A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Michael Rosewell began his career at the Vienna State Opera, assisting Claudio Abbado and working closely with many of the world’s greatest singers including Pavarotti, Domingo, Gruberova, Freni and Cappuccilli. He has conducted extensively throughout Germany, notably in the opera houses of Kassel, Wiesbaden and the Mannheim, where he held the position of Kapellmeister. Michael’s first guest appearances in the UK included some world premiere performances of Stephen Oliver’s Timon of Athens for English National Opera and since then, he has conducted for ENO, Kent Opera, English Touring Opera, and at the Aldeburgh, Bath, Perth, Buxton and Montepulciano Festivals. As Associate Conductor for the London Handel Society, he has introduced many rarely performed Handel operas to the London stage. Michael is also Director of Opera at the Royal College of Music.

In concert, Michael has appeared in Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Croatia and broadcast for Radio France Musique and Süddeutsche Rundfunk. He has conducted concerts at the Mayfield Festival with the London Mozart Players and internationally renowned baritone, Sir Thomas Allen. His recording, with Grammy-award-winning tenor Alfie Boe and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, was recently released under the Decca record label.

Michael has been noted in the press as one of this country’s leading Mozartians and is also widely acknowledged as one of the foremost interpreters of the music of Benjamin Britten. His performances of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Bellini’s Norma, Janacek’s Katya Kabanova and Jenufa for English Touring Opera have been critically acclaimed for the style and theatricality of his interpretations, and the excellence of the orchestral playing. He was appointed Music Director for ETO, in 2009.

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.

James has directed a range of operas for ETO – including, most recently, the critically-acclaimed Il tabarro (Puccini) and Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. In 2010, he directed the world premiere of Alexander Goehr’s opera, Promised End. His production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (performed by ETO in 2004 and revived in 2010) was nominated for an RPS Award.

Other operatic work includes Katya Kabanova, Rusalka, Susannah, Eugene Onegin, Orfeo, Jenufa, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, 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); Flavio, Eugene Onegin, Falstaff, Alcina, Le nozze di Figaro, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Cunning Little Vixen (all ETO). She has also worked with the ROH, SO, and 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 the University of Exeter and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is a founder of the Old Street Band.

He has performed a wide range of music from Monteverdi to the present day, including 14 Handel operas, 13 oratorios and numerous premieres for composers such as Michael Nyman, Jonathan Dove, Pawel Mykietyn, Fabio Vacchi, Deirdre Gribbin, Thomas Ades and Roxanna Panufnik. He has sung for the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, English National Opera, English Touring Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Royal Opera Copenhagen, Salzburg Festival, Halle Handel Festival, Badischestaatsteater Karlsruhe, BBC Proms, Glimmerglass Festival NY, Teatr Wielki Warsaw, Opera du Rhin and in Australia and Japan.

Jonathan has performed with Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, English Baroque Soloists, Gabrieli Consort, Ulster Orchestra under such conductors as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Richard Hickox, David Parry, Ivan Fischer, Thierry Fischer, Jane Glover, Andrew Parrott, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Ivor Bolton, Paul McCreesh, Harry 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 the Royal College of Music International Opera School and prepared singers for Handel’s Poro, Atalanta, Alessandro, Il pastor fido and Rodelinda, as well as Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea with Michael Rosewell whom he also assisted on Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen. For Trinity-Laban, Jonathan worked on Giustino and Rinaldo.

Jonathan’s performing edition of Tamerlano has been performed in London, Melbourne, Lisbon, Dublin and Prague.

After many years leading his own ensembles, Jonathan made his operatic conducting debut in 2005 with a staging of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater on Valentia Island for artist Dorothy Cross and OTC Dublin. The film was shown at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and in Los Angeles. In 2007 he conducted a new production of Handel’s Teseo for ETO, touring the UK, and in 2009 a new production of Flavio which opened to great enthusiasm as part of the HANDELFEST marking the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death. From these performances, a new period instrument orchestra, the Old Street Band, was formed, making a highly acclaimed debut in autumn 2011 in a new production of Xerxes. Other appearances include a staging of Carissimi’s Jephte for the National Churches Trust; Monteverdi: 1610 and all that at the RCM and a highly praised The Duchess of Malfi Webster/Gesualdo at the Royal and Derngate Theatre Northampton.

Plans include a revival of Flavio, a production of Alcina in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, where Ariosto (author of Orlando furioso on which Alcina is based) was governor, in summer 2012, a reconstruction of Muzio Scevola (Amadei/Buoncini/Handel) and a new production of Agrippina.

