperaGFO Glyndebourne Festival OperaGOT Glyndebourne on TourGPO Grange Park OperaGSMD Guildhall School of Musicand DramaLFO Longborough Festival Opera

NOS National Opera StudioOHP Opera Holland ParkOTC Opera Theatre CompanyRAM Royal Academy of MusicRAO Royal Academy OperaRCM Royal College of MusicRCMIOS RCM International OperaSchoolRCS Royal Conservatoire ofScotlandRNCM Royal Northern College ofMusic

ROH Royal Opera HouseRSAMD Royal Scottish Academy ofMusic and DramaRWCMD Royal Welsh College ofMusic and DramaTLCMD Trinity LabanConservatoire of Music and DanceWIAV Wales InternationalAcademy of VoiceWNO Welsh National OperaWNYO Welsh National YouthOpera

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Belén BarnausChorusThe Bartered Brideis a soprano who was born inBarcelona and graduated from theGSMD. She has studied with CésarPuente, Dolors Aldea, SusanWaters and Kate Paterson. In 2009she was awarded the prize for bestperformance of a contemporaryCatalan piece in the Chamber

Music Competition of Sant Joan deVilatorrada. Heroperatic roles include Aninka Brundibar (Mercat de lesFlors) and Third Spirit Die Zauberflöte (El Gran Teatre delLiceu and International Festival of Granada). In Novembershe will play Musica/Euridice Orfeo (Hampstead GardenOpera). In September Belén returns to the GSMD to studyfor a Master’s Degree in Historical Performance. With BYO: Easter Workshop 2012.

Olivia BarryChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Essex. She studied atCanterbury Christ ChurchUniversity with Renee Salewskiand then went on to BirminghamConservatoire for herPostgraduate Diploma withChristine Cairns, with whom shecontinues to study. Olivia won the

Alan Parnell singing prize in 2007 and was a finalist in theCecil Drew Oratorio Prize in both 2008 and 2010. Heropera experience includes Woman 1 Scoring a Century(world premiere, Birmingham Conservatoire), MercédèsCarmen (OperaUpClose), cover Filipyevna Eugene Onegin(Ryedale Festival) and Chorus The Gondoliers (BuxtonGilbert and Sullivan Festival). She has performed manyoratorios, solo recitals and concerts across the UK and lastsummer in India as a soloist in a series of concerts forcharities.

Holly Megan BaxterWardrobe Assistantrecently graduated from the RCSwith a BA in Technical andProduction Arts specialising inCostume Construction. She hasalso gained further specialisedtraining in hair and make-up forstage, corsetry skills, tailoring andmillinery skills from variousestablishments. Her recent work

includes Macbeth (international tour), 27 and The LastPolar Bear (national tours with National Theatre ofScotland), Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night (RCS) withopera work during her studies including Kasper Hauser,Albert Herring, Hansel and Gretel and The Marriage of Figaro.www.hollymeganbaxter.com

Jenny BiancoChorusThe Bartered Bridehas just completed herpostgraduate studies atBirmingham Conservatoire,where she studied with CathyBenson and had the opportunityto work with Robin Bowman andAndrew King. She recentlyappeared as Second Witch Dido

and Aeneas and as a Graduate Street Scene (bothBirmingham Conservatoire). Jenny has performed as asoloist in York Minster, St James’s Piccadilly, Ham Housein Richmond, and King’s College Chapel London. As amember of the Bach Choir she sang at the Royal AlbertHall, Royal Festival Hall, Sydney Opera House and theFrauenkirche in Dresden. She has performed andrecorded with the Convivium Singers and the Choir of King’s College London. www.jennybianco.com

Richard BignallChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in London and trainedwith Eileen Pinkarchevski atsecondary school before movingto the GSMD to study withAdrian Thompson. Operaexperience includes Aeneas Didoand Aeneas (Wellington College)and covering Frank in the main

chorus of Our Town (GSMD). Concert experienceincludes recitals in St Martin-in-the-Fields and SouthHill Park and solos in all the major English concertvenues. Oratorio experience includes Rejoice in the Lamb,Bach’s Magnificat, Israel in Egypt and chorus member ofJonathan Miller’s production of the St Matthew Passion atthe National Theatre. Richard has also sung many timeson BBC Radio 3 and in the BBC Proms.


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Holly Marie BinghamCover Esmeralda and ChorusThe Bartered Brideis a Lancashire-born soprano. Shestudied the flute, piano and voiceat Chetham’s School of Music,leaving with distinction in fluteDipABRSM. She was a finalist inthe Kathleen Ferrier BursaryCompetition for Young Singersafter her first year of

undergraduate studies at the GSMD. She studies withSusan Waters. Roles include Poppea and Virtù,L’incoronazione di Poppea (GSMD) and Ethel Gurney andEnid in the premiere of Iain Burnside’s A Soldier and aMaker, based on the life and works of the composer IvorGurney (Barbican Pit Theatre and Cheltenham ArtsFestival). Forthcoming engagements include soloist inMessiah (Ugborough) and a solo recital of Schumann forthe Oxford Lieder Festival Recital Series (HolywellMusic Room). Holly Marie is extremely grateful to besponsored by the Guildhall Trust and the Henry OsborneAward of the Carpenters’ Company, City of London.

Helen BruceMrs Chin and Old CroneA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Durham. Shecurrently studies with LeahMarian-Jones at the RWCMD,receiving a Leverhulmescholarship to attend the MAOpera course. She previouslystudied at the GSMD on theMMus Vocal Studies course. Prior

to this, she read Music at the University of Edinburgh,where she won the Donald Francis Tovey Prize, theEileen Cameron Music Prize for outstandingcontribution to the musical life of Edinburgh and theBucher-Fraser scholarship for postgraduate study.Operatic roles include Madame Popova The Bear(Mahogany Opera), Dido (Opera South East), MarcellinaLe nozze di Figaro (RWCMD Opera Course at the WalesMillennium Centre) and Cherubino The Marriage ofFigaro (Winterbourne Opera). Most recently sheperformed as a soloist in Bernstein’s Mass for the 2012Proms. With BYO: Chorus Don Giovanni and EugeneOnegin 2006.

Amelia BurnsChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Chelmsford, Essex.She began her training at TrinityCollege of Music and recentlygraduated from BirminghamConservatoire with first classhonours, studying with ChristineCairns. Whilst at theConservatoire she was a finalist in

the Mario Lanza Opera Prize 2012 and Cecil DrewOratorio Prize 2011, and won the Reginald VincentLieder Prize in 2011. Amelia played Yvette La rondineand Rosalinda Die Fledermaus (BirminghamConservatoire Scenes), Cockerel The Cunning Little Vixen(Birmingham Conservatoire Opera) and, most recently,chorus in Yevgeny Onegin and Falstaff (OHP), as well asthe Sprite in their production of Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr Fox. With BYO: Chorus Workshop 2011.

