Where Are They Now? 2012
MARTA FONTANALS-SIMMONS – Mezzo Soprano – 2012
Marta performed the role of Hansel in Clonter’s 2012 production of Hansel and Gretel. Studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Marylin Rees, Marta was the winner of the 2011 Maurene Lehane Vocal Award, runner-up for the 2011 Thelma King Award, and finalist in the Hampshire Singing Competition. She has performed as a soloist at Barbican Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields and St John’s Smith Square. Recordings include Harvey’s Songs of Li Po for BBC Radio 3, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Holst’s The Coming of Christ with the Holst Orchestra. Recent opera experience includes Kate Pinkerton Madama Butterfly (Grange Park Opera 2012), Eva Comedy on the Bridge (Minotaur Music Theatre 2011) and Lucretia The Rape of Lucretia (British Youth Opera 2011). In 2012, Marta performed the role of Ruggiero Orlando generoso at The Barber Opera. Marta is proud to be a Susan Chilcott Scholar and Concordia Foundation Artist.
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Click here to watch Milton Court 2016 – Fantoches – Debussy
Click here to watch Milton Court 2016 – Suleika I – Schubert
RAPHAELA PAPADAKIS – Soprano – 2012 & 2013
Raphaela played Gretel in Clonter’s 2012 production of Hansel and Gretel, returning to Clonter to win the Opera Prize in 2013, and performing in the Opera Gala later that same year. In 2014 she made her professional operatic début at Garsington Opera as Bathilde, Offenbach’s Vert-vert, as well as her song recital début at Carnegie Hall New York. Also Raphaela covered the Nymph in Michael Boyd’s production of Orfeo for the Royal Opera House, and the London première of Nicola LeFanu’s Tokaido Road, for which Raphaela created the role of the spurned geisha Kikuyo for the world première, Cheltenham Festival. Raphaela sang the role of Ann in the British première of Simon Vosecek’s Biedermann and The Arsonists, and won 1st Prize at the National Mozart Competition. Rafaela has recently completed the English National Opera’s training scheme for young artists, and gone on to cover at the Royal Opera House, and perform at the Berlin Staatsoper. Recent roles include the cover of the title role in Cavalli’s Hipermestraat Glyndebourne Fesitval Opera and Orestilla in Porpora’s L’Agrippina in its British premiere with Barber Opera. Recent and future plans include Haydn’s Creation with Paul McCreesh, performances with Multi-Story at the Aldeburgh Festival, creating the role of Doria Manfredi in a new play about Puccini’s life called Il letto by Christopher Hogg, a Helios Collective production for the Buxton, Copenhagen and Grimeborn Opera Festivals, and concerts of French song with Tom Poster, Elena Urioste and the Navarra Quartet at the Roman River Festival, recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Click here to watch Raphaela Papadakis – Jonathan Dove – Adelaide’s aria from The Enchanted Pig
BEN MCATEER – Baritone – 2012
Since performing the role of the Father in Hansel and Gretel, whilst still at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, performed the roles of Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro and Des Grieux in Massenet’s Le Portrait de Manon. Other performances have included Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for Opera Holland Park, and converts with LSO and the Ulster Orchestra, including a world première of Mark Anthony Turnage’s At Sixes & Sevens as part of the City of London Festival. Ben went on to the National Opera Studio.
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Click here to watch Welsh National Opera 2017 – Brüderlien, Die Fledermaus
Click here to watch The Big Bang! INO Inaugural Concert, January 2018
Click here to watch The Marriage of Figaro: An interview with Sir Thomas Allen and Ben McAteer 2016
HELEN ANNE GREGORY – Mezzo Soprano – 2012
Since performing the role of the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, Helen went on to take part in much concert work, the highlight of which was performing Wesendonck Lieder at the Bridgewater Hall, She went on to sing in the Chorus for Garsington Opera in the UK première of Rossini’s Il Maometto Secondo and covering the role of the Witch in their production of Hansel and Gretel.
