The Emperor of Atlantis

Peter studied Modern Languages at Cambridge and piano accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music. He has conducted around 50 operas, including Peter Grimes, Rigoletto, Traviata, Boheme, Carmen, Hänsel und Gretel, Iphigenie en Tauride, Orfeo and the major Mozart operas at the Staatstheater Nürnberg, where from 1999-2004 he was Head of Music and Kapellmeister.

Other opera engagements abroad include Salome for the Singapore Lyric Opera and the Hungarian premiere of Rape of Lucretia for European Opera Centre. For UK companies he has conducted Carmen (WNO), Fidelio, Romeo et Juliette (Opera North), Jenufa, Cenerentola (ETO), Hänsel und Gretel, La Rondine (Opera Holland Park), Madam Butterfly, Die Zauberflöte (European Chamber Opera), Treemonisha (Pegasus Opera) and Don Giovanni (Pimlico Opera).

As symphonic conductor he has worked with the Wiener Symphoniker, Nürnberger Philharmoniker and the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, as well as with numerous UK orchestras including City of London Sinfonia, Orchestras of Opera North and WNO and the Southbank Sinfonia. As assistant conductor he worked for three seasons on the millennial Ring Cycle at Bayreuth, on Death in Venice at the Aldeburgh and Bregenz Festivals, at Glyndebourne and at the Hamburg, Strasbourg and Oslo opera houses.

He began his career on the music staff at ENO before moving to the Royal Opera House, where he continues to work as a guest. He is co-founder and an Artistic Director of the Internationales Kammermusikfestival Nürnberg for whom he has conducted Rape of Lucretia, Turn of the Screw, Owen Wingrave, Noye’s Fludde, Dido and Aeneas, Soldier’s Tale and two world premieres – das babylonexperiment by Matthew King and Schau nicht zurück, Orfeo by Stefan Hakenberg. He is also a Professor at the Royal College of Music.

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.

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).

Richard Mosley-Evans was born in Cardiff and trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. Awards include Silver Medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians, the Sybil Tutton Opera Scholarship and twice winner of the Sir Geraint Evans Scholarship. Operatic roles include cover Gepetto/ The Adventure of Pinocchio (ON); Bosun/ Billy Budd, Doctor, Servant and Herald/ Macbeth, cover Father/ Hänsel und Gretel, Steuermann/ Tristan und Isolde (all for GFO); The Mayor/ Jenůfa (GTO); Le Dancaire/ Carmen, cover Don Alfonso/ Cosi fan tutte (both GFO and GTO); Sacristan/ Tosca (Raymond Gubbay at RAH). Recordings include DVD releases of Billy Budd, Tristan und Isolde, Gianni Schicchi for GFO, various TV/Radio broadcasts from Glyndebourne and at the Proms (RAH).

Highlights of his work in the United Kingdom include Tamino/ Die Zauberflöte (Opera Northern Ireland); Rinuccio/ Gianni Schicchi, Nemorino/ L’Elisir D’Amore, Edgardo/ Lucia Di Lammermoor, Federico/ L’Arlesiana (all for OHP); Pinkerton Madama Butterfly (Raymond Gubbay Ltd, Royal Albert Hall), and appearances with ON and ENO. He made his debut at Covent Garden as Conte Ivrea in Verdi Un Giorno Di Regno. International credits include Ernesto/ Don Pasquale (Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf); title role/ Les Contes D’Hoffmann; Alfred/ Die Fledermaus; Alfredo/ La Traviata. A regular oratorio and recital performer, his appearances have included all the major London venues, as well as debuts in Dublin, Vienna, Budapest, Paris, Belgium, Italy and the USA including acclaimed performances of Schumann’s Dichterliebe. For ETO Jeffrey has previously sung Duca/ Rigoletto and Nadir/ Les Pecheurs De Perles.