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Home , David Blake (composer), David Pountney, Flight (opera), Jonathan Dove, Judith Weir, Lisa Gasteen

WED 02 - MON 07 DEC

RNCM LEOŠ JANÁČEK WED 02, FRI 04, MON 07 DEC | 7.30PM SUN 06 DEC | 3PM RNCM THEATRE

LEOŠ JANÁČEK The CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN

The Cunning Little Vixen Music by Leoš Janáček by Leoš Janáček based on the novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek, translated by Translation © David Pountney Used with permission of David Pountney. All Rights Reserved.

3 SYNOPSIS CAST

THE ADVENTURES OF THE VIXEN BYSTROUŠKA Emyr Jones*, Ross Cumming** Forester Act I Pasquale Orchard*, Alicia Cadwgan** Vixen Sharp-Ears How they caught Bystrouška Georgia Mae Ellis*, Melissa Gregory** Fox Goldenmane Bystrouška in the courtyard of Lake Lodge Philip O’Connor*, Gabriel Seawright** Schoolmaster/Mosquito Bystrouška in politics Liam Karai*, George Butler** Priest/Badger Bystrouška gets the hell out Ema Rose Gosnell*, Lila Chrisp** Forester’s Wife/Owl Ranald McCusker*, Samuel Knock** Rooster/Mr Pásek Act II Sarah Prestwidge*, Zoë Vallée** Chocholka/Mrs Pásek Bystrouška dispossesses William Kyle*, Thomas Ashdown** Harašta Bystrouška's love affairs Rebecca Anderson Lapák Bystrouška's courtship and love Lorna Day Woodpecker Katy Allan Vixen as a Cub Interval Georgia Curwen Frantík/Cricket Emily Varney Pepík/Frog Act III Anastasia Bevan Grasshopper/Jay Bystrouška outran Harašta from Líšeň How the Vixen Bystrouška died RNCM OPERA CHORUS DANCER FOX CUBS The baby Bystrouška - the spitting image of her mother Lleucu Brookes Jade Carty Lleucu Brookes Jade Carty Jade Carty Dominic Carver HENS Abigail Jenkins James Connolly Louise Ashdown Billie McCaffrey CREATIVE TEAM Thomas Coyle Sasja Haeck Hope Rodenhurst Joby Dixon Hebe Hamilton Elena Whiteley Mitchell Greengrass Taylor Verity Williams Nicholas Kok conductor Abigail Jenkins Nikki Martin Alice Yeoman Sam Brown director Iona Kay Ahlyssa Mundy Kaapo Ijas (Mills Williams Junior Fellow in Conducting)*** assistant conductor Billie McCaffrey Emily Noon Naomi Kuyck-Cohen designer Daniel Nardone Morgana Warren-Jones Joshua Gadsby lighting designer Phoebe Palmer Morgann Runacre-Temple choreographer Armand Rabot Christopher Pulleyn (Sir John Fisher Foundation Junior Fellow) repetiteur Hope Rodenhurst Kevin Thraves chorus master Elena Whiteley Tom Wilks Verity Williams SCHOOL OF VOCAL STUDIES AND OPERA Alice Yeoman

* Wednesday 2 December and Sunday 6 December Professor Lynne Dawson Head of Vocal Studies and Opera ** Friday 4 December and Monday 7 December Sara Fulgoni Deputy Head of Vocal Studies *** Monday 7 December Kevin Thraves Deputy Head of Opera James Kelly School of Vocal Studies and Opera Administrator

4 5 NICHOLAS KOK

Nicholas Kok is a very versatile Köln, Oper Leipzig, Staatstheater musician and conductor. In both the Stuttgart, Teatro Sao Carlos Lisbon, concert hall and the opera house he Coliseu Porto, Opera Factory, Opera St has conducted numerous world and Louis and English Touring Opera. He British premières by composers such as has worked with numerous Birtwistle, Holt, Maxwell Davies, Reich, and ensembles throughout Europe Turnage and Xenakis. He has served and has appeared at many festivals as Principal Conductor and Artistic including the BBC Proms, Edinburgh, CREATIVE Advisor to Psappha and Sinfonia Viva, Huddersfield and Zürich Contemporary and in 2012/13 he was Principal Guest Music Festivals. His own compositions Conductor of the WDR Rundfunk have been recorded for television in the Chor. He enjoys a very close working UK. Nicholas’ reworking of King Arthur relationship with the BBC Singers. has been recorded by JOIN at Oper TEAM Nicholas has conducted an extremely Stuttgart, and his Chamber Opera The varied repertoire in the opera house, Waste…….no land will be performed ranging from Monteverdi to Turnage. by the students at the Stuttgart Companies he has worked for include Opernschule in January. This is his , , second production with the RNCM. Staatstheater Braunschweig, Oper

