ACADÉMIE ACADÉMI ACADÉM ACADÉ ACAD ACA AC A LIST OF PARTICIPANTS BIOGRAPHIES OPERA DE-CI DE-LÀ SEMINAR JUNE 15 — 16, 2020 OPERA DE-CI DE-LÀ SEMINAR The Académie du Festival d’Aix has adapted and developed new online training programs in order to continue to carry out its mission of training and accompanying young musicians in their professional development. Country borders currently pose a challenge to an artist’s mobility and so it becomes important to create new work spaces and meeting places which allow for the preservation of the vital links and intercultural dialogue at the heart of these programs. The training programs were created through a process of reflection and ongoing exchange with the artists and pedagogical experts who were initially involved in training sessions that were scheduled to take place in Aix during the 2020 edition of the Festival d’Aix. Through these newly adapted programs, the Académie du Festival d’Aix continues to defend its values which include artistic excellence, innovation, the expression of MENTOR PARTICIPANTS cultural diversity, and activities which promote social inclusion. ANTHONY HEIDWEILLER EVAN LAWSON — COMPOSER The Opera-de-ci de-là residency which was initially scheduled to take place from the SINGER AND ARTISTIC ASSOCIATED GEORDIE BROOKMAN — STAGE 25th to the 27th March and then from the 15th to the 20th June has been deferred to DIRECTOR OF THE OPERA FORWARD DIRECTOR 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic. Nevertheless, on the 15th and 16th June, the FESTIVAL OF AMSTERDAM ALBERTO MARTÍNEZ — BARITONE selected artists have been invited to participate remotely in an online seminar where FIONA MCGOWN — MEZZO-SOPRANO they will be able to reflect on the role of art in our society and on creating during times SIMONA CASTRIA — SAXOPHONE of crisis. The two day seminar will take place entirely online and will be led by the residency’s tutor Anthony Heidweiller with the participation of Frédérique Aït-Touati, AMY CRANKSHAW — COMPOSER th theatre director and historian specialized in 17 century literature and modern science. CARMEN C. KRUSE — STAGE DIRECTOR CHRISTIAN ANDREAS — BARITONE This seminar is supported by Ammodo and Total Foundation. MIMI DOULTON — SOPRANO FRANCISCO SALES — TROMBONE This Opera de-ci de-là residency is an residency. enoa (European Network of Opera Academies), which was founded by the Festival d’Aix BENJAMIEN LYCKE — COMPOSER and its Académie, was born in 2009 from the wish of a number of operatic institutions JOSIE DAXTER — STAGE DIRECTOR to work more closely together to support the professional integration of the young LAURE POISSONNIER — SOPRANO artists and to support the development of their artistic ambitions. HALIDOU NOMBRE — BARITONE With the backing of Creative Europe programme, enoa has been working to provide young artists with a first-rate training pathway using contemporary, multidisciplinary GOLFAM KHAYAM — COMPOSER approach to opera; to give them experience of performing and of the creative process; PAULINA PLATZER * — STAGE DIRECTOR and to support the development and dissemination of new operatic works which ANNA SCHORS — MEZZO-SOPRANO contribute to diversifying audiences. EIRA SJAASTAD HUSE — MEZZO- Thirteen members, over a thousand young artists and some three hundred SOPRANO professionals make up the enoa community. COLIN HELLER — NICKELHARPA Follow on @enoacommunity European network of opera academies - enoa enoa_community * Participant supported by institutions members of european-network-of-opera-academies enoa network: Theaterakademie August Everding – Munich www.enoa-community.com 3 MENTOR PARTICIPANT ANTHONY HEIDWEILLER EVAN LAWSON COMPOSER SINGER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AUSTRALIA THE NETHERLANDS Evan J. Lawson (born 1989) is one of Australia’s leading queer artists, working at the forefront of contemporary culture as composer, curator and conductor, chiefly as artistic director of Forest Collective. He is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He has studied with Benjamin Northey, Anthony Heidweiller is a baritone, operamaker, creator, inspirer and promoter of Richard Gill, Johanna Selleck, David Aronson (at the Wiener Staatsoper) and Matthias innovative opera concepts. Concepts such as participation and community arts are Pintscher (at Grafenegg Festival). He was composer-in-residence at Billilla Mansion central to much of his work. In 2001, he set up a Youth Opera Festival (YO! Opera) in 2015 and has completed developing artist programs with the Malthouse Theatre, to introduce opera to young people. In 2006, his Yo! Opera community arts project, Grafenegg Festival and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Opera on the Bus, won an award for “the most innovative event”. In 2008, Yo! Opera He has performed across Australia, Asia, Europe and