Claire CandyChorusThe Bartered Bridecompleted a BMus at theQueensland Conservatorium andin her final year she was awarded aGriffith University Grant foroverseas study to complete herfinal semester at the RNCM. In2010 and 2011 she was selected asone of eight finalists for the Joan

Sutherland/Richard Bonynge vocal scholarship held inSydney and was a semi-finalist in the prestigiousAustralian Singing Competition in 2011. Claire was aDeveloping artist at Opera Queensland in 2011 and iscurrently studying for her MMus in Vocal Performanceat the GSMD under the tuition of Rudolf Piernay.Performances include L’enfant et les sortilèges, Les mamellesde Tirésias, L’Orfeo, Orfeo ed Euridice, A Midsummer Night’sDream, La belle Hélène, Die lustigen Weiber von Windsorand Our Town. Claire performed the title role in theQueensland Conservatorium’s production of Cendrillon.


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Valeria CantelliWardrobe Assistantwas born in Rome, where shestarted working as a wardrobemistress for the Teatro di DonnaOlimpia; she then went onproducing items for festivals andother events. After training indressmaking at HGSI and CentralSaint Martins, she started her BAin costume-making at Central

School of Speech and Drama. Together with suchmaking skills as draping on stand, pattern cutting,corsetry, bustles, petticoats, alteration, sourcing anddressing, Valeria is an experienced graphic designer. Shehas worked on short films including Compleanno andNever gladly beyond and on various theatre productionssuch as Sleeping Cutie at Webber Douglas Studio and The Rover at Hampton Court Palace.www.valeriacantelli.com

Jan CapińskiCover ActorA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Kraków, where hetrained at the Academy of Music,before moving to Cardiff to studyat the RWCMD, where he iscurrently on the MA Opera coursestudying with Adrian Thompson.Opera roles performed includeAeneas Dido and Aeneas, Figaro

and Il Conte Le nozze di Figaro (AM Kraków), PapagenoThe Magic Flute, The Count The Marriage of Figaro(Opera’r Ddraig), Eisenstein Die Fledermaus, Il Conte Lenozze di Figaro (RWCMD), cover Guglielmo Così fan tutte(Banff Festival Opera), cover Pluto Orpheus in theUnderworld (Scottish Opera), Escamillo Carmen (StMagnus Festival) and Alamar in Tom Floyd’s Shadow ofthe Wave (Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival). With BYO: Easter Workshop 2012.www.capinski.com

Gabriella CassidyChorusThe Bartered Brideis from Jersey, Channel Islands.After completing a series ofmasterclasses with Kiri TeKanawa and Dennis O’Neill inMarch 2011, she was offered aplace at the WIAV. She studiedwith Lynne Dawson at theRNCM, where she was given her

first role as Romilda Serse, also appearing as a chorusmember in Die Fledermaus, La belle Hélène and Carmen. Inaddition to this she has played the role of Second SpiritDie Zauberflöte, Cupid King Arthur, ArpagoL’incoronazione di Dario and Zerlina Don Giovanni in theRNCM’s Opera Scenes. Prior to the RNCM Gabriellaattended Chetham’s School of Music.

Vivien ConacherChorusThe Bartered Brideis a mezzo-soprano from Sydney,Australia. She recently graduatedwith Distinction from the Mastersof Vocal Performance programmeat the RCM. She also holds adouble degree in Music and Arts(English) from the University ofNew South Wales in Sydney. In

RCM opera scenes Vivien has performed the roles ofNancy Albert Herring, Carmen, Annio La clemenza di Tito,Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro, Dorabella Così fan tutte,Erika Vanessa and Wood Nymph Rusalka. Her mostrecent operatic performance was as Filipyevna inBloomsbury Opera’s May production of Eugene Onegin.www.vivienconacher.com


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Katie ConnorLudmilaThe Bartered Bridewas born in Australia andcompleted her Bachelor of Musicat the Sydney Conservatorium.She is currently studying for aMaster’s at the RNCM with SusanRoper. Katie was recently arecipient of the Dame Eva TurnerAward for potential dramatic

sopranos and was a finalist in the Joyce and MichaelKennedy Award for the Singing of Strauss. Operaticexperience includes Micaëla Carmen (Rockdale OperaCompany), Sandman Hansel and Gretel (Pacific OperaCompany) and Chorus La sonnambula (Pacific OperaCompany). Other engagements include performances atthe Sydney Opera House open day, concerts with theOpera and Arts Support Group, Northside Opera and theAustralian Opera Auditions Committee.

Rachael CoxChorusThe Bartered Brideis originally from Lincolnshire andis currently studying at the RCMunder the tutelage of Tim Evans-Jones. Recent performancesinclude solo appearances inCarmina Burana, settings of theRequiem by Fauré and Duruflé,and song recitals including

Mozart, Brahms, Handel, Britten, Schumann’s Frauenliebeund leben and Les nuits d’été by Berlioz. In 2011 shecovered the role of Third Lady for London YouthOpera’s performance of Die Zauberflöte. Most recently forthe RCM, she was a soloist for the College’s annual BachCantata series with Ashley Solomon and the RCMBaroque Orchestra and for a performance of Bernstein’sChichester Psalms with Paul Daniel, the RCM Chorus andSymphony Orchestra. Rachael also sang in a selectFemale Ensemble as part of the recent Prokofiev Festivalin London, in a performance of his Two Choral Songswith Vladimir Jurowski. Her studies in 2011-12 aregenerously supported by The Kochan Trust.

Katherine CromptonMařenkaThe Bartered Brideis a soprano fromNorthamptonshire. She is theIndependent Opera Scholar at theRCMIOS, studying with RosaMannion. She is supported by aSybil Tutton Award and wasawarded a Miriam Licette Award,both administered by the

Musicians Benevolent Fund. Katherine was also awardedfirst prize in the RCM’s Concerto Competition. Operaticroles include Costanza Riccardo Primo (London HandelFestival), title role Djamileh (RCMIOS) and Pamina DieZauberflöte (Co-Opera Co). Highlights of Katherine’sconcert performances include Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder(Oxford Sinfonia), Verdi’s Requiem (CollegiumLaureatum) and Mendelssohn’s Elijah (St Albans Abbey).Future engagements include Poppea L’incoronazione diPoppea (RCMIOS) and Mozart’s Mass in C minor (StJohn’s Smith Square). In masterclasses she has workedwith Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Susan Bullock and SarahWalker. With BYO: Easter Workshop 2007.www.katherinecrompton.com

Ellen DawsonStage ManagerThe Bartered Brideis currently training in StageManagement and Costume at theGSMD, graduating in 2013.Previous opera experienceincludes Deputy Stage ManagerHansel and Gretel (Clonter Opera),Assistant Stage Manager MadamaButterfly and La Cenerentola

(OperaUpClose), Stage Manager Dido and Aeneas (IrisTheatre), Assistant Stage Manager Die lustigen Weiber vonWindsor (GSMD) and Costume Assistant for AMidsummer Night’s Dream (GSMD at the Barbican). AfterThe Bartered Bride she will be Stage Manager on GSMD’ssummer opera, Owen Wingrave, and will be onprofessional secondment on Robert le diable at the RoyalOpera House. With BYO: Assistant Stage Manager Lenozze di Figaro 2011.