Born in Australia, Gillian Ramm trained at the Western Australian Conservatorium of Music and the West Australian Opera Young Artist Programme, before receiving a scholarship at RNCM. Gillian was awarded the John Cameron Lieder Prize and the Ricordi Prize for Opera. Operatic engagements include Fiordiligi/ Così fan tutte (GFO, GTO); Rosalinde/ Die Fledermaus (GTO); Second Niece/ Peter Grimes (Teatro di San Carlo); Aci/ Aci Galatea e Polifemo (London Handel Festival); Valencienne/ The Merry Widow (West Australian Opera); Anne Truelove/ The Rake’s Progress (RNCM); Clorinda/ La Cenerentola (Ryedale Festival); Yum Yum/ The Mikado (Carl Rosa). Gillian has sung in concert with The Classical Opera Company, ON, LPO and Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Future and recent plans include her debut with ENO as First Niece in a new production of Peter Grimes and Fiordiligi/ Così fan tutte (GTO). Gillian has previous performed with ETO as Tytania/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

From Moville, Co Donegal, Niamh is an hons graduate of NUI Maynooth and University of Limerick. Supported by the Arts Council of Ireland she then attended RNCM graduating with a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance with Distinction. She continues her studies with Anne Mason.

The first recipient of ETO’s Young Artist Bursary Niamh’s operatic performances include Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro, Hermia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 3rd lady, The Magic Flute, Smeton, Anna Bolena, Mrs Ott, Susannah and Olga, Eugene Onegin (all ETO), Dorabella, Cosi fan tutte (Mananan Opera Festival), Maurya, Riders to the Sea (Opera Fringe Northern Ireland); Cherubino, Le Nozze di Figaro, Mercedes, Carmen (Opera Brava); Eurynome, Penelope (Wexford Festival Opera).

Recent performances include Anitra in Grieg’s Peer Gynt with Sam West and the New London Sinfonia, Verdi Requiem with Armonico Consort and Sir Willard White, Rosina, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, 1st Norn in concerts of Götterdämmerung with The Wagner Society and David Syrus, and Hansel in NI Opera’s production of Hansel and Gretel.

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 Royal Northern College of Music and St Petersburg Conservatoire. He has performed more than 60 opera roles including Lotario, Ariodate, Falstaff, Bottom, Bartolo, Blitch, Alfonso, Donald and Araspe (All ETO); Ben Selim (Royal Opera House), Nachtigal (Grange Park Opera), Golaud (Glyndebourne Touring Opera), Faninal (Scottish Opera), Basilio (Welsh National Opera), Sacristan (Opera North), Colline (English National Opera) etc.

Recordings include Nyman, Love Counts and Mozart 252 (MNR); Michael Berkeley, Jane Eyre (Chandos); Stravinsky, The Flood (Twentieth Century Classics).

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 Wilde studied at the RCM. Roles include Ferrando/ Così fan Tutte (GFO); Frederic/ Pirates of Penzance (ENO); Albert/ Albert Herring (Perth Festival); Il Campanello (Buxton Festival); Ottone/ La Serenissima (BBC Radio 3); Jacquino/ Fidelio (GTO); Seven Deadly Sins (WNO); Cat/ Pinocchio (ON); Ottavio/ Don Giovanni (Mostly Mozart Festival); Male Chorus/ The Rape of Lucretia (European Opera Centre); Giannetto/ La Gazza Ladra, Albafiorita/ Mirandolina (both Garsington); Rudolf/ Euryanthe (Netherlands Opera); Ottavio/ Don Giovanni, Alfredo/ La Traviata, title role in Candide and Idamante/ Idomeneo (all Birmingham Opera Company); Count Almaviva/ Barber of Seville (Savoy Theatre Opera); Adelaide de Borgogna (Edinburgh International Festival); Madwoman/ Curlew River (BBC Proms). Recent engagements include Snout/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bari and Reggio Emilia). Future engagements include further performances of Pinocchio (ON in Ravenna). Previously for ETO, Mark has performed the roles of Tamino/ The Magic Flute, Flute/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Basilio/ Le Nozze di Figaro.

Sheffield born, Nicholas Merryweather studied modern languages at University College, London, before training at the Musikhochschule, Köln and on the opera course at 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 Don Giovanni/ Don Giovanni and Figaro/ Le Nozze di Figaro (Longborough Festival Opera); cover Morales/ Carmen (GOT); Papageno/ The Magic Flute (BYO); Starveling/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream (ETO). Recent concert engagements include Schubert Schwanengesang (Oxford Lieder Festival) and Carmina Burana (Plymouth Philharmonic Choir). 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 Kirkman graduated with a Masters from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and continues to study with Jessica Cash. Recent roles include Zerlina/ Don Giovanni (Focus Opera); Tebaldo/ Don Carlo (Midsummer Opera); Susanna/ Figaro, Papagena/ Magic Flute (both Opera Brava); Suor Genovieffa/ Suor Angelica (Midsummer Opera). Catrine performed the solo vocalise in a world premiere by Benjamin Ellin at the opening catwalk show of London Fashion Week 2010. She sings the role of Inn Hostess on the Naxos recording of Edward German’s Tom Jones, and plays the title role in forthcoming cinema release In Love with Alma Cogan (Capriol Films). Future engagements include the role of Laetitia (Sullivan’s The Zoo) for Charles Court Opera in Gettysburg, USA, in June. Catrine has previously appeared with ETO as Barbarina/ Figaro and Moth/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream.