La clemenza di Tito

Raised in Scotland, Richard read music at Magdalen College, Oxford and Edinburgh University. After a year at NOS he went to the Nationaltheater Mannheim where he worked on over 60 productions both as conductor and repetiteur. Since August 2000 Richard has worked as assistant to Adam Fischer at the Haydn festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, with the Danish Sinfonietta (on six Mozart cds 2002 – 2008) the annual Budapest Wagner Ring Cycle’s (2006 – 2010) and at the Salzburg Festival (2005/2009) In June 2007 Richard was appointed conductor and chorus master at Opera Queensland, making his Australian conducting debut with The Magic Flute (2008). He also gave the first Australian performance of Haydn’s L’isola disabitata (2009). Future plans include returning to La Monnaie Brussels to conduct performances of Dvorak’s Rusalka.

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).

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.

Since making his professional debut conducting the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at the Mlada Praha Festival in 1999, Timothy Carey has worked with several orchestras throughout Europe and Asia including the St Petersburg Philharmonic, Thessaloniki State Symphony and Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

Recent theatre performances include appearances at The London Coliseum in the presence of HRH Prince Andrew, The Hong Kong Arts Festival and a return visit to Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu.

A devoted advocate of new music, he has collaborated with The Opera Group, Opera W11 and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group on new operas by Edward Rushton, Julian Philips, Stuart Hancock, and Jonathan Dove.

Last season he conducted The Marriage of Figaro and Don Pasquale for English Touring Opera and assisted on A Midsummer Night’s Dream as their staff music director for the spring tour. He returns next season to conduct Fantastic Mr Fox and La Clemenza di Tito, assisting on Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi.

Born in London, Timothy Carey studied the cello with Casals’ pupil, Christopher Bunting in addition to the piano from a young age. He went on to study conducting with prof. Ilya Musin at the St Petersburg Conservatoire.

A gifted pianist, he has performed with talented instrumentalists such as clarinettist, Emma Johnson and violinist Ruth Waterman and broadcast for both BBC radio and television.

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 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.

Rhona McKail studies with John Evans and completed her training on the GSMD opera course in 2009 where she gained MMus and MMP degrees. Prior to that she received a BA Hons (Musical Studies) from the RSAMD. Most recently she won a Park Lane Group recital in the Purcell Room with pianist Yshani Perinpanayagam, and the Basil A Turner prise for her role as Ann Trulove in BYO’s production of The Rake’s Progress. In 2010 Rhona performed Josephine/ HMS Pinafore, Constance/ The Sorcerer, Adele/ Die Fledermaus (all for Opera Della Luna); Fiordiligi/ Cosí Fan Tutte (Vignette Productions). She also performed in the Paxos Festival, Greece and in children’s educational concerts for the Machynlleth Festival, Wales and for Leeds Lieder Festival. Rhona has recorded Messiaen’s La Mort du Nombre with Sholto Kynoch and Kaoru Yamada for Stone Records.

Charlotte Stephenson is a recent graduate of RAMs Opera Course and previously gained a First Class Honours Degree in vocal and opera studies from the RNCM. Opera engagements include Stella/ The Airman’s Tale (Imperial War Museum, 2005 premiere); The Devil/ The Soldiers Tale (The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester); Minsk Woman/ Flight (BYO); Hansel/ Hansel and Gretel, Phillide/ La Fedelta Premiata, Vava/ Cheryomushki, Diana/ La Calisto (all Royal Academy Opera). Charlotte made her Glyndebourne Opera debut as Valetto in The Corronation of Poppea in 2010 and performed with the London Symphony Orchestra as Mezzo Soloist in Mahler’s Das Klagende Lied under Vladimir Jurowski. Charlotte is in increasing demand on the concert platform and has performed at venues such as Cadagon Hall, St Martin’s in the Field and Christchurch Spitalfields.

With considerable experience as an amateur singer, Philip Spendley gave up his job as a bank manager to study music full-time. Studying with professor Robert Dean, Philip received his music degree from GSMD, where he won the 2005 English Song competition and was awarded the Wyburd award for German Lieder and the 2006 Patrick Libby drama prize. Roles include Michele/ Il Tabarro, The Earl of Dunmow/ A Dinner Engagement, Figaro/ Le Nozze di Figaro, Olivier/ Capriccio (all GSMD); title role/ Eugene Onegin, Schaunard/ La Boheme (BYO, 2006 Tour of Italy and France). He has worked with such conductors as Sir David Willcocks and Sir Simon Rattle, and his performances have taken him to Paris, Turin, Madrid and Budapest. Future plans include the role of the Sacristan/ Tosca (Grange Park Opera).