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Elizabeth DesbruslaisCover ActorA Night at the Chinese Operastudies at the GSMD with TheresaGoble and will be joining theGSMD Opera Programme inSeptember. She is the proudrecipient of the AESS CourtneyKenny Award 2012 and theGuildhall School Silk StreetAward 2013, and is extremely

grateful to be sponsored by the Worshipful Company ofCordwainers, the Guildhall School Trust and SerenaFenwick. Opera highlights include Sandman and coverHansel Hansel and Gretel (Clonter Opera), cover MrsSoames Our Town (GSMD), cover Oberon A MidsummerNight’s Dream (GSMD), Young Vixen The Cunning LittleVixen (BBC animation), Chorus Oresteia (ROH LinburyStudio). Concert highlights include Alto solo Stabat MaterPärt (BBC Radio 3), Frauenliebe und leben (GrahamJohnson, GSMD), Alto solo St Matthew Passion (LondonDocklands Singers), world premiere of Lorin Maazel’sThe Empty Pot (LSO) and a recital at the Wigmore Hall(Purcell soloist competition).www.elizabethdesbruslais.com

Matthew DurkanCover Indian and ChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Derby and began hisstudies at BirminghamConservatoire in 2009 underGordon Sandison. He has receivedregular coaching with RobinBowman, Helen Yorke, JanetHaney and Jane Robinson. Awardsinclude the Reginald Vincent

Lieder Prize, the Edward Brooks English Song Prize, andthe Mario Lanza Opera Prize (2nd prize). Roles includeFrank Maurrant Street Scene, Polyphemus Acis andGalatea, Pastor The Cunning Little Vixen (all BirminghamConservatoire), and opera scenes performances as DonGiovanni, Bottom A Midsummer Night’s Dream and MrGedge Albert Herring (all Birmingham Conservatoire).Among recent concert performances have been Mozart’sCoronation Mass (Newark Choral Society), Haydn’s TheSeasons (Hereford Choral Society) and VaughanWilliams’ Dona nobis pacem (Birmingham Choral Union).

Thomas ElwinOld P’eng and Old MountainDwellerA Night at the Chinese Operastudies on the Opera Course at theRAM as a Leverhulme Scholar.Born in London, he was awardeda Masters (Dist) by the RAM in2011, where he continues to studywith Ryland Davies and AudreyHyland. At the RAM Thomas has

performed Tamino Die Zauberflöte and MadwomanCurlew River, as well as Britten’s Serenade andperformances with Song Circle. Further operaticexperience includes Erik Fennimore and Gerda (ArdenteOpera), Ferrando Così fan tutte (Jackdaws), NemorinoL’elisir d’amore (Hampstead Garden Opera) and seasonswith Garsington Opera. Thomas is grateful to theKathleen Trust, Fidelio Charitable Trust andLeverhulme Trust for their support.www.thomaselwin.com

Gitai FisherCover Ringmaster and ChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Israel and graduatedfrom the RCS under the tutelageof Stephen Robertson. He beganhis studies in Israel with CilaGrossmayer and later with JeffreyFrancis. Solo engagements haveincluded Sailor Dido and Aeneas(Red Sea Classical Festival),

Tamino Die Zauberflöte (Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra)and Monostatos/First Armed Man The Magic Flute (Co-Opera Co). With the RCS he has sung Andrès The Talesof Hoffmann, French Abbé/General Compans’ Aide-de-camp/Lunatic War and Peace and Mosquito The CunningLittle Vixen. He has sung with all the major choirs andorchestras in Israel, including the Israel National Choirand the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under ZubinMehta, Daniel Oren and Helmuth Rilling. Concertengagements include tenor solo in Mozart’s Requiem andRossini’s Petite messe solennelle with Sir Neville Marriner.In 2013 Gitai will cover Peter Quint The Turn of the Screwand perform Ernesto Don Pasquale, both for Israeli Opera. With BYO: Easter Workshop 2012.


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Peter FoggittAssistant ConductorA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Scotland in 1984 andeducated at Chetham’s, King’sCollege, Cambridge, and theGSMD. He made his Radio 3debut at twenty-one, playingRachmaninov’s Piano ConcertoNo 3, and his compositions havebeen commissioned, performed

and broadcast internationally. He is a recipient of theWorshipful Company of Musicians’ Allcard Award, theJames Watt Award, and several prizes for piano-playingand composition. He has worked in opera, oratorio andmusical theatre with groups including the CambridgeFootlights, Ensemble Crash, The Opera Group and theOAE. He directs and sings in the award-winning octetCries of London. Future plans include three months asChorusmaster at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen(Penderecki’s The Devils of Loudun) and various solo andconcerto engagements as pianist and organist.www.peterfoggitt.com

Jennifer FranceEsmeraldaThe Bartered Brideis a London-based coloraturasoprano studying on the OperaCourse at the RAM with LillianWatson and Iain Ledingham, witha major award from the Countessof Munster Musical Trust. Operaroles include cover Rose MaybudRuddigore (Opera North),

Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos, Papagena Die Zauberflöte,Héro Béatrice et Bénédict (all RAO), cover Philine Mignon(Buxton Festival), Adele Die Fledermaus and SandrinaL’infedeltà delusa (both RNCM). She also has extensiveoratorio and recital experience, performing inprestigious halls including St Martin-in-the-Fields, StJohn’s Smith Square and the Wigmore Hall, where sherecently made her solo recital debut as a result ofwinning the RAM Patrons’ Award. Jennifer is also partof the RAM Song Circle, a soloist for the RAM/KohnFoundation Bach Cantata Series and a recent SamlingScholar. Forthcoming engagements include Samlingconcerts at Kings Place and Wigmore Hall, MadameHerz Der Schauspieldirektor and Lisetta La vera costanza(RAO).

Samuel FurnessVašekThe Bartered Brideis winner of the RAM Club prize,the Blyth-Buesst Operatic Prizeand the John Fussell Award forWelsh Musicians. He is currentlyon the RAO course studying withRyland Davies, supported by aSickle Foundation Scholarship andthe Josephine Baker Trust. Sam’s

previous roles include Rinuccio Gianni Schicchi, DonOttavio Don Giovanni, Orfeo, Lysander A MidsummerNight’s Dream, Albert Herring, Tamino Die Zauberflöteand Bénédict. This season Sam sang Tamino at BathInternational Music Festival and Lensky Eugene Onegin atthe Ryedale Festival. Looking further ahead, Sam willsing the title role of Albert Herring in a new productionat the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, Lensky withRAO, Frederic The Pirates of Penzance with ScottishOpera and the Novice Billy Budd at the Teatro Municipalin Santiago, all in 2013.