ELINOR ROLFE JOHNSON – Soprano – 2012
Since performing the role of the Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel, Elinor went on to perform in a number of venues, including Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, St. George’s Hanover Square and the Theatre Royal Glasgow. She has toured with Avner Biron and the Israel Camerata and performed on two occasions at the London Handel Festival 2013. Over the following year, Elinor performed the roles of Drusilla L’inoronazione di Poppea, Tytania A Midsummer Night’s Dream – both for the Roayl Conservatoire of Scotland – and Ismene Orpheus for trhe Classical Opera Company. As a RCS scholarship holder, she was also generously supported by the Russell Sheppard Trust Vocal Scholarship and the Richard Stapely Trust. Future engagements included Susanna Le nozze di Figaro for Hampstead Garden Opera, Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers with the Anton Bruckner Choir at St John’s Smith Square, and Elinor reached the Quarter Finals of the Wigmore Song Competition.
MAGDALENA MOLENDOWSKA – Soprano – 2012
Since performing the role of Mother in Hansel and Gretel, Madgalena won the Gold Medal at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, making her debut in leading roles in tow major opera houses in Poland, including the Polish National Opera. She appeared in two other GSMD opera productions as Anita in La navarraise and Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. She went on to complete a full season contract with Glyndebourne Festival.
ANUSH HOVHANNISYAN – Soprano – 2012
Since winning the Clonter Opera Prize in 2012, and performing in the Opera Gala of the same year, Anush joined the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme, Covent Garden. In 2014 Anush won the 1st Prize in Concours Suisse Ernst Haefliger International Competition. As a Jette Parker Young Artist she performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2013-2015, and has worked under the direction of renowned conductors such as Jonathan Santagada, Renato Balsadonna, Semyon Bychkov, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Nicola Luisotti, Daniel Oren, Mark Wigglesworth, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Sir Antonio Pappano. Anush is the winner of First and Public Prizes, Deutsche Grammophon and Royal Danish Opera special prizes at the 2016 Stella Maris Competition. Most recent and upcoming performances include Violetta Valery, La traviata, for Scottish Opera, Amaltea, Mose in Egitto, in Cadogan Hall, Berg Seven Early Songs and Beethoven Symphony No 9, with the Southbank Sinfonia, Strauss four Last Songs with Amicus Orchestra, and performing debut as Donna Anna, Don Giovanni, at New Generation Festival in Florence. Further to the unanimous praise on her debut as Violetta Valery La traviata, for Scottish Opera, Anush makes a house debut at the Welsh National Opera in 2018/2019 season in the same role. She will return to Welsh National Opera in 2020 as Hélène Les vêpres siciliennes and make her debut with Opera North as Musetta in the revival of Phillida Lloyd’s acclaimed staging of La bohème.
ELIN PRITCHARD – Soprano– 2011
Since performing the role of the Maid and cover of the title role Lucia di Lammermoor in 2011, she returned to take part in the Opera Gala in 2015. Welsh soprano Elin Pritchard is a graduate of the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and of London’s National Opera Studio. Her operatic roles include Violetta La traviata and Fiordiligi Così fan tutte for Den Jyske Opera, Kupava The Snow Maiden and Nedda Pagliacci for Opera North, Lucia Lucia di Lammermoor for Buxton Festival Opera (having first covered the role at Clonter in 2011), Donna Elvira Don Giovanni for the Finnish National Opera, Micaela Carmen for Mid Wales Opera, Female Chorus The Rape of Lucretia for British Youth Opera, and Musetta La bohème, Miss Jessel The Turn of the Screw, Nella Gianni Schicchi, Giorgetta Il tabarro and Stella I gioielli della Madonna for Opera Holland Park. For Scottish Opera, Elin has sung Donna Elvira Don Giovanni, Anne Trulove The Rake’s Progress, Violetta La traviata and First Dryad Rusalka. She sings regularly in concert, her repertoire including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruckner’s Mass in F Minor, Brahm’s Requiem, Dvořák’s Te Deum, Fauré’s Requiem, Gounod’s Messe Solennelle, Haydn’s St Nicholas Mass with the English Chamber Orchestra, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Mass in C Minor and Requiem, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony and Verdi’s Requiem.