6 7 SAM BROWN KAAPO IJAS

Sam Brown is a stage director based France, he directed the world première Kaapo Ijas (b.1988) is the Mills Williams NEO, Swedish Army Band, Helsinki in London. He read Classics at Oxford of The Importance of Being Earnest by Junior Fellow in Conducting at the Police band and numerous other and completed the MFA in Theatre Gerald Barry (Opera Now magazine’s Royal Northern College of Music. project ensembles and choirs during Directing at Birkbeck College, Première of the Year: 12/13 season) and He has been fiercely interested in masterclasses and in concerts. In 2019 London. He was assistant director at Candide by Leonard Bernstein. Recent composing, performance, drama, Ijas made his debut concerts with West Yorkshire Playhouse and staff productions have included Peter group dynamics and the Guards Band Helsinki and Lappenranta director for Opera North. In 2011, with Brook’s chamber version of itself for all his life. In 2012 it led him city orchestra. designer Annemarie Woods, he won for the Wermland Opera, Sweden, to conducting studies first in Sibelius the European Opera Directing Prize and a European tour of for the Academy then Zürcher Hochschule der Ijas has been invited to various and the Ring Award where they won Swedish Chamber Orchestra with Künste and ultimately Royal College prestigious masterclasses including all available prizes. He was a board Thomas Dausgaard. of Music in Stockholm where he Gstaad Menuhin Festival 2018 with member of SDUK 2015-17, and as chair graduated from in spring of 2017. Jaap van Zweden, Riccardo Muti of its opera committee he devised and Sam co-wrote the libretto for The Opera Academy 2017 in Ravenna, managed a professional development Water Palace by Stephen Shulman His teachers during his studies and the 8th Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich training programme in opera directing (Tête a Tête Opera Festival, London), masterclasses include Jorma Panula, masterclass with David Zinman in association with the National Opera which he also directed, and was Johannes Schlaefli, Jaap van Zweden, in 2017 and Järvi Academy with Studio. Since 2016 he has been Artistic commissioned by the Grange Festival Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo and Neeme Järvi in 2016. He Associate at Wilton’s Music Hall. In to write an original text for Elena David Zinman, Neeme and Paavo Järvi was semifinalist in Donatella Flick August 2016 he participated in the Langer: Trotsky and Kahlo. He is and Atso Almila. Ijas has conducted Conducting Competition 2016 as well Opera Europa Opera Management currently under commission by the i.a. BBC Philharmonic, Tonhalle- as in Lovro von Matačić competition in Course in Bregenz. Danish Arts Council to co-write an Orchester Zürich, Tapiola , 2019 and among the top 7 in Cadaqués original libretto with Niels Brunse on Norrköping SO, South Jutland SO, Conducting Competition 2017. In 2018 Sam has directed plays, musicals and the subject of Christopher Marlowe for Musikkollegium Winterthur, Gävle Ijas was selected as 24 conductors from across Europe including at Andy Pape ( Scenen, Helsingor), Symfoniorkester, Kurpfälzisches 566 applicants to take part in Nikolai English National Opera, Welsh National and is developing an original musical. Kammerorchester (Mannheim), Hradec Malko competition in Copenhagen Opera, , Residenz In December 2013 he was profiled by Kralove Philharmonia, KMH Symphony and won the 3rd prize in Jorma Panula Theater, Munich, Schauspielhaus and Opera magazine in their Directors Orchestra, Seinäjoki City Orchestra, Conducting Competition in Vaasa. Opera Graz, Theater an der Wien, and Edition alongside Graham Vick, Barrie KammarensembleN, Norrbotten Grand Théâtre de Genève. For the Kosky and Patrice Chereau. Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy, slbrown.co.uk