Emmanuel GendreChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Cuzco, Peru. Herecently graduated from thepostgraduate course at theRWCMD where he studied withEric Roberts and AngelaLivingstone. Oratorioperformance include Mozart’sVesperae Solennes de Confessore,

Bach’s Cantata BWV 140, Durante’s Magnificat and Fauré’sRequiem. Recent roles include Morales, Zuniga, LeDancaïre Carmen at the St Magnus International Festival,Bartolo and Antonio Le nozze di Figaro (RWCMD),Frank Die Fledermaus (RWCMD) at the Weston Studioin the Wales Millennium Centre, Colas Bastien undBastienne, Der Sprecher and Papageno Die Zauberflöte andSamuel Un ballo in maschera. From September Emmanuelwill continue his studies on the MA Opera Course atRWCMD.


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Simon GfellerRingmaster and Cover VašekThe Bartered Bridewas born in Nominingue, Canada,studied with Gail Desmarais at theUniversité de Montréal and hasjust completed his Masters inPerformance at the GSMD underAdrian Thompson. He alsoattended the Franz-SchubertInstitut (Vienna), studying with

masters such as Helmut Deutsch, Julius Drake andRobert Holl. Opera roles include Alfred Die Fledermaus(Université de Montréal), Le Remendado Carmen (OperaBraşov, Romania), Second Priest and Man in ArmourDie Zauberflöte (Opéra de Montréal), Don Pedro LaPérichole (Opéra Bouffe du Québec) and Billy in JohnEstacio’s Lillian Alling (Banff Centre, Canada). Veryactive on the oratorio platform, he recently performed asa soloist in Bach’s tenor cantata BWV 55 for the City ofLondon’s Weekend Festival. Simon trained and workedas a professional actor in Montréal. With BYO: EasterWorkshop 2012.

Luis GomesJeníkThe Bartered Bridewas born in Portugal, has recentlyfinished his Masters on the OperaCourse at the GSMD and is nowat the NOS under Rudolf Piernay.Operatic experience includesBeppe Rita, Fenton Die lustigenWeiber von Windsor, Snout AMidsummer Night’s Dream, George

Our Town and understudy of Leandro La Spinalba (allGSMD). Luis enjoys a busy concert schedule, havingsung in such countries as Portugal, France, Italy, Latviaand England, including his debut at the Barbican Hall ina BBC Radio 3 concert and the premiere of My FatalPlurality at the Wigmore Hall. Luis is sponsored by theRoyal Opera House and Gulbenkian Foundation inPortugal. www.luisgomestenor.com

Alex GrovesAssistant Production Managerhas recently completed a BA inMusic at the University of Bristolstudying composition under JohnPickard and Michael Ellison.Whilst at university, he wasPresident of the Bristol UniversityOperatic Society and was co-producer for last year’s productionof La Cenerentola and co-producer,

co-librettist and conductor for this year’s Carmen.Alongside his production duties, Alex is also a keencomposer and was instrumental in setting up a newwriting showcase for student-written operatic works. Anumber of his pieces were performed whilst at Bristoland he also composed incidental music for EscapadeProductions’ most recent touring productions of MuchAdo About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Alicia GurneyCover Háta and ChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Minneapolis,Minnesota, USA. She completedthe Certificates of HigherEducation in Concert Singing andOpera at Birkbeck College withDistinction. She has alsocompleted an MA in MedievalStudies with Distinction,

specialising in the troubadours of the 12th century. Shestudies with Ryland Davies. In 2010 she won secondprize in the AESS Courtney Kenny Award. She hasperformed in opera scenes as Bertarido Rodelinda,Idamante Idomeneo, Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel, ÄnnchenDer Freischütz, Helen King Priam and The Minister Intothe Little Hill by George Benjamin (all with BirkbeckCollege). Opera roles include Dorabella Così fan tutte(Elemental Opera) and Second Witch/Chorus Dido andAeneas (Iris Theatre). With BYO: Easter Workshop 2012.


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James HallMilitary GovernorA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Salisbury andcompleted his studies this year atthe RCM on the Masters in VocalPerformance course with EiddwenHarrhy. He was awarded the SirGeraint Evans Prize in 2009 and2010, and was a finalist in theBrooks/Van der Pump English

Song Competition (2012). Opera experience includesOronte Riccardo Primo (London Handel Festival), FirstSpirit Dido and Aeneas (Dartington Summer School) andMother Una Tragedia di Proporzione Titaniche by LaurenceOsborn (RCM with Tête à Tête). Concert performancesinclude Vivaldi’s Gloria in St John’s Smith Square, andBach’s St John Passion with Lavenham Sinfonia and B minor Mass at St Alban’s Abbey. With BYO: EasterWorkshop 2010.www.jdahall.com

Augusta HebbertCover LudmilaThe Bartered Brideis currently a postgraduate studentat the GSMD, where she studieswith Susan Waters. Concerthighlights include Handel’sMessiah in St John’s Smith Squareand Bach’s St John Passion in SnapeMaltings. She made her BarbicanHall debut in May performing

songs from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Herappearance with La Nuova Musica in the London HandelFestival launch of Il pastor fido was met with criticalacclaim. Opera includes Second Woman Belshazzar(Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse) and two seasons in thechorus of Aix International Opera Festival. Roles includeGalatea (LNM), Donna Anna Don Giovanni and Linda diChamonix (GSMD Opera Scenes), and Countess Le nozzedi Figaro (Cambridge University Opera Society). She isan alumnus of the Britten-Pears Young ArtistProgramme. Augusta commences on the ENO OperaWorks scheme in September. With BYO: EasterWorkshop 2012.

Johnny HerfordChao LinA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in London. He studiedwith Mark Wildman at the RAM,where his roles included PapagenoDie Zauberflöte, Traveller CurlewRiver, Edmund Bertram MansfieldPark (Dove) and Hans Scholl inthe world premiere of MaxwellDavies’ Kommilitonen!. Elsewhere

he has sung Papageno The Magic Flute (Bath Festival),Demetrius A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera Links)and Morales Carmen (Oxford International Links). Nextyear he will sing the role of Carl in Gervasoni’s Limbus-Limbo in Salzburg. Concert performances includeMahler’s Rückert Lieder, Vaughan Williams’ Five MysticalSongs, Brahms’ Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah,Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Schubert’s Winterreise, and the UKpremiere of Sibelius’ Kuolema with the English ChamberOrchestra. Johnny is grateful to be a Sickle FoundationScholar. www.johnnyherford.com

Olivia HowieAssistant DirectorThe Bartered Brideis from Sevenoaks, Kent, andgraduated with a degree in Musicand Drama from ManchesterUniversity, where she producedand directed several opera scenes,musicals and short films. Sherecently assisted Rodula Gaitanouon Carmen (OperaUpClose) as a

Trainee Assistant Director at the King’s Head Theatre.Opera credits include Assistant Director Thelma, TheGondoliers (Surrey Opera) and The Cunning Little Vixen(Ryedale Festival Opera), Production Stage ManagerEugene Onegin (Ryedale Festival Opera) and Deputy StageManager Go Traviata (Go Opera). She was self-shootingdirector of The Stock Exchange, winner of Channel 4’s For3 Minutes competition.


