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
London

Training
Cambridge; GSMD; NOS

Opera
Tosca; La Boheme; Madam Butterfly; Don Pasquale; Les pêcheurs de perles (All ENO); Il Trovatore; Tosca (Opera Queensland); Tosca (ONZ)

Ballet
Swan Lake (Covent Garden, Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres); Sleeping Beauty; Romeo and Juliet; Nutcracker (ENB); Cinderella (Göteborg Ballet); and ballets for Sylvie Guillem (Japan)

Recordings
Radio (with Adelaide SO); Turandot excerpts for the film Life of David Gale (Alan Parker)

Born in London, Maciek studied History at UCL and went on to study voice at Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he was the winner of the English Song Competition in 2006.

Operatic engagements include cover Masetto, Don Giovanni, Mars, Orpheus in the Underworld (both Opera Holland Park); cover Death, Savitri (Buxton Festival Opera). Oratorio engagements include Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, J.S. Bach B minor Mass and Mendelssohn Elijah. Recitals include Before and After Summer (highlights) for the Third English Song Weekend in Ludlow; Schumann Myrten and Brahms Die Schöne Magelone both for the Oxford Lieder Festival.

Previous roles with ETO include Physician and cover Betto, Gianni Schicchi, Bean and cover Fox, Fantastic Mr Fox, cover and played Theseus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, cover and played First Priest and Second Armed Man, The Magic Flute, Gamekeeper, Rusalka.

Richard studied at the University of Kansas. Operatic engagements include Matteo/Arabella (Opera Australia); Truffaldino/The Love of Three Oranges and Witch/Hansel and Gretel (Staatstheatre Kassell); Rinuccio/Gianni Schicchi, Platon Karataeyev/War and Peace and Goro/Madame Butterfly (ENO); Pinkerton/Madame Butterfly (OHP). Concert appearances include Salome (LSO at the Barbican); Beethoven Choral Symphony (Brighton Dome); Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (Stadhalle Kassel); Mozart Requiem (RFH); Steuermann/Flying Dutchman (RPO at the Barbican). He recorded the role of Bardolf in Falstaff for Chandos Records and is the voice of the Cockerel on the BBC Films animated version of Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen. He has recently performed Prince/Rusalka, Rudolfo/La Boheme and Steva/Jenufa with the ETO.

Soprano
Camilla was born in Wrexham and studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and at the Naional Opera Studio. Operatic engagements include: Micäela/Carmen, Diane/Iphigenie en Tauride, Blumenmädchen/Parsifal, title role/Iolanta; Laura/Iolanta (all Welsh National Opera); First Lady/Die Zauberflöte and Anna/Nabucco (Opera North); Tatyana/Eugene Onegin (Holland Park), Marenka/The Bartered Bride and Mimi/La Boheme (Mid Wales Opera) and Anna/Le Villi (Chelsea Opera). Camilla has perfomed in concert and recital programmes both here in the UK and abroad. Highlights include: Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Barbican); Rossini Stabat Mater (St Endellion Festival) and Mendelssohn’s Elijah (Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool). Camilla is a regular guest on BBC Radio 2 “Friday night is Music Night”. In June 2004 Camilla won the Welsh Singers Competition and went on to represent Wales in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2005 Competition. Future plans include Adina L’elisir d’amore (WNO).

Fiona trained at the RCM and NOS and was a recipient of the John Christie Award at Glyndebourne. Recent operatic engagements include Mrs Chin and Old Crone/ A Night at the Chinese Opera (SO); Jane’s Mother/ Snow White (Nationale Reisopera); Ma/ House of the Gods (Music Theatre Wales); Annina/ Der Rosenkavalier (Opera Zuid); Ulrica/ Un Ballo in Maschera (Canadian Opera Company); Mistress Quickly/ Falstaff (Garsington); Azucena/ Il Trovatore (Stowe Opera); Rosa Mamai/ L’Arlesiana (OHP). She was also Katharina Schratt/ Mayerling for the Royal Ballet on tour to Tokyo. Concert performances include work at the Concertgebouw, South Bank and Wigmore Hall. Recording and broadcast work includes In Flanders Fields (Quartz); L’Enfance Du Christ (Thames); Rusalka (BBC); Taverner (NMC); Greek (Decca). Fiona has previously performed Jezibaba/ Rusalka and Kabanicha/ Katya Kabanova with English Touring Opera. Future engagements include Governess/ The Queen of Spades (ON).

Born Exeter
Training ENO Baylis, Birmingham Conservatoire, King’s College, London
Opera Mustardseed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bridesmaid The Marriage of Figaro (both ETO), La Sirena La Liberazione di Ruggiero (St.John’s Smith Square), Ines Die Drei Pintos (Opera Omnibus), education performances and projects for ETO, Opera North and ROH
Concert Young Artists Series (Blackheath Halls), new music at Brighton, Kings Lynn, Hoxton and York Late Music Festivals & Britten-Pears School, Berio Laborintus II / Soloist I (Composers Ensemble, Dartington Hall)
Recordings Scelsi Intégrale des oeuvres chorales (New London Chamber Choir, Percussive Rotterdam), Dove Death of a Princess (Channel 4)
Futre Birtwistle Ring A Dumb Carillon (The Warehouse, London)

Abigail was born in Birmingham and trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire and also at the RSAMD. She was the Peter Moores Foundation Scholar in 2008-2009 and the winner of the Rae Woodland Prize 2008. Operatic roles include Sara/ Tobias and the Angel (Bollington Opera Festival); Mrs Grant/ Mary Seacole, The Opera (Gyenyame Performing Arts) and Belinda/ Dido and Aeneas (SAMPAD Arts). Abigail has toured with British Youth Opera in Italy, France and London, performing in the choruses of La Boheme, Don Giovanni and Eugene Onegin and has also performed with Opera South Africa and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Abigail has previously performed with ETO as Naiad and cover Kitchen Boy/ Rusalka, Mary Prince/ Bridgetower, Cobweb/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Bridesmaid/ The Marriage of Figaro.