the USA, working with a variety was awarded the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds prize for art education. In 2011, he of companies, such as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony received the Culture Award of the Municipality of Utrecht. Since 2012, he has been Orchestra, Tonkünstler Orchestra, Moravska Filharmonie, Forest Collective, ANAM artistic director of the Operamakers Foundation. In 2018, the music education Orchestra, Australian Youth Orchestra, Melbourne Youth Orchestra, Geelong Symphony project Vocal Statements of Operamakers has been nominated. Besides his own Orchestra, Density 512, Gertrude Opera, Performance Space, Ranters Theatre, company Operamakers, he is affiliated with institutions such as the Dutch National Prismatx Ensemble, Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra, Australian Children’s Choir Opera, Artistic Associate Director Opera Forward Festival (nominated in 2018 as the and Syzygy Ensemble, for Melbourne International Arts Festival, Metropolis New most important opera festival in the world), Artist in Residence Theaterschool and Music Festival, Grafenegg Festival (Austria), Dublin Theatre Festival, Sydney’s Mardi Conservatorium Amsterdam, Festival of Flanders Brussels and in Germany, RUHR Gras, Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, Melbourne Recital Centre, 2010. In March 2019, he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts Malthouse Theatre, CarriageWorks, Jinji Lake Concert hall (China), Midsumma Festival, and Sciences. the Universities of Melbourne, Paris, Texas and Oregon as well as SoundSCAPE New Music Festival (Italy). As opera conductor, he has performed Benjamin Britten’s Curlew River (Gertrude Opera, Linda Thompson dir.), Bizet’s Carmen (In Good Company, Greg Eldridge, dir.), Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea (Gertrude Opera, Yarra Valley Opera Festival, Gale Edwards AM dir.), Mozart’s The Magic Flute (Gertrude Opera, Linda Thompson dir.) and his own two operas Calypso (Forest Collective) and Orpheus (Forest Collective, Density 512 & Prismatx Ensemble). His practice goes beyond the standard concert hall to encompass various collaborative works including Nico with Cabaret sensation Danielle Asciak, the premiere of his dance-opera Orpheus with choreographer Ashley Dougan, fluttering hearts // thinking machines by pop music doyen Addison, Australian premiere of Holcombe Waller’s Requiem Mass: LGBT (Mardi Gras, Performance Space and Carriageworks) and Come Away with Me to the End of the World (by Adriano and Raymondo Cortese for Ranters Theatre, Malthouse Theatre and Dublin Theatre Festival). www.evanjlawson.com 4 5 PARTICIPANT PARTICIPANT GEORDIE BROOKMAN ALBERTO MARTÍNEZ STAGE DIRECTOR BARITONE AUSTRALIA SPAIN Geordie Brookman is one of Australia’s leading theatre and music theatre directors. From Spanish baritone Alberto Martínez studied flute and singing at the Conservatory of 2012 to 2019, he was the Artistic Director and Co-CEO of State Theatre Company South Salamanca, received a Master in opera performance at the Conservatory of Valencia Australia during which time he more than tripled the Company’s activity and instigated its and a Postgraduate diploma at the International Opera Academy in Ghent. He studied first three ever international tours. with David Menéndez, Deborah Polaski, Ofelia Sala, Javier San Miguel, Dietrich Since graduating from Flinders University Drama Centre, he has directed work around Henschel and Manuel Burgueras, among others. Australia, the United Kingdom and Asia. One of his latest productions for Frantic He has performed the roles of Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (Mozart), Nardo in La finta Assembly and the Lyric Hammersmith, Things I Know to Be True, recently enjoyed a return giardiniera (Mozart), Belcore in L’elisir d’amore (Donizetti), Schaunard in La Bohème four-month, sell-out season in the United Kingdom. His directing credits also include (Puccini), L’Horloge and Le Chat in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (Ravel), Le Dancaïre Machu Picchu, Kryptonite and Spring Awakening: The Musical (Sydney Theatre Company), in Carmen (Bizet), The Drunken Poet and The Winter in The Fairy Queen (Purcell), Animal Farm, The Gods of Strangers, Sense and Sensibility, In The Club, Vale, Macbeth, Uberto in La serva padrona (Pergolesi), Brundibár in Brundibár (Kràsa), Brabantische A Doll’s House, Betrayal, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Footfalls, The Importance of Edle in Lohengrin (Wagner), Golaud in Petit Pelléas (based on Pelléas et Mélisande by Being Earnest, Little Bird, The Seagull, Maggie Stone, Hedda Gabler, The Kreutzer Sonata, Debussy) and Beck in A Matter of Triumph and Void (based on Triumph of Spirit over Speaking In Tongues, romeo&juliet, Ghosts, Attempts on Her Life,