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Raoni Hübner de BarrosCover Nightwatchman and Marco PoloA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Petropolis, Brazil, andis currently on his second year ofthe MMus Opera course at theRCS’s Alexander Gibson OperaSchool, where he will perform inL’incoronazione di Poppea and Dielustigen Weiber von Windsor next

season. At the age of 25 the young tenor has alreadyperformed in important concert series such as theFestival Internacional de Música Renacentista y BarrocaAmericana in Chiquitos, Bolivia, in 2009 at the FundaçãoCalouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, and in 2011 at the SalaSão Paulo, one of the most important venues in LatinAmerica. Highlights of his opera repertoire includeBeppe Rita and Florestan Un mari à la porte (FederalUniversity of Rio de Janeiro), the Brazilian premiere ofSilvio Barbato’s opera Chagas, in which he created the titlerole (Palácio das Artes), and Tamino Die Zauberflöte (RCS).www.raonihubnerdebarros.com

Natalie JacksonAssistant Designerwas born in Essex. She is currentlystudying for a BA in TheatrePractice: Design for Stage atCentral School of Speech andDrama.

Megan JamesAssistant Stage ManagerThe Bartered Brideis from Rhondda Cynon Taff,South Wales and is about to enterher final year of the TechnicalTheatre Arts course at the GSMD,specialising in Stage Management.Previous experience at GSMDincludes Assistant Stage ManagerOur Town and Nicholas Nickleby

Part 1 and opera course scenes, Assistant Scenic Artist AMidsummer Night’s Dream, Jenůfa and Les LiaisonsDangereuses, Costume Assistant/Dresser …think only thisof me… (devised piece), Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor,The Women and Kiss Me Kate, and Crew Rita/Iolanta.Meg’s other experience includes Stage Manager NicholasRobert Basil Jones at the Lyric Hammersmith, AssistantStage Manager Iolanthe (Moonlight Theatre) and Tamingof the Shrew (Everyman Theatre) at the Everyman OpenAir Festival’s 25th Anniversary, and ProductionAssistant for The Brecon Jazz Festival. Future plansinclude Costume Supervisor Toast and Assistant StageManager Owen Wingrave at GSMD.

Soojeong JooRepetiteurThe Bartered Bride andA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Seoul, Korea. She wastrained at the Manhattan Schoolof Music in New York City andthe GSMD as an accompanist anda repetiteur. As an accompanist,her performance venues includeYamaha Hall in NYC, London’s

Barbican Hall, and the Holywell Music Room in Oxford.Her experience as an opera repetiteur includes Il tabarroand Gianni Schicchi at the Manhattan School of Music, AMidsummer Night’s Dream and Our Town (by Ned Rorem,European premiere) at the GSMD, as well as scenes fromL’elisir d’amore, La traviata, Così fan tutte, Le nozze diFigaro, Tamerlano, Don Pasquale, Flight, Don Giovanni, Labohème, Hérodiade and La clemenza di Tito. She will take upa fellowship at the Guildhall for 2012-13, and will beassisting on the production of Le nozze di Figaro in spring 2013.


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Elizabeth KaraniCover Little Moon and ActorA Night at the Chinese Operahas received a BMus (Hons) FirstClass from the RNCM andrecently completed herPostgraduate Diploma under thetutelage of Susan Roper. Prizesinclude the Elsie Thurston Prize, aKathleen Ferrier Award, theDame Eva Turner Award and the

Elizabeth Harwood Award. At the RNCM she performedthe roles of Orestes La belle Hélène, La chauve sourisL’enfant et les sortilèges, Frasquita Carmen and AtalantaXerxes. Recent engagements include the roles of AngelJephtha, Resi Intermezzo and Maiden The Maiden in theTower (Buxton Festival). Elizabeth will continue herstudies on the Master of Music course at the GSMDfrom September under the tutelage of Susan McCulloch.With BYO: Easter Workshop and Chorus The Rake'sProgress 2009.

Vasili KarpiakCover Old P’eng and Old Mountain DwellerA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Grodno, Belarus. Hestudied at the GlinkaConservatory (Belarus) and theGnesin Academy of Music(Russia). As a finalist of theProject Vocalists by London GatesEducation Group in Moscow with

Sally Burgess, Vasili was admitted on scholarship to theRCM. He is a Harbour Scholar, supported by a WallTrust Award (and a Vivian Prins Award), the FidelioTrust and the Ann Driver Trust. He has performed aconcert of Russian Romances and taken part in theQueen’s Jubilee concert at the RCM. Repertoire includesLensky Eugene Onegin (Glinka Conservatory), AlmavivaIl barbiere di Siviglia (Westminster Opera) and Basilio Lenozze di Figaro (RCM). Vasili is grateful for the generoussupport of Serena Fenwick, Philip Carne and VivienMcLean. With BYO: Easter Workshop 2012.

Louise KemenyLittle Moon and ActorA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in London and has anMPhil in English Literature fromthe University of Cambridge,supported by the AHRC. Shecurrently studies with HelenLawson at the RCS, where shewill start at the Opera School thisautumn. She is generously

supported by the Worshipful Company of Musicians andis a 2013 Samling Scholar. Her operatic roles includeMélisande Pelléas et Mélisande (CUOS), Diana Siren Song(Shadwell Opera), Dido Dido and Aeneas and LadyMacduff in Bloch’s Macbeth (UK premiere staging,Bloomsbury Theatre). Recent concert performancesinclude a recital with Malcolm Martineau in RCS’sStevenson Hall and a centenary performance ofSchoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Ravel’s Trois poèmes deStéphane Mallarmé with MusicLab.www.louisekemeny.co.uk

Joseph KennedyIndian and ChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in London in 1989 and iscurrently training on the Masterscourse at the GSMD under thetutelage of Professor SusanMcCulloch. He previously trainedat Birmingham Conservatoireunder Henry Herford andProfessor Julian Pike, graduating

with first-class honours; he was the winner of the CecilDrew Oratorio Prize. Opera roles include Noye Noye’sFludde (Operamus), Forester The Cunning Little Vixen(Birmingham Conservatoire), King Charles I All theKing’s Men (Buxton Festival) and Dancairo Carmen(GSMD Opera Scenes). Joseph has been a soloist inseveral concerts, including most recently VaughanWilliams’ Serenade to Music (Cadogan Hall), Orff’sCarmina Burana and Britten’s War Requiem (BirminghamTown Hall). With BYO: Easter Workshop and ChorusThe Rake’s Progress 2009, Easter Workshop, CoverAntonio and Chorus Le nozze di Figaro 2011.


