A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Michael performs a wide and varied operatic repertoire, working at the ROH, Covent Garden, ENO and ETO with regular appearances at festivals including Aldeburgh, Buxton and Montepulciano. As a member of the music staff of the Wiener Staatsoper, he assisted Claudio Abbado and worked closely with many of the world’s leading singers. He has conducted extensively throughout Germany notably Kassel, Wiesbaden and Mannheim, holding the position of resident staff conductor and as Associate Conductor for the London Handel Society, he has introduced many rarely performed Handel operas to the London stage. His recording with tenor Alfie Boe and the Orchestra of SO will be released this autumn.
Michael is Music Director for ETO and Director of Opera at RCM.

James is General Director of ETO and has written original libretti for two operas and translations for three others, as well as several works of fiction.

Operatic work includes Katya Kabanova, Rusalka, Susannah, Eugene Onegin, Orfeo, Jenufa, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as Teseo and Alcina (ETO); Ariodante, Erismena, Flavio, The Cunning Little Vixen (ETO and OTC); The Marriage of Figaro (RCM and ETO); Tolomeo (London Handel Festival/ ETO); Tamerlano, Amadigi, Rodelinda, L’elisir d’amore, Katya Kabanova and The Rake’s Progress (OTC); Cinderella (De Vlaamse Opera/ Transparant); Don Giovanni (Canadian Opera Company); La Voix humaine (Teatro Nacional São João, Oporto); staging of Kurt Weill songs (Culturgest, Lisbon); La Spinalba (Casa da Musica, Porto), The Cunning Little Vixen (Moravian National Theatre, Brno).

Designs for theatre, opera and dance. Joanna’s opera engagements include The Rape of Lucretia (RCM); Eugene Onegin, Falstaff, Alcina, Le nozze di Figaro, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Cunning Little Vixen (ETO). She has also worked with the ROH, SO, OTC Dublin. Joanna’s designs for theatre include The Young Vic, Hampstead Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Salisbury Playhouse and The Lyric Hammersmith. She designed The Noise of Time for Theatre de Complicité at the Lincoln Centre NY, Barbican Centre London and European Festivals. Dance designs include Cholmondeleys, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company and London Contemporary Dance Theatre. She is Senior Lecturer in Scenography at Central School of Speech and Drama.

Aideen was born in Dublin and trained in Dublin and London. Her opera engagements include Turn of the Screw, Le nozze di Figaro, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cosi fan tutte, Mary Queen of Scotts, Jenufa and Tosca (all for ETO); Dialogues des Carmélites (RCM). In theatre, Aideen’s work has included Lighten Up, The Thought That Counts and In One Ear (Theatre Rites); Greed and Kiss My Echo (Clod Ensemble); Hirja and Dogs Barking (Bush Theatre); Coyote on a Fence (Royal Exchange Manchester/ West End). Aideen’s dance work includes A Compas (Paco Pena); Ether and Bhakti (Angika Dance Co.); Kaash and Polaroid Feet (Akram Khan Co.).

Jonathan is from Liverpool and studied at Exeter University and GSMD. Roles include Tolomeo/ Tolomeo (ETO), Bertarido/ Rodelinda (GFO); Amadigi/ Amadigi (Ireland, Paris, NYork); Nireno/ Giulio Cesare (ROH); Les Oiseax de passage (Teatro communale, Bologna); Trinculo/ The Tempest (Strasbourg); Orfeo/ L’Orfeo (Osaka). In concert Jonathan has performed with AAM, OAE, RLPO, RSNO, EBS, Gabrieli Consort, Ulster Orchestra under such conductors as Gardiner, Hickox, Parry, Fischer, Glover, Parrott, Mortensen, Bolton, Bicket. Recordings include Mattheus-Passion (Miller/ Goodwin); Agrippina, (Gardiner); Buxtehude Cantatas (Immerseel); La conversione di Clodoveo (Gester); Israel in Babylon (Fontaine).
Jonathan is baroque specialist at BBIOS. Conducting appearances include Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater for artist Dorothy Cross/ OTC Dublin; Teseo (ETO). Plans include Orfeo (Akademie fur Alte Musik im Saarland) and Flavio (Lucca).

Gillian Ramm was born in Australia and trained at the Western Australian Conservatorium of Music and on the Young Artist Programme with West Australian Opera. After winning multiple prizes in the 2002 Australian Singing Competition, she travelled to England to take up a scholarship at the RNCM. Operatic roles include Fiordiligi/Cosi fan tutte (GFO, GTO, Budapest Festival Opera); Rosalinde/Die Fledermaus (GOT); Second Niece/Peter Grimes (ENO, Teatro di San Carlo); Aci/Aci Galatea e Polifemo (London Handel Festival); Valencienne/The Merry Widow (West Australian Opera). Gillian has sung in concert with The Classical Opera Company, Opera North, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In the autumn she will perform in ETO’s world premiere of Alexander Goehr’s A Promised End.