Alison studied at the GSMD and then won a Peter Moores Foundation scholarship to study at the RNCM. Alison has appeared with ON, BOC, OHP and recently the ROH in Fidelio and in the premiere of Dominique le Gendre’s Bird of Night at the Lindbury, Covent Garden. Most recent operatic work includes creating the role of Jennifer in Silent Twins (Almeida Opera) and Porgy and Bess (Opera de Lyon). Alison’s solo concert performances include: Berlioz’s Les Nuit D’été with Salisbury Sinfonia, Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s B Minor Mass, Haydn’s St Nicholai and Nelson Masses, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mendelssohn’s St Paul, Durufle’s Requiem and Mother Earth in Anthony Biggin’s Cry of the Earth with the Liverpool Philharmonic.

Born
Lincolnshire

Training
RAM; GSMD

Awards
G Embley Memorial Prize Winner; National Federation of Music Societies Award Winner; Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Prize Finalist; Royal Overseas League Finalist; Associated Board Scholarship Winner

Opera
Cunegonde,Candide, Zerbinetta,Prologue Ariadne Auf Naxos (Birmingham Opera Company);Susanna,The Marriage Of Figaro (English Touring Opera );Miranda The Gentle Giant (ROH 2); Ms Pescado Armida (Channel 4 Television)

Concert
Stravinsky Le Rossignol (CBSO Symphony Hall Birmingham); Mahler Symphony no.8 (Symphony Hall Birmingham); Bernstein Mass (LSO Barbican Hall London) Openning Ceremony, World Athletics Championships.

Recordings
Ms Pescado Judith Weirs Armida (Channel 4 Television); Valkyrie Flashmob (BBC Television)

Adam Mackenzie studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD) with Robin O’Neill and Meyrick Alexander and also at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala, Milan. Whilst at GSMD he became the first bassoonist to reach the final of the prestigious Gold Medal competition and was awarded the runner up prize. Adam also won the Principal’s Prize for the highest mark in a final recital and was awarded a first in his undergraduate degree. During his Postgraduate year at GSMD he won the Friends of the Philharmonia Woodwind Prize through the Martin Music Scholarship Scheme and performed a bassoon and strings recital with the Soloists of the Philharmonia Orchestra. As a member of the Bozza Trio, Adam also won the Martin Music Scholarship Access and Outreach Award for community education and now regularly works as a workshop leader with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia and most of the other major London orchestras. Other awards include the NYOS Staffa Prize, GSMD Woodwind Prize and the Park Lane Group. Recently, Adam has recorded two solo CDs for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, given a solo performance on Radio 3, and played a role in the Soldiers Tale play at the Old Vic. He is a freelance musician and regularly works with the Philharmonia and many of the other London orchestras. Adam is currently Director of Education at English Sinfonia.

Andrew conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in June 2008 in a public masterclass with Valery Gergiev. As a Scholar at the RCM Music in London, he prepared the RCM orchestras for conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Sir Roger Norrington, Marin Alsop and Andrew Litton. He conducted the St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra whilst studying with Alexander Polianichko in Russia. Andrew was an Assistant Conductor for all operas of the Grange Park Opera 2008 season. He has performed as concerto soloist on both the trombone and the piano. As a trombonist, he has freelanced with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Philharmonia, Hallé, London Sinfonietta and Opera North. Andrew has pesented The Early Music Show on BBC Radio 3. He is the Principal Conductor of the Orpheus Sinfonia and the Assistant Conductor of the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra. Future plans include working at the Royal Ballet as Cover Conductor for Barry Wordsworth.

Lighting Designer
David trained at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow and the GSMD. Credits include: Days of Significance (RSC at the Tricycle Theatre, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon and Davidson College, North Carolina); Ma Vie En Rose (Young Vic, Maria Theatre); Alaska (Royal Court, Theatre Upstairs); Cyrano de Bergerac, A Taste of Honey, See How They Run (Manchester Royal Exchange); The Rise and Fall of Little Voice and Rope (Watermill Theatre, Newbury); Things of Dry Hours (The Gate, London and Studio, Manchester Royal Exchange); Sweetness and Badness (Welsh National Opera MAX); Othello, Woman In Mind (Salisbury Playhouse); TILT Triple Bill (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh); Cruising (The Bush Theatre, London); Fijis (South Bank Centre and The Place, London); Trestle at Pope Lick Creek (Manchester Royal Exchange and Southwark Playhouse); Dov and Ali, The Water Engine, The Water Harvest (Theatre 503, Battersea), A Taste of Honey (Manchester Royal Exchange).