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Charlotte KingCover Mrs Chin and Old CroneA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in London and attendedGoldsmiths College, University ofLondon, for both her BMus andMMus degrees before beingaccepted at the GSMD, where shecurrently studies with John Evans.Her operatic experience includesChorus The Queen of Spades (GPO),

Sorceress Dido and Aeneas and Sesto La clemenza di Tito(Riverside Opera), Aunt Jane Hugh the Drover and ThirdLady The Magic Flute (Hampstead Garden Opera), andSiegrune Die Walküre (St Endellion Festival). Concertexperience includes Sea Pictures (Goldsmiths Sinfonia)and The Armed Man and Feel the Spirit (Hutton andShenfield Choral Society). With BYO: Chorus The Rake’sProgress 2009.

Peter KirkActorA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Grimsby andgraduated with distinction fromthe Masters Programme at RCM,commencing his training at theRCMIOS this September. Hestudies with Tim Evans-Jones andis the winner of the 2011 AlfredAlexander Prize. Opera roles

include Acis Acis and Galatea (Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh),title role Albert Herring (TLCMD), AmericanCongressional Page Two Boys (ENO), Don Basilio Lenozze di Figaro (RCMIOS), Pasquin/Silvio Le DocteurMiracle (RCMIOS) and Tenor Soloist The Fairy Queen(ETO). Amongst the highlights of his concertengagements are Lukas in Haydn’s The Seasons(Dortmund Philharmoniker), and Bach’s St John Passionand Magnificat (both Old Royal Naval College Chapel,Greenwich). Peter is supported by the Helen MarjorieTonks and Constant and Kit Lambert awards and is alsovery grateful to the Mario Lanza EducationalFoundation, and Derek Butler Trust for their support.about.me/pkirk

Dionysios KyropoulosCover Mícha and ChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Veria, Greece, readMusic at City University, took theCity Opera course at City Lit, andstudied at the Morley OperaSchool. He is currently studyingsinging with Robert Dean. Someof his full roles include Uberto Laserva padrona, Plutone Euridice,

Masetto Don Giovanni, Simone Gianni Schicchi,Polyphemus Acis and Galatea, Bartolo and Antonio Lenozze di Figaro, the Imperial Commissioner MadamaButterfly and Badger The Cunning Little Vixen. He hassung with companies including MidAmericaProductions, Riverside Opera, Mantissa Opera, BarefootOpera, Skull of Yorick Productions, Rose OperaCompany, Unexpected Opera and Longborough FestivalOpera. With BYO: Easter Workshop 2011.www.kyropoulos.com

Dane LamAssistant ConductorThe Bartered Bridewas born in Australia where hemade his conducting debut, agedseventeen, with the SydneySymphony at the Sydney OperaHouse. He completed hisundergraduate studies at theUniversity of Queensland beforebeing awarded a full scholarship to

undertake postgraduate conducting studies at theJuilliard School under James DePreist. His principalteachers and mentors have been Gianluigi Gelmetti,Christopher Seaman, Kurt Masur and Sir Mark Elder. Hehas conducted orchestras including the Sydney,Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, theVerbier Festival Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra andthe Manchester Camerata. Dane currently holds theposition of Principal Conductor of the LiverpoolPhilharmonic Youth Orchestra and is also an AssistantConductor to Kurt Masur at the Orchestre National deFrance. He completed a successful tenure as LeverhulmeJunior Fellow in Conducting at the RNCM in 2011 andwas a Young Artist at Opera Queensland until 2009.


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Timothy LangstonChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Preston, and recentlygraduated from the University ofManchester, having studied voicewith Andrew Heggie. On leavinghe was awarded Proctor GreggFund awards for Composition andRecital and the Keith ElcombePrize for Best Overall

Performance. Opera experience includes Frederic ThePirates of Penzance (Silk Opera), Gaston La traviata (BelCanto Opera) and Matthew Mermaid of Zennor by LeoGeyer (Tête á Tête: The Opera Festival). Concertrepertoire includes Ravel’s Shéhérazade, Mahler’s Liedereines fahrenden Gesellen and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. Recenthighlights include singing with a soli semi-chorus underthe baton of Sir Mark Elder for a Hallé recording ofElgar’s The Apostles. In September he will continue hisstudies at the RNCM, studying with Peter AlexanderWilson.

Alice MarnerDeputy Stage ManagerA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Gloucester. She iscommencing her third year at theUniversity of Birminghamstudying Drama and Theatre Arts.While at school she stage-managed various productionsincluding The Wizard of Oz andDracula Spectacula (Dame Alice

Harpur School). In her home town of Bedford she hasstage-managed Blitz! and The Dreaming (Redford Schoolof Speech and Drama). She has taken part in StageExperience at Milton Keynes Theatre, where she wasAssistant Stage Manager for West Side Story. While atUniversity Alice has also stage-managed Cabaret (GuildMusical Theatre Society University of Birmingham) andwas Deputy Stage Manager for Playhouse Creatures(University of Birmingham).

Hazel McBainChorusThe Bartered Brideis a Scottish soprano on theMasters course at the RCS underthe tuition of Helen Lawson,having graduated last year fromthe RCM, where she studied withKathleen Livingstone. Rolesinclude Second Boy The MagicFlute (Scottish Opera), Lauretta

Betrothal in a Monastery (RCS) and Papagena DieZauberflöte (RCS and London Youth Opera). Concertexperience includes Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude (ScottishChamber Orchestra), Magnificat (RCM and RCS), andthe premiere of Juan Arroyo’s Sumac (PLUG festival withRed Note Ensemble). Hazel is very thankful to theMusicians Benevolent Fund for a PostgraduatePerformance Award for 2012/13, The Kathleen Trustand The Cross Trust for their support. With BYO: Chorus Workshop 2011.

Mark McCloskeyChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Belfast, where hereceived a comprehensive trainingin all aspects of plainsong andLatin mass singing in schoolchoirs, before receiving his firstsinging lesson at the age of 17.Whilst studying Law at theUniversity of Manchester, he

received singing tuition from Peter Wilson at theRNCM, and then went on to study with Ryland Davies,while pursuing further studies in Law. Mark is achampion of the English choral tradition and looksforward to joining the choir of Guildford Cathedral as aLay Clerk in September 2012. Roles include Sailor Didoand Aeneas (Opera Hesperia) and various scene extractsof roles with the Manchester University Music Society. With BYO: Easter Workshop 2012.


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Seamus McGowanChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in London and studiedLaw at Magdalene College,Cambridge, before more recentlyobtaining a Diploma inPerformance Studies (Opera) withBirkbeck College, London. He hasrecently completed his fifth seasonin the chorus with Opera Holland

Park, where he also played Buoso Donati Gianni Schicchi.