From Moville, Co Donegal, Niamh graduated from the RNCM in 2006 with a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance with Distinction, and currently studies with Anne Mason. Niamh’s operatic performances include Smeton/Anna Bolena, Mrs Ott /Susannah (ETO); Olga/Eugene Onegin (ETO and BYO); Cherubino/Le Nozze di Figaro, Mercedes/Carmen (Opera Brava); Eurynome/Penelope (WFO); La Maestra della Novizie/Suor Angelica, Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia; Mistress Quickly/Falstaff’ (RNCM) ; and ensemble member in Macbeth, L’elisir d’amore, Carmen and Die Zauberflote (GTO). Concert experience includes Lieder Recitals with ETO under the direction of Richard Jackson and Mezzo soloist in Stephan McNeff’s Names of the Dead, in association with Opera North. As an oratorio soloist Niamh has performed works including Beethoven’s 9th Symphony; Handel’s Messiah and Alexander’s Feast; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Mozart Requiem.

Robert studied at the University of Sheffield and GSMD. He received the 2003 Erich Vietheer Memorial Award at Glyndebourne and appeared as Mr. Gedge/Albert Herring, Marcello/La Boheme, Count Almaviva/Le Nozze di Figaro and Doctor Falke/Die Fledermaus on the Festival Tour. Other notable roles at Glyndebourne include Curo/Julio Cesare, Indian/The Bartered Bride, Guccio/Gianni Schicchi, Shepherd/Pelleas et Melisande and Guide/Carmen. He was Greek Captain in the Gramophone Award-winning production of Les Troyens at (Châtelet Theatre). Other roles include Lalo’s premiere of Verrina/Fiesque (UCL); Belcore/L’Elisir d’Amore and Sharpless/Madame Butterfly (Opera Box); Dancaïre/Carmen and Jailer/Tosca (Diva Opera). Concert performances include Monteverdi Vespers (St. Mark’s, Venice), Handel Messiah (St. David’s Hall, Cardiff), Elgar The Kingdom and Caractacus, Mendelssohn Elijah and Orff Carmina Burana.

Born in Hertfordshire, Laura studied at the Royal College of Music where she gained a first-class honours degree and postgraduate diploma. She then joined the Benjamin Britten International Opera School, studying with Lillian Watson. In 2007, she won the Song prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and the Lies Askonas Prize. Laura attended the National Opera Studio during the 2007/08 season.

While at the NOS, Laura took part in residencies at WNO, Scottish Opera, Theatre Royal and Opera North, singing Illia/Idomeneo, Helena/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Donna Elvira/Don Giovanni, Leila/The Pearlfishers. Other operatic roles include Countess Almaviva/Le nozze di Figaro and Elisa/Tolomeo for BBIOS, Aldimira in Cavalli ‘s Erismena, First Witch/Dido and Aeneas, Ninfa and Proserpina/Orfeo (cover), all for English Touring Opera. More recently, she appeared at Scottish Opera in Smetana’s Two Widows, covering the role of Lidka.

Concert work includes Tippett’s Spirituals and Rutter’s Requiem at St.John Smith Square, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate and Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras no 5 with the Emerald Ensemble at Bristol Cathedral, Bach’s B Minor Mass at St John Smith Square, Haydn’s Nelson Mass with Sir David Willcocks, Handel’s Messiah at Kings College Cambridge with Stephen Cleobury,Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate with the London Pro Arte Orchestra in Denmark and Strauss’ Four Last Songs at the Hatfield Auditorium, conducted by Peter Stark.

In 2007/08, Laura sang Bach’s St. John Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Mark Padmore at the QEH in London, which was followed by a tour through South Korea and Japan.
As a recitalist she has performed at the Teatro dei Rozzi Siena, the St.Peters Basilica Rome as well as the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, St Martin in the Fields, St.James’ Piccadilly, and the Windsor, Chester and Beaumaris Festivals.
She has taken part in master classes with Robin Stapleton (Amici di Verdi) and with Roger Vignoles at the Leeds Lieder Festival.

Her most recent appearances include Bach’s St Matthew Passion at the Royal Festival Hall with Mark Padmore and the OAE, recitals for the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Ismene/Mitridate for WNO with Sir Charles Mackkeras, Gilda/Rigoletto for the Grange Park Opera ‘Rising Stars’ series and ‘Messiah’ concerts with John Nelson and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.

Future engagments include Helena and Countess Almaviva for ETO, Donna Elvira at Opera Holland Park and Kristina/The Makropoulos Case at ENO.

Laura gratefully receives the support of The Countess of Munster Musical Trust for their Funding and Recital scheme, the Concordia Foundation for the Barthel Prize, the Wingate Scholarship, the Zetland Foundation, and the Worshipful Company of Musicians.