8 9 NAOMI KUYCK-COHEN MORGANN RUNACRE-TEMPLE

Naomi is a designer for performance, Traverse Theatre), Nightclubbing (The Morgann began choreographing at Storyhouse Chester). For opera: Barber​ and trained at Wimbledon College of Lowry and tour), OUT (Curve Theatre school, winning the Central School of of Seville ​(Grande Theatre Geneve, Art. She also co-designs set, costume, and tour), The Tyler Sisters (Hampstead Ballet Choreography Award in 2002 WNO). She​ has created over 10 works and lighting with Joshua Gadsby. Theatre), Trigger Warning (Tate Modern and 2003. for Ballet Ireland since 2005, including and Tour), And Yet It Moves (Young five full-length ballets: ​Cinderella ​ Co-designs include: There is a Light Vic Taking Part), The Tempest (Royal She has made work for Northern (2009),​ Romeo & Juliet (2010), ​ that Never Goes Out: Scenes from the Exchange Theatre Young Company), Ballet, , English National Scheherazade​ (2011), ​Carmen (2013) Luddite Rebellion (Royal Exchange F*ck You Pay Me (The Bunker), In Ballet​, ​Stuttgart Ballet, Ballet Central, a n d ​​ Coppelia (2015).​ Theatre), Trap Street (Schaubühne, My Dreams I Dream I’m Dreaming The Print Room, Images of Dance, and New Diorama), Dinomania (New (Theatre Royal Plymouth), Passin’ Thru Royal Ballet Participation, BBC Young Morgann performed as a dancer for Diorama), Trainers: Or The Brutal (Lyric Hammersmith), Feast (Battersea Dancer of the Year and Wilton's Music companies including Rosie Kay Dance Unpleasant Atmosphere of this Most Arts Centre and Tour). Hall. I​n partnership with Jessica Company and the Curve Foundation. Disagreeable Season (Gate Theatre), Wright, she directs and choreographs She trained at Central School of Ballet Dreamplay (Vaults). dance films. Credits include: Curing and London Contemporary Dance Albrecht (English​ National Ballet and School and was a recipient of Dance Designs include: in a word (Young Manchester International Festival, East Rural Retreat Award for Future Vic), Amsterdam (The Orange Tree, BBC iPlayer), ​The Last Resort (ENB Dance Leaders 16/17. She recently Actors Touring Company, and Theatre and Tate Liverpool), ​The Try Out directed Scottish Ballet’s first Feature Royal Plymouth), The Greatest Play (C4 Random Acts). film The Secret Theatre with Jessica in the History Of The World (Trafalgar Wright, due for release this Christmas. Studios, Royal Exchange Theatre, and As movement director/choreographer morgannrunacre-temple.com theatre credits include: ​Hamlet (National Theatre Schools Tour), Persuasion (Royal​ Exchange), JOSHUA GADSBY Assistant choreographer for Ivo Van Hove’s production of ​Lazarus (Kings​ Cross Theatre),​ random/generations, ​ Joshua trained at Royal Central School Credits as lighting designer include: in Chich (Festival Theatre, ​The Crucible, ​ of Speech and Drama and primarily a word (), The Tyler Sisters, works as a lighting designer. He also Alligators and R and D (all Hampstead co-designs set, costume and lighting Theatre), The Slightly Annoying with Naomi Kuyck-Cohen. Elephant (Little Angel and Tour), The Leftovers (Leicester Curve and Tour), Credits as co-designer: Trainers: Or Consensual, I Won’t Make it My Own The Brutal Unpleasant Atmosphere (Nuffield Southampton), A Dangerous Of This Most Disagreeable Season Woman (Birmingham Rep and Tour), (The Gate), There is a Light that Never Half Life (ARC and Tour), A Kettle of Goes Out: Scenes from the Luddite Fish, VS, Ponyboy Curtis: At the Yard Rebellion (Royal Exchange), Trap Street (The Yard), Still Ill (New Diorama), (Schaubühne and New Diorama), Cymbeline King of Britain, The Three Dinomania (New Diorama), Sisters, The Sound & The Fury, The Dreamplay (Vaults). Devils, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mary Stuart (all Royal Central).