Richard McGrathRepetiteurThe Bartered Bridewas born in Galway, Ireland. Heholds a first class honours degreein Music and French from theNational University of Ireland,Maynooth, an MPerf in pianoaccompaniment from the GSMD,and he recently completed therepetiteur course at the GSMD,

where he studied with Pamela Lidiard. Awards include1st pianist’s prize in the Guildhall English Songcompetition and the Milne cup of the Dublin Feis Ceoil.Opera experience includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream,Ned Rorem’s Our Town, opera course scenes includingexcerpts from Káťa Kabanová, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte,The Turn of the Screw, Werther and Roberto Devereux, all atGSMD. This past year his studies have been supportedby the Arts Council of Ireland and the Leverhulme andGeoffrey Singleton funds.

Michael McLaughlinChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Letterkenny, Ireland.Following a degree in Music andLanguages at the NationalUniversity of Ireland, Maynooth,he began singing lessons with DrVeronica Dunne in 2002. He hasjust completed postgraduate studyat TLCMD, where he was a

Rosamund Mott Scholar; he also held the KathleenCreed Scholarship in 2011. Recent roles include DrGarrigan The Last King of Scotland by Stephen McNeff(UK premiere, ROH 2, Exposure 2012) and BardolphFalstaff (Harrow Opera). Over the past three years he hasperformed excerpts from the following as part of hisstudies: The Magician The Consul, Prologue The Turn ofthe Screw, Monostatos Die Zauberflöte, WedgewoodTeapot L’enfant et les sortilèges and Basilio Le nozze diFigaro (all TLCMD) and Fritz L’amico Fritz, Don JoséCarmen and Ferrando Così fan tutte (Birkbeck CollegeLondon). With BYO: Chorus Workshop and Chorus Lenozze di Figaro 2011.

Stephen MillsChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Basingstoke andbegan his life as a singer at the ageof 17, whilst studying atFarnborough Sixth Form College.He studied singing with PaulBambrough before continuing toBirmingham Conservatoire,where he is currently taught by

Professor Julian Pike. Stephen reached the final of theKathleen Ferrier Youth Competition in October 2011and also in the Reginald Vincent Lieder Prize inFebruary 2012. His operatic roles include RichardDauntless Ruddigore (Farnborough Sixth Form College),Don Ottavio Don Giovanni and Sam Kaplan Street Scene(both Birmingham Conservatoire). Stephen alsoperformed the tenor duet in the Bach B minor Mass in theAdrian Boult Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire,conducted by Paul Spicer.


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Huw Montague RendallChorusThe Bartered Brideis eighteen years of age and hasrecently completed his studies ofPerforming Arts and Music A-level at Brockenhurst College,where he attained a highdistinction in Grade 8 Singingwith Trinity Guildhall. He hasbeen awarded a scholarship to

study singing at the RCM (a three-year BMus course)from September 2012.

Jean-Baptiste MouretMongolian SoldierA Night at the Chinese Operais a French bass-baritone. Herecently completed hisundergraduate degree at theGSMD with David Pollard.Operatic roles so far include coverTheseus A Midsummer Night’sDream (GSMD) and Leporello DonGiovanni (GSMD opera scenes), as

well as the role of the Old Man in the premiere of Pavanefor an Invisible Princess, an opera by Peter Longworth(GSMD). He sang Pontifex and Choir in a stagedperformance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion directed byJonathan Miller at the National Theatre, and regularlygives solo recitals abroad. Future plans includes DerLautsprecher Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Lyon OperaStudio). With BYO: Easter Workshop, Cover Bartoloand Chorus Le nozze di Figaro 2011.www.jeanbaptistemouret.com

Timothy NelsonCover KrušinaThe Bartered Bridewas born in London and gained adegree in Physiology from CardiffUniversity before commencingpostgraduate studies with PeterSavidge at the RCM. He is anRCM Scholar supported by TheEvans Lombe Award. Operaticexperience includes Figaro Le

nozze di Figaro (RCMIOS), Berardo Riccardo Primo(London Handel Festival), title role Sweeney Todd(WNYO) and Don Alfonso Così fan tutte (Jackdaws).Recent concert performances include Bach’s St JohnPassion at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, and Mendelssohn’sElijah at Llandaff Cathedral. Timothy is grateful for thesupport of the Countess of Munster Musical Trust andthe William Gibbs Educational Trust. With BYO: EasterWorkshops 2011 and 2012.www.timothynelson.co.uk

Matthew NichollsChorusThe Bartered Bridewas born in Farnham and studiedat the RCM with Justin Lavender.Opera experience includes ChorusRigoletto, Tristan und Isolde and TheQueen of Spades (GPO), Chorus ThePearl Fishers, Cavalleria rusticanaand Pagliacci (Dorset Opera),Chorus Fra Diavolo (Stanley Hall

Opera) and Chorus Curlew River (Hampstead andHighgate Springfest). In Opera Scenes Matthew has sungTebaldo I Capuleti e i Montecchi, First Armed Man TheMagic Flute, Telemaco Ulysses and Idamante Idomeneo(RCM).


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Oskar PalmbladCover Mongolian SoldierA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Sweden and trained atthe Stockholm Opera Studio andGSMD. Roles include PeterQuince A Midsummer Night’sDream, Elviro Serse (bothStockholm Opera Studio) and AMan in the Audience Our Town(GSMD). Concert experience

includes bass solo and chorus in Stravinsky’s Mass(Barbican Hall with LSO conducted by Valery Gergiev)and bass solo in Mozart’s Requiem (Beccles Music Festivalwith Kingfisher Sinfonietta conducted by Vetta Wise).Oskar is grateful for the support of the Anglo-SwedishSociety.

Lliam PatersonRepetiteurA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Aberdeen, andgraduated with a First in Musicfrom the University of Cambridge(Fitzwilliam College) in June. Hehas studied piano with PhilipFowke and composition withErrollyn Wallen. Operaexperience has included being

Musical Director for Judith Weir’s The Consolations ofScholarship (Fitzwilliam Chamber Opera) and Martinů’sComedy on the Bridge (The Minotaur Music Theatre). Asa composer, he has had works performed by suchensembles as the London Sinfonietta and BrittenSinfonia, and was accepted onto the 2011 St MagnusComposers’ Course. From September Lliam will studyPiano Accompaniment at the GSMD, generouslysupported by Dewar Arts Awards. With BYO: Repetiteur The Rape of Lucretia 2011.

