M E Z ZO C AV SUSAN BULLOCK Susan Bullock’s unique position as one of the world’s most sought-after dramatic sopranos was recognised by the award of a CBE in June 2014. Wagner’s Brünnhilde has garnered outstanding praise worldwide, leading her to become the first ever soprano to sing four consecutive cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen at Covent Garden under Antonio Pappano. Appearances as Richard Strauss’ Elektra at ROH, La Scala , the Metropolitan Opera, all over Europe and the USA have brought equal acclaim. In recent seasons, Susan has begun to explore new repertoire making debuts as Klytaemnestra (Elektra) for the Canadian Opera Company, and her acclaimed portrayal of Mother in Turnage’s Greek at BAM and the Edinburgh International Festival. Further debuts include Kostelnička (Jenůfa), both Gertrude and The Witch (Hänsel und Gretel), Mrs Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Mother in the European premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves also at the Edinburgh International Festival. She recently made her debut as an actor at the Grange Festival in Keith Warner’s staging of King Lear in which she played Goneril, and she returns to Opera Frankfurt in the autumn.
PAUL CAREY JONES Welsh-Irish heldenbaritone Paul Carey Jones was born in Cardiff and studied at The Queen’s College Oxford, the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio, where he was winner of the National Eisteddfod of Wales’ premier award for young singers, the W Towyn Roberts Scholarship. In May 2013 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, and he was joint winner of the 2013 Wagner Society Singing Competition. His continuing exploration of the heldenbaritone repertoire is supported by The Mastersingers and the Carole Rees Award for Advanced Musical Studies, and his work during the current 6
Coronavirus crisis is supported by the Arts Council of Wales. Recent career highlights have included his Covent Garden debut in The Nose, Opera Holland Park as Lescaut in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, the title role in the Chinese premiere of Britten’s Noye’s Fludde in Beijing and Shanghai, the Scottish premiere of Philip Glass’ The Trial, the world premieres of John Metcalf’s Under Milk Wood: An Opera, Stephen McNeff’s The Burning Boy and Stuart MacRae’s Prometheus Symphony, and covering the roles of Wotan / Der Wanderer in the 2018 Ring Cycle at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.
CHRISTOPHER TURNER Born in Birmingham, Christopher Turner read Music at the University of Hull, furthering his studies with Barbara Robotham at the Royal Northern College of Music and at the National Opera Studio, where he was sponsored by the Scottish Endowment Trust and The Friends of Covent Garden. He has received many prizes, including The Michael and Joyce Kennedy Prize for Singing Strauss, The Frederic Cox Prize, the Elizabeth Harwood Prize, and, most recently, a Countess of Munster ‘Young Star’ Award and the Sybil Tutton Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund. He was also a major scholar of the Sir Peter Moores Foundation.
M E Z ZO C AV OLIVER GOOCH A conductor of considerable versatility, Oliver has conducted many of the UK's leading orchestras including the LPO, Philharmonia, Hallé, BBCSO, RPO, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and Northern Sinfonia. In growing demand internationally, he has made acclaimed debuts with the Queensland Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, New York Sinfonietta, and Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali. Recent opera work on three continents includes the US premiere of Šárka (New York), Die Zauberflöte (Milan) and L'isola disabitata (Australia), nominated for ‘Best Opera’ in the Helpmann Awards. Following the founding of Opera East Productions as Artistic Director (receiving a Sky Arts South Bank Award), he came to attention as the first Royal Opera House Associate Conductor (YAP) in a position specially created for him by Antonio Pappano. He was Music Director for Raymond Gubbay’s arena operas in the Royal Albert Hall (La bohème/Madama Butterfly) and with Iford Arts, he has been Music Director since 2005 and Artistic Director since 2019.
NOCTIS We are delighted to welcome for the first time Noctis, a semiprofessional, awardwinning chamber choir based in the beautiful city of Bath, UK. Founded and directed by Francis Faux, the group consists of musicians from a variety of musical backgrounds, many of which have studied or are studying at Royal Conservatoires and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. This rich tapestry of experience enables the choir to perform a wide range of material to a high choral and vocal standard. Their repertoire includes traditional choral music as well as contemporary arrangements of popular songs, film scores and jazz standards.
He balances his freelance engagements with the position of Director of the Blyth Centre for Music and Visual Arts at Imperial College London.
Recent seasons include Augusto in Leoncavallo’s Zazà with the BBC Syphony Orchestra at the Barbican (also recorded by Opera Rara), Tibrino in Cesti’s Orontea and Fabio in Handel’s Berenice with La Nuova Musica at the Wigmore Hall, Gluck’s Philemon e Baucis and Arne’s Judgment of Paris, and La Scala di Seta and later his debut as Rodolfo with Scottish Opera in 2017, and of course Macduff Macbeth for Iford Arts.
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