10 11 CHRISTOPHER PULLEYN KEVIN THRAVES

Christopher Pulleyn is the Junior Fellow Roadshow for the Tête à Tête Festival, As a freelance repetiteur, Kevin has Berlioz’s Grande Messe des Morts, Répétiteur at the RNCM for 2019- and performed continuo for The Selfish worked for many leading opera Cellier’s Dorothy and Britten’s Peter 2021, acting as principal Répétiteur Giant, an original production for the companies including , Grimes released by Chandos, EMI and for the college’s opera productions, Children’s Chorus, adapting arias and Opera North, , Naxos. Kevin’s UK concert appearances including Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues recitative from Handel operas, to a English National Opera, Essential include , The Purcell des Carmélites, and ’s story by Oscar Wilde. Scottish Opera, Clonter Opera, Room, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, St . He studied English Batignano Musica nel Chiostro (Italy), John’s Smith Square, St Martin in-the- Literature at York University, after Christopher is also the pianist-in- Scottish Opera-Go-Round and the Fields, The Royal Albert Hall, St David’s which he gradually developed a career residence for Greenhead College, Buxton International Festival. He has Hall in Cardiff and The Bridgewater Hall as a collaborative pianist, and has Huddersfield, whose music also worked alongside many of the in Manchester. gone on work with a number of major department attracts some of the UK’s leading orchestras including the arts organisations around the country most talented young musicians Hallé, the BBC Concert Orchestra - Kevin has a busy and varied recital including Opera North, Glyndebourne, from around the region, and who during season at the Royal career which has led to performances Sage Gateshead, the Hallé, BBC, Leeds subsequently go on to study at the top Albert Hall, the BBC Philharmonic, at many of the leading international Lieder and Huddersfield Choral Society. music conservatoires around the UK. Manchester Camerata, The Academy music festivals including Wratislavia He is also a regular accompanist and of Ancient Music and the London Cantans (Poland), Longborough He has worked regularly with Opera coach at Leeds Conservatoire and the Philharmonic Orchestra under the Festival Opera (UK), Making Music North on their many outreach and University of Hull. direction of Sir , Barry (Malta), Culture and Charity Festival education programmes, and has Wordsworth, Sir Richard Armstrong, (Jordan), Festival de Musique d’Uzerche been involved in recent productions Chris is Assistant Musical Director Tugan Sokhiev, Sir Neville Marriner, (France) and the Mananan International including The Magic , Cavalleria of Bradford Festival Choral Society Richard Bonynge and Edward Gardner. Festival of Music and the Arts (IOM). rusticana, Pagliacci, and the UK and works regularly with some of the Premiere of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night. largest choral societies around the Kevin’s work as an accompanist, Kevin is Deputy Head of Opera at the He worked regularly with Opera area. In 2018 he worked with Simon repetiteur and chorus master has led RNCM where he has worked on many North’s Ensembles, playing and Halsey and the BBC Proms Youth Choir to his involvement in many recordings of the award-winning operas as music assisting on a number of projects and for a performance of Beethoven’s 9th and broadcasts. Recently released staff, repetiteur and as the RNCM productions including ’s Symphony and a new commission by recordings he has been involved with Opera chorus master. Down in The Valley for the Aberdeen Eriks Esenvalds. include Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, International Youth Festival, Stephen Deazley’s Dr Ferret’s Bad Medicine

12 13 FORESTER

EMYR JONES ROSS CUMMING Emyr Lloyd Jones is a 24-year-old Scottish Ross Cumming baritone studying for a Master of is studying for a Master’s of Music Music degree with Quentin Hayes, at the RNCM with Matthew Best, upported by the Drapers’ de Turckheim kindly supported by the D’Oyly Carte Scholarship and Francis Higgins Award. Charitable Trust and John Nicol Trust. At the RNCM he has performed in in the chorus of Handel’s Theodora and Ross had been selected to be on the CAST Massenet’s Cendrillon, and as Pinellino Young Artist Programme at the Buxton in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Obstinate International Opera Festival (2020 in Vaughn Williams’ The Pilgrim's postponed season). He looks forward Progress and Officier in Poulenc’s to rescheduled performances with the Dialogues des Carmelites. Emyr will Opera North Youth Company as Count also be performing the role of Steward Heinrich in Judith Weir’s The Black in the Spring term production of Spider and to performing Guglielmo Jonathan Dove’s . in the Cumbria Opera Festival's production of Così fan tutte.