Alexander RidgersAssistant Lighting Designerrecently graduated with a BA inTechnical and Production Artsspecialising in Lighting Designfrom the RCS. Recent operalighting design credits include DieZauberflöte (RCS). Previous designcredits include The Hound of theBaskervilles and The History Boys atGreenwich Theatre (Sell A Door

Theatre), Medea (RCS), Ghost Office (National YouthTheatre) and Moving in Houses (Tramway Theatre Arts).Alongside these, he has designed many other showswithin the RCS, and within such theatre companies asTron Theatre, Tramway Theatre, The Arches –Glasgow, and most recently for the Edinburgh Fringe.www.alexanderridgers.co.uk

Jamie RockChao Sun and FiremanA Night at the Chinese Operais from Dublin and studied at theRoyal Irish Academy of Music, theRAM and the RSAMD (opera). Heis an alumnus of Opera TheatreCompany’s Young Associate ArtistProgramme, Young Songmakers’Almanac and the RSAMD’s SongStudio. Opera roles include Sid

Albert Herring and Figaro Le nozze di Figaro (bothRSAMD), Schaunard La bohème (Silent Opera, NorthWest Opera), Bartley Riders to the Sea (Anna LiviaDublin, Fringe Opera), Aeneas Dido and Aeneas (RIAM),Prince Yamadori Madama Butterfly (Lyric Opera Dublin),Masetto Don Giovanni (Les Amis de Georges Bizet,Paris), Szlachcic Maria (Roman Statkowski, Wexford)and, this autumn, his first Papageno Die Zauberflöte atWexford Festival Opera. Jamie is extremely grateful forthe support of Bloxham Stockbrokers, Derek HillFoundation, Sir James Caird Scholarship and ArtsCouncil of Ireland. With BYO: Customs Officer, CoverSchaunard and Chorus La bohème 2010, CoverTarquinius The Rape of Lucretia 2011.


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Hannah SandisonCover MařenkaThe Bartered Briderecently graduated from the RCMwhere she received a Masters inPerformance with Distinctionunder the tuition of RussellSmythe. Performances includeMarcellina Le nozze di Figaro andPulcheria Riccardo Primo (bothRCM), an Elgar Room recital at

the Royal Albert Hall, a recital at Rachmaninov Hall,Moscow, and a dramatised production of Buxtehude’sMembra Jesu Nostri (ETO). She is being generouslysupported by the Ian Fleming Charitable Trust and aMaidment Scholarship (both administered by theMusicians Benevolent Fund), the Countess of MunsterMusical Trust and the Arts and Humanities ResearchCouncil. Hannah looks forward to joining the RCMIOSin September. With BYO: Easter Workshop 2011.

Frazer ScottMíchaThe Bartered Bridewas born in Ayrshire andcurrently studies on the MMuscourse at the GSMD with SusanMcCulloch. Recent UK operaticcredits include cover JupiterOrpheus in the Underworld (ScottishOpera), Mother/Bass 2 SevenDeadly Sins (Parallel Opera), cover

L’Aubergiste Chérubin (GSMD) and Martino L’occasionefa il ladro (The Minotaur Music Theatre). Internationalcredits include Antonio and Bartolo Le nozze di Figaro(European Chamber Opera, Spain), Bass soloist Les Noces(Auditorium St Germain/Rouen Opera House), andbeing the operatic voice of Kettle Chips adverts in theUSA. Frazer gratefully acknowledges the support ofSerena Fenwick, BMRDB, the Worshipful Companies ofArbitrators, of Tallow Chandlers, and of Tylers andBricklayers, The Music Students Hostel Trust, MasonicLodge of Scotland, Hope Scott Trust and Fenwick MusicWeekend. www.frazerscott.co.uk

Marian SharkeyDeputy Stage ManagerThe Bartered Brideis about to commence her finalyear of study for a BA in Technicaland Production Arts at the RCS,specialising in Stage Management.Previous work includes AssistantStage Manager on Betrothal in aMonastery (an RCS/Scottish Operacollaboration), Deputy Stage

Manager Die Zauberflöte (RCS) and Stage Manager Jamesand the Giant Peach (Buxton Festival). Future plansinclude Deputy Stage Manager on Tartuffe (RCS) and onthe next RCS/Scottish Opera collaboration, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Adam SmithCover JeníkThe Bartered Bridewas born in Cheshire and studieswith John Evans on the OperaCourse at the GSMD, having beenawarded a full scholarship. He hasextensive operatic experienceincluding Arturo Lucia diLammermoor, Anatol Vanessa, TitoLa clemenza di Tito, Nadir Les

pêcheurs de perles, Rodolfo La bohème, Don Ottavio DonGiovanni, Des Grieux Manon and the Duke of MantuaRigoletto. With equally extensive concert experience, heholds a Susan Chilcott Scholarship, a WingateScholarship, a Sybil Tutton Award administered by theMusicians Benevolent Fund and a Hilda ClarkeMemorial Award. With BYO: Easter Workshop 2011.


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Samuel SmithNightwatchman and Marco PoloA Night at the Chinese Operawas born in Salisbury. He gained aBMus from Royal HollowayUniversity of London and thenbegan his vocal training at theGSMD where he is taught by JohnEvans. Roles performed includeDes Grieux Manon, Nemorino

L’elisir d’amore, Basilio Le nozze di Figaro, Frederic ThePirates of Penzance (all GSMD Scenes), Belfiore La fintagiardiniera (Opera at Home), Schoolmaster Comedy on theBridge (The Minotaur Music Theatre) and he hasperformed in La Périchole (Garsington Opera), Carmenand Pelléas et Mélisande (both OHP). Oratorio experienceincludes Haydn’s Creation, Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’sMessiah (excerpts). Also on the stage, Samuel enjoyedbeing part of Iain Burnside’s A Soldier and a Maker whilstplaying the role of F W Harvey. He is most grateful forthe kind support of the Worshipful Company of Skinners,The Guildhall Music Trust and Serena Fenwick.With BYO: Parpignol and Chorus La bohème, CoverThyrsis Euridice 2010, Cover Don Basilio and Chorus Le nozze di Figaro 2011.

Matthew StiffKecalThe Bartered Bridewas born in Grimsby and studied atthe University of Huddersfield forhis BMus (Hons) and MA (Perf). In2011 he completed the OperaCourse at the GSMD and continuesto study with John Evans. Matthewhas been the recipient of awardsfrom the Worshipful Company of

Goldsmiths, the Wingate Scholarship Foundation and aMaidment Scholarship administered by the MusiciansBenevolent Fund. His operatic roles include Pietro deVisantis L’assedio di Calais, Superintendent Budd AlbertHerring and King René Iolanta (GSMD), Marchesed’Obigny La traviata (Chelsea Opera Group), DonMagnifico La Cenerentola (Clonter Opera), King BalthazarAmahl and the Night Visitors (Iford Arts) and PrinceGremin Eugene Onegin (GPO). Future plans include coverMasetto Don Giovanni (ENO), Marquis de la ForceDialogues des Carmélites (GPO) and Mozart’s Requiem at StMartin-in-the-Fields. With BYO: Charon Euridi

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