Rossini: Fireworks! concert

With a special affinity for Italian bel canto and English baroque, John Andrews has conducted over 40 operas with companies including Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park, London Handel Festival and Volkstheater Rostock. An exponent of neglected English music, he has appeared regularly at the English Music Festival. Recordings include: Thomas Arne’s The Judgement of Paris, The Light of the World and Incidental Music to Macbeth; The Tempest (Sir Arthur Sullivan); The Mountebanks (Gilbert and Cellier) for Dutton Vocalion with the BBC Concert Orchestra; Percy Sherwood’s Double Concerto; Sir Frederic Cowen’s 5th Symphony for EM Records. For ETO he has conducted Rossini’s ‘Fireworks’, Tolomeo, Don Giovanni, Anna Bolena and Pia de’ Tolomei.

Born in Brazil, he studied at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Welsh International Academy of Voice. He was finalist in both the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and the Francisco Viñas Competitions, leading to appearances with international companies such as ROH Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Oper Frankfurt, Malmö Opera, Scottish Opera and Hamburgische Staatsoper. His roles include Comte Ory, Orfeo, Edgardo Lucia, Tamino Zauberflöte, Elvino Sonnambula, Ferrando Così Fan Tutte, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Tonio La Fille du Régiment, Percy Anna Bolena and Ernesto Don Pasquale. Recently for ETO he appeared as Rinuccio Gianni Schicchi.

In her native Australia, Catherine Carby has performed with the major opera companies and her wider engagements have included performances with Buxton Festival Opera, Chelsea Opera Group, ENO, Longborough Festival Opera and Scottish Opera, as well as at the Teatro Sao Carlos, Lisbon, and with orchestras including the CBSO, the OAE, the RPO and the Ulster Orchestra. Current highlights include include Penelope Il ritorno d’Ulisse for Pinchgut Opera, Annina La traviata and Siegrune Die Walküre for the Royal Opera, London, Girls’ Night Out (A Celebration of the Music of Richard Strauss) for the State Opera of South Australia and Katharina Schratt Mayerling for the Royal Ballet, London.

For ETO: Diana La Calisto, Aurelio L’Assiedo di Calais, Rodrigo Pia de’Tolomei, Cornelia Giulio Cesare, Iphigénie Iphigénie en Tauride and Rossini Fireworks!

Studied at the RCM, NOS and Accademia Rossiniana, Pesaro.

Rossini roles include Ramiro La Cenerentola (Oper Schloss Hallwyl, Glyndebourne on Tour); Ruodi Guillaume Tell and Aronne Mosé in Egitto (covers for WNO); Comte Ory Le Comte Ory (Opera South); Almaviva Il Barbiere di Siviglia (WNO, Diva Opera and Festival Musique Cordiale); Zefirino Il viaggio a Reims, (Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro); Gernando/Ubaldo Armida (St. John’s, Smith Square). He has sung Nemorino L’elisir d’amore for the Anghiari Festival; Pylade Iphigénie en Tauride, Ubaldo/Ghino Pia de’ Tolomei, Arnalta The Coronation of Poppea, and Egeus Jason by Cavalli all for ETO; and Luke in Tippett’s The Ice Break (Birmingham Opera). Other roles include Romeo Romeo and Juliet (Riverside Opera); Don Ottavio Don Giovanni (Mid-Wales Opera); Camille de Rosillon The Merry Widow (Scottish Opera); Tamino The Magic Flute (Iford Arts and Swansea City Opera).

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.