14 15 VIXEN SHARP-EARS FOX GOLDENMANE

PASQUALE ORCHARD ALICIA CADWGAN GEORGIA MAE ELLIS MELISSA GREGORY New Zealand Pasquale was Alicia Cadwgan is a New Zealand Georgia Mae is a postgraduate mezzo- Australian born mezzo-soprano, a 2019 Dame Malvina Major Emerging soprano who recently completed her soprano studying with Mary Plazas, Melissa Gregory, is completing a artist with NZ Opera and graduated Master of Music with Distinction and is generously supported by the Drake PGDip: Advanced Studies in Musical from the New Zealand School of Music currently studying for a Postgraduate Calleja Trust and The Annie Ridyard Performance with Susan Roper. with Master’s of Musical Arts in 2019. Diploma with Susan Roper. Like many Scholarship for Mezzo . She She has performed in Australia and In 2018 Pasquale was the PACANZ musicians, Alicia had numerous was also the recipient of this year’s internationally as a soloist with Opera National Young Performer of the Year engagements cancelled this year Frederic Cox Award for Singing. Queensland, Lyric Opera Studio and was a finalist in the IFAC Handa including: Mary Crawford in Dove’s Weimar, the Song Company, the Australian Singing competition, Mansfield Park (RNCM), Mabel in Georgia Mae has performed many roles Queensland Choir, Sunshine Coast receiving a full tuition scholarship for Pirates of Penzance (National G&S at the RNCM, including Mère Marie Chorale Society and the Bach Society the Master’s programme at the Royal Company) and Aunt in Madame in Orpha Phelan’s 2019 production of Queensland. Melissa has won Northern College of Music where she Butterly (Hallé). of Dialogues des Carmèlites, and national prizes in Australia and the UK. graduated with Distinction in 2020. Suor Zelatrice in Suor Angelica and Recently, Melissa was the recipient of Currently completing her Postgraduate Last year, she won the Joyce and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicci, directed the prestigious Annie Ridyard Award, Diploma, Pasquale is generously Michael Kennedy Award for the by Robert Chevara in 2018. She also the Peter Heath Award, the James supported by the José and Rafton Singing of Strauss. Alicia gratefully covered the role of Mrs Jedermann and Mary Glass Scholarship at the Smallwood Award and the Lady Maria acknowledges the Maurice and Jean in ’s Scoring a Century RNCM and the National Fisher Scholarship. Buckley Award and Dame Eva Turner for British Youth Opera last summer. Opera School 10th Anniversary Award that she has received towards She is looking forward to joining the Grant Initiative. her study. Glyndebourne Chorus for their 2021 Season.

16 17 SCHOOLMASTER/MOSQUITO PRIEST/BADGER

PHILIP O’CONNOR GABRIEL SEAWRIGHT LIAM KARAI GEORGE BUTLER Philip’s main musical education began Gabriel is a postgraduate Liam Karai is a British -baritone George is a fourth year bass-baritone at Wells Cathedral School. In 2016, he studying with Paul Nilon, supported studying for a Master’s of Music in studying under Matthew Best. In 2019, graduated from Manchester University by the Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust and Performance, supported by the Sir he undertook the role of Apollyon in gaining a First in Solo Performance the Hargreaves and Ball Trust. At the John Tomlinson Scholarship. He the RNCM’s production of The Pilgrim’s under Andrew Heggie. He is currently RNCM, he has worked with The King’s completed his undergraduate degree Progress and over the past five years on the RNCM’s PGDip course after Singers and RNCM Chamber Choir, at the University of Leicester reading has performed in various opera gaining a Distinction in his Master’s sang in the chorus of Street Scene and Banking and Finance whilst on a vocal choruses with different companies, and is being taught by Nicholas Così fan tutte, performed as a Guide scholarship. He is currently under including Dorset Opera Festival Powell. His studies are generously in La Vie Parisienne and as the Le the tutelage of Quentin Hayes and and Manchester Contemporary supported by South Square Trust and Premier Commissaire in Dialogues des past roles/scenes include Figaro, Don Youth Opera. With Manchester the John Halsall Scholarship. His next Carmélites. Gabriel has also worked Giovanni and Baculus. Next term Liam Contemporary Youth Opera, he also major role with be that of Bill in RNCM externally, singing for Northern Ireland is playing the Minskman in RNCM had the privilege of performing the Opera’s Spring production of Flight by Opera’s Flying Dutchman, covering Opera’s spring production of Flight. title role in the première of Shiki. He is Jonathan Dove. Basilio in Longborough Festival Opera’s very glad to be back on the stage after Le nozze di Figaro, and performing at a long intermission. the BBC Proms. Gabriel returned to Longborough last year to sing First Armed Man in Die Zauberflote.

