Cendrillon
Cendrillon
Costume Designs
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Cendrillon -
Cendrillon -
Dorothee -
La Fee -
Le Doyen de la Faculte -
Premier Ministre
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Le Roi -
Les Docteurs -
Les Ministres -
Madame Haltiere -
Noemie -
Pandolfe -
Prince Charmant
Cast
Cendrillon Yulia Simonova¹ / Susan Boyd²
Pandolfe James Arthur¹ / Nikolai Shamov²
Madame de la Haltière Olesya Petrova¹ / Elizabeth Key²
Noémie Helene Dahlberg
Dorothée Una McMahon
Le Prince Charmant Adam Magee
La Fée Elizabeth Traill¹ / Olga Pudova²
Le Roi Whitaker Mills
Le Doyen du Faculté Austin Gunn
Surintendant des plaisirs Douglas Nairne
Le Premier Ministre Anders Östberg
Esprits (Spirits)
Katie Bird
Alexandra Cassidy
Raquel de Castro Luis
Elysia Leech
Natalie Montakhab
Jane Wilkinson
Domestiques (Household Servants)
Anna Georgsdóttir
Emma Harper
Leah Hamilton
Aaron MacAuley
Douglas Nairne
Carlos Nogueira
Dominic Peckham
Hélene Racineux
Chorus
Terence Ayebare
Maria Brown
Heather Burns
Philip Curtis
Andrew Dickinson
Warren Gillespie
Barry McAleer
Dancers from Scottish Ballet Senior Associates Programme
Camille Burns
Victoria Byers
Thomas Cockayne
Andrew Darby
Sara Easton
Ainslie Hunter
Rebecca Mason
Kirsten McCarron
Eilidh McRae
Sarah Mollison
Victoria Paterson
Kirstie Steele
Katie Swinton
Jemma Taylor
Tanith Williamson
Synopsis
Act 1
Servants at the home of Madame de la Haltière are run ragged trying to keep up with her demands. Her put-upon husband, Pandolfe, dismisses them. Left alone, he curses his inability to stand up to her tyrannical behaviour, feeling terrible guilt for the pain his re-marriage has caused Lucette, his daughter. He slinks off when his step-daughters, Noémie and Dorothée burst in. Their mother reveals to them great news – they are to be presented to the King at the ball which is being hosted to find a wife for the Prince. An army of stylists prepare the two sisters for the ‘battle’ they are about to engage in for the Prince’s heart. Pandolfe has also got ready to go to the ball, but his efforts to win approval for his promptness are rewarded with abuse from both his