David was born in Pakistan and trained at Cambridge University. His extensive theatre credits include Quince/A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park); Lionel Espy/Racing Demon (New Farnham Repertory Company); Chasuble/The Importance of Being Earnest (Middleground Theatre Company); Old Waverley/The Woman Hater and Jerome/De Monfort (Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond). For TV, David’s credits include Pathologist/A Touch of Frost (ITV), Davros/Dr Who and Albert Pie/Doctors (BBC). He has made over 400 radio broadcasts and his work as a playwright includes The Killing of Mr Toad (King’s Head, BBC Radio 4, Finborough Theatre), Waste of Glory, Death of a Village, So Great a Crime (BBC Radio 4), The Wind in the Willows (Chichester, Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park and West End). Previously for ETO, David has performed Frosch/Die Fledermaus, Majordomo/Ariadne on Naxos, and Puck/A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Andrew studied at RNCM and St Petersburg Conservatoire. Opera roles include Patsy Love Counts (Almeida Festival); The House of the Gods (Music Theatre Wales); Leporello Don Giovanni (BOC); Falstaff Falstaff (ETO); Ben Selim Dom Sebastien (ROH). Recent concerts include Verdi Requiem (RLPO); Brahms Requiem (RTE Orchestra Dublin); Britten War Requiem (Orchestra de l’Ile de France). Recordings include Michael Berkeley Jane Eyre (Chandos); Stravinsky The Flood (Twentieth Century Classics); Mozart The Marriage of Figaro (BBC TV).

Martin was born in Oxfordshire and studied at Leeds University and RNCM. His operatic roles include Quince/A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera di Roma); Xuthus/Ion (Music Theatre Wales/Opera National du Rhin); Abbot/Azarias Church Parables (Opera National du Rhin); Cover Sarastro/The (Little) Magic Flute (ENO/GTO); Cover Caron and Pluto/Orfeo (ENO). Concert engagements include Verdi Requiem (Chichester/Southwell/Glasgow); Mozart Requiem (QEH/London Mozart Players); Haydn Creation (Aberystwyth); Handel Messiah (Oxford/Milton Keynes). Martin has recorded The Rake’s Progress (Deutsche Grammophon); Threni (Koch International Classics); Curlew River (Dutch radio); The Parole Officer (Universal); and several recordings on BBC Radio 3 and French radio

Mark trained at the University of East Anglia and RCM. Operatic roles include Ferrando/Così fan Tutte (GFO and WNO); Second Soldier/Coronation of Poppea and Tamino/The Magic Flute (ENO); Cat/Pinocchio (ON); Jacquino/Fidelio (GTO); Don Ottavio/Don Giovanni (Barbican); Alfredo/La Traviata and Idamante/Idomeneo (Birmingham Opera Company); Giannetto/La Gazza Ladra (Garsington); Rudolf/Euryanthe (Netherlands Opera). Recent concert engagements include Messiah (RSNO), Carmina Burana (RPO), St. John Passion (Bath Abbey and the Irish Chamber Orchestra). Concert recordings include Corrado d’Altamura (Opera Rara); B Minor Mass (Bridgewater Hall); Mozart Requiem (Mostly Mozart Festival).Studio recordings include Handel Ode to St. Cecilia’s Day for Naxos, ‘Ancient Melodies’; Arthur Sullivan’s The Golden Legend and The Prodigal Son for Hyperion.

Sheffield born, Nicholas Merryweather studied modern languages at University College, London, before training at the Musikhochschule, Köln and GSMD. He was the winner of the Glyndebourne Wessex Award in 2008 and a semi-finalist in the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 2009. Nicholas’s operatic roles include Figaro/Le Nozze di Figaro (Longborough Festival Opera); cover Morales/Carmen (GOT); Count/Capriccio (GSMD); Papageno/The Magic Flute (BYO); Figaro/Paisiello’s The Barber of Seville (Buxton Festival). Recent concert engagements include Schumann Liederkreis (Oxford Lieder). He was the soloist on the World Premiere recording of Karl Jenkins’s Armed Man Mass for Peace.

Benedict was born in Manchester and studies with Jeffery Talbot. His operatic roles include cover Bardolfo/Falstaff, cover Night Watchman and Marco Polo/Night at the Chinese Opera and cover Gastone/La Traviata (Scottish Opera); First Trojan/Idomeneo (Birmingham Opera); Gastone/La Traviata (OHP). His theatre credits include The Gondoliers, The Merchant of Venice and The Water Babies for the Chichester Theatre Festival. Concert engagements include Beethoven Fidelio (Proms Royal Albert Hall); Verdi Otello and Macmillan St John Passion (Concertgebouw Amsterdam). Benedict has also made recordings for Opera Rara and Chandos and sings and records with London Voices.

Catrine studied at GSMD and Cirencester College. She was the winner of the Russell Davies Prize, Stewards of Cirencester Award and KPMG Music in the Community Award. Operatic engagements include Suor Genovieffa/Suor Angelica (Midsummer Opera); Euridice/Motion of the Heart (Ensemble Ex); Laodice/Il Siroe (Ensemble Serse); Miss Silverpeal/The Impressario (Opera Brava); Make-up Girl/Playing Away (Bregenz Festival); French Girl/Death in Venice (Aldeburgh Festival). Concert engagements include Handel Messiah (A1 Orchestra); Mozart Requiem (EMFEB Orchestra); Handel L’Allegro (Britten-Pears, Aldeburgh). In addition, Catrine was the Inn Hostess in Edward German’s Tom Jones, a Naxos recording. Previously for ETO, Catrine has covered the role of First Woman/The Magic Flute and Glasha/Katya Kabanova.