18 19 FORESTER’S WIFE/OWL ROOSTER/MR PÁSEK

EMA ROSE GOSNELL LILA CHRISP RANALD MCCUSKER SAMUEL KNOCK Ema is a Czech/Australian mezzo- Lila is a first-year MMus singer at the Ranald started singing from an early Based in Manchester since 2016, soprano from Perth, Western Australia. RNCM, studying with Louise Winter. age, with his first operatic experience Sam is a tenor studying for an MMus She is currently in her second year of She graduated in 2017 with a First Class coming at four as Sorrow in Madame in Performance with Peter Wilson, postgraduate studies with Mary Plazas degree in music from Merton College, Butterfly. He is currently studying generously supported by the RNCM, at the RNCM, and received her BMus Oxford, where she took lead roles in towards his Master’s degree with Paul Neville Whitbread Award & Richard from the Western Australian Academy several operas, including Nancy, Albert Nilon. Ranald works regularly with a Newitt Fund. During his RNCM study of Performing Arts (WAAPA). Previous Herring; Dorabella, Così fan tutte; and number of opera festivals throughout he played the roles of Mr Rushworth highlights have included performing Annio, La Clemenza di Tito. Also a keen the UK and Ireland, including The in Mansfield Park (Dove), Wordly excerpts of Carmen with the Hallé for song performer, she was the winner of Grange Festival, Wexford Festival Glory and Tenor Solo in The Pilgrim’s Hallé for Youth (2020), the alto soloist the AESS Courtney Kenny competition Opera, Buxton Opera, Scottish Opera Progress (Vaughan Williams) and in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater (2019), for English Song and Poetry 2018 and and Dorset Opera. Recent oratorio Baron Kronthal in Der Wildschutz and Prince Charmant in Massenet’s has performed in the London Song work includes the tenor solos in (Lortzing/RNCM Opera Scenes). Cendrillon (2018). Ema Rose is very Festival. Handel’s , Haydn’s Creation much looking forward to performing and Mozart’s . the role of the Stewardess in RNCM’s spring production of Jonathan Dove’s Flight and is generously supported in her studies as an ABRSM International Scholar.

20 21 CHOCHOLKA/MRS PÁSEK HARAŠTA

SARAH PRESTWIDGE ZOË VALLÉE WILLIAM KYLE THOMAS ASHDOWN Sarah is an aboriginal Australian Zoë Vallée is a Canadian soprano William is a first year postgraduate Thomas is a first-year postgraduate soprano who studied for a Bachelor currently studying for a Master of Music baritone studying with Quentin Hayes, studying with Peter Alexander Wilson. of Music (Education) at Sydney in Performance. She is the recipient kindly supported by the D’Oyly Carte He is a lyric baritone, singing repertoire Conservatorium of Music. Her operatic of a scholarship made possible by Charitable Trust. At the RNCM, he has ranging from Mozart to Stravinsky. He highlights include, Suor Angelica, the Jacob Marsland Award and played Herald in The Pilgrim’s Progress, has had chorus roles in The Pilgrims Gypsy Baron, Le nozze di Figaro, the Kenneth Hedley Bequest. Zoë Le Geôlier in Dialogues des Carmélites Progress, Cendrillon and Silent Night HMS Pinafore and A Midsummer completed her Bachelor’s degree at and will take the role of Steward in the with Opera North, in addition to Night’s Dream. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Spring production of Flight. This year singing minor roles in scenes from Her recent credits include, Gretel William was a finalist in the Frederic and Street Scene. Thomas is Sarah has sung in orchestral works, in Humperdink’s Hansel und Gretel Cox Award for Singing and the Betty generously supported by the Richard including Orff’s Carmina Burana, and and Zerlina in Mozart’s . Bannerman French Song Prize. Newitt Fund and Paul and Eileen has enjoyed being a Young Artist with In 2021 Zoë will play the role of the Blackburn, who sponsor the Alice Orrell Pacific Opera. She is now completing Controller in RNCM Opera’s production and A&N Kendall Award. a Master of Music supported by an of Jonathan Dove’s Flight. ABRSM Scholarship and is also the recipient of the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship.

22 23 LAPÁK WOODPECKER VIXEN AS A CUB FRANTÍK/CRICKET

REBECCA ANDERSON LORNA DAY KATY ALLAN GEORGIA CURWEN Rebecca is a Scottish mezzo-soprano Lorna is a postgraduate mezzo- Katy is a third-year undergraduate Georgia is a third year undergraduate studying with Susan Roper. Recent soprano studying with Jane Irwin, studying with Antonia Sotgiu. Last soprano studying with Antonia Sotgiu. opera credits have included Sœur Anne generously supported by the Headley year, she performed at the Buxton Before coming to this role, she enjoyed de la Croix in Dialogues des Carmélites Trust, Help Musicians UK Postgraduate Opera House as a soloist with the performing in the chorus of RNCM (RNCM Opera); Noémie in Cendrillon Award and the Sir Richard Stapley Burbage Band in the annual Boxing Opera’s 2019 production of Poulenc’s (Fife Opera); and Mrs Grose in The Turn Educational Trust. Lorna graduated Day concert. The young soprano Dialogues des Carmélites. Georgia’s of the Screw (Byre Opera). from the RNCM with a First Class represented Chetham’s School of performance highlights include BMus (Hons) degree in 2019. Music – where she studied for her featuring in the BBC’s 2019 Christmas Earlier in 2020 she won the Emmanuel sixth form – as a soloist at the 2017 special Mimi and the Dragon with the Prize at the RNCM for an outstanding During her studies has was highly Greenwich International Early Music Hallé Choir and working with Anna recital of art song and is delighted to commended in the Frost/Brownson Festival. Katy has performed at the Meredith at the BBC First Night of be taking on the role of Minskwoman Song Cycle Competition and a finalist Royal Albert Hall, Bridgewater Hall and the Proms in 2018 beside the National in the RNCM’s Spring production of in the Joyce and Michael Kennedy Royal Festival Hall as part of several Youth Choir of Great Britain. Flight by Jonathan Dove. Award for the Singing of Strauss, and prestigious choirs. won the Elsie Thurston Prize.

24 25 PEPÍK/FROG GRASSHOPPER/JAY TECHNICAL TEAM

Nick Ware Head of Digital, Technical and Production Paul Botham Production Manager Greg Skipworth Company Manager Tracey Collinson Stage Manager Sarah Taylor Kent Deputy Stage Manager Louise Morgan Assistant Stage Manager Steven Davies Deputy Technical Manager (Production) Julie Parker Deputy Technical Manager (Lighting) Steve Barrington Deputy Technical Manager (Stage) Elaine Needham Wardrobe Manager Rebecca Parkes Deputy Wardrobe Manager Joanna Shepstone Hair and Make-Up Supervisor

EMILY VARNEY ANASTASIA BEVAN Emily is a fourth-year soprano studying Anastasia is being generously with Hilary Summers. An experienced supported by the Alice Orwell and the ensemble and solo performer, Emily A & N Kendall awards and is in her first is part of ’s Young Artist year of Postgraduate studies at RNCM. programme, Genesis Sixteen 2019/20, She is also a recipient of the Dame Eva and was recently engaged as soloist Turner prize 2020. Anastasia comes for Handel’s Dixit Dominus with Musica from a large musical family and is a Poetica and Haydn’s Nelson Mass for member of the Bevan Family Consort masterclasses at the RNCM. which consists of 16 first cousins. She will be singing the role of ‘Tina’ in Emily made her RNCM operatic début Jonathon Dove’s Flight with RNCM as Chorus in Vaughan William’s The Opera in March 2021. Pilgrims Progress and is stepping into her first roles as Pepík and Frog.

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