Albert Herring

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.

Christopher Rolls is a theatre and opera director based in London, UK. He trained in International Theatre Directing (MA) at Middlesex University (London, N. Ireland, Bangkok, Moscow) and has worked all over the world.

In November 2011, he was nominated in category of OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER for a London Evening Standard Theatre Award. In February 2011, Chris Rolls’ production of Les Parents Terribles by Jean Cocteau was nominated for an Olivier Award in the category of Outstanding Production in an Affiliate Theatre. In 2005 Chris was Resident Assistant Director (RAD) for the Donmar Warehouse Theatre in London’s West End.

Chris has worked as an Assistant Director and Associate Director for the UK’s National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera house – Covent Garden, and in the West End.

Born
Birmingham

Training
Birmingham University
Slade UCL
National Film & Television school

Opera
Productions for Opera Holland Park, Almedia/ENO Opera Festival, Mid Wales Opera, Opera Theatre Company Dublin, Garden Opera, ETO, Pegasus Opera and Opera North

Future
A new Opera to coincide with the Beijing Olympics at Hackney Empire, a UK tour of the play The Dresser, a new play for the Drill Hall and a production of The Shape of Things in Istanbul.

Other
Neil has also worked for both set and costume departments for BBC TV.

Opera includes Promised End, The Duenna, The Magic Flute, Katya Kabanova, Don Giovanni, Anna Bolena, Susannah, The Seraglio, Eugene Onegin (all for ETO); The Cunning Little Vixen, (National Theatre Brno); The Ring Cycle, Tosca, Hansel & Gretel (Longborough Festival Opera).

Theatre includes Peter Pan, Be Near Me (NTS); Serenading Louie (Donmar Warehouse); Waste (Almeida); Othello (West End); Elektra (Young Vic); A Christmas Carol (Birmingham Rep); As You Like It, Bollywood Jane, Macbeth (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Kes (Liverpool Playhouse); Amadeus, Fen, Far Away, (Sheffield Theatres); Faith Healer (Bristol Old Vic).

Dance work includes pieces for Mark Bruce, Ben Wright, Rafael Bonachela, Shobana Jeyasingh, and Henri Oguike amongst others. Also Havana Rakatan for Sadlers Wells and Mischief for Theatre Rites. Musicals include The Witches of Eastwick, Aspects of Love (UK tours); Assassins (Sheffield Theatres); My Fair Lady (Singapore); City of Angels (Frankfurt).

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.

Born Wales
Training TCM
Opera Berta The Barber of Seville, Amaltea Moses in Eqypt, Clorinda La Cenerentola, Marianne Der Rosenkavalier, Widow Babette’s Feast (all ROH), Rosalinde Die Fledermaus (Nurnberg), Hilda Mack Elegy for Young Lovers (Switzerland), Sieglinde The Valkyrie (Covent Garden and Bath International Festivals), Lady Macbeth Macbeth (Oberhausen Maifest), Donna Anna and Donna Elvira Don Giovanni, Konstanze The Escape from the Seraglio, Arminda La Finta Giardiniera, Elettra Idomeneo, Abigaille Nabucco, title role Lucia di Lammermoor, title role Semiramide, Queen of the Night The Magic Flute (for Basel, Scottish Opera, Niedersachsische, Staatstheater Hannover, Garsington Opera), Italian Singer Capriccio (GFO), Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta Les Contes d’Hoffman (Grande Theatre Limoges and Germany), Elizabeth Mary Stuart (ETO, Theater Basel)
Recordings Berta The Barber of Seville, Marianne Der Rosenkavalier (both Chandos), several for Opera Rara including Sabine Orazi e Curazi and One Hundred Years of Italian Opera

Born Surrey
Training GSMD
Opera Smirnov The Bear (Cernier Festival, Switzerland), Eisenstein Die Fledermaus (Opera Holland Park), title role Die Kaiser von Atlantis (Wigmore Hall), title role Rigoletto (Mid-Wales Opera), Lancelot Gwyneth and the Green Knight (Music Theatre Wales), Scarpia Tosca (Castleward Opera), Forester The Cunning Little Vixen (ETO & OTC), Garibaldo Rodelinda (OTC in the US), title role Macbeth (Singapore), Golaud Pelleas et Melisande (France), Michonnet Adriana Lecouvreur (Opera Holland Park)

Colin studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music. Operatic roles include Snout/A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Teatro Real Madrid); Jaquino/Fidelio (Chelsea Opera Group, SO); Remendado/Carmen, L’Incredibile/Andrea Chenier (SO); Mime/Der Ring des Nibelungen (Opera National du Rhin); Jaquino/Fidelio (ONB);  Monostatos/The Magic Flute (Theatre du Capitole Toulouse); Pang/Turandot (ROH); Third Jew/Salome (ENO); Pedrillo/Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, Truffaldino/The Love of Three Oranges, Hirt/Junge Seeman/Tristan und Isolde, Spoletta/Tosca, Venditore/Il Tabarro, Goro/Madama Butterfly and Gaston/La Traviata (Opera Cologne); Coryphee/Le Comte D’Ory and Andrew/The Last Supper (GFO); Alfred/Die Fledermaus (SO).  A series of short operas featuring Colin was recently broadcast on BBC 2. Previous performances with the ETO include the title role in Werther.

Martha is currently studying with Janis Kelly at RCM International Opera School and is gratefully supported in her studies by an RCM Scholarship, Sophie’s Silver Lining Fund and the Josephine Baker Trust. Prizes include awards in the RCM Schumann Competition and the Chelsea Schubert Festival. Martha is a Britten-Pears Young Artist, having sung in their 2009 Schumann masterclass season with Malcolm Martineau. Oratorio work includes Vivaldi Gloria, Mozart Coronation Mass, Haydn Nelson Mass and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Roles include Hansl, Rosina, Florence Pike, Dorabella and Concepcion (RCM Opera Scenes); Zweite Dame/ Die Zauberflote, cover Dog and Hen/ The Cunning Little Vixen, Cupid/ Orpheus in the Underworld (all for RCMIOS); Hänsel/ Hänsel und Gretel (Woodhouse Opera); Dorabella/ Così fan tutte (Woodhouse Opera; Vignette Productions); cover Teodata/ Flavio (ETO).

Clarissa studiesd at GSMD. Opera engagements include 2nd Lady/ Magic Flute, 2nd Esquire, Heavenly Voice/ Parsifal (both ROH); Katerina Shratt/ Mayerling (Royal Ballet, Covent Garden); Virtu, Pallade/ Coronation of Poppea (NO, New York); Sorceress/ Dido and Aeneas; Les Noces, 2nd Maid/ Elektra (both for ON); title role/ Iolanthe (including BBC broadcast), Annie Fisher/ Friend of the People (both for SO); Madame Larina/ Onegin, Fear and Model/ 2nd Mrs Kong, Mother/ Misper (all for Glyndebourne). Concert work includes Les Nuits d’Ete with Flanders Symphony Orchestra, touring Belgium; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Bamberger Symphoniker under Walter Weller; Elijah with RSNO; Sea Pictures in Birmingham Symphony Hall; Messiah in Hanover; concert performance and recording of Boris Godunov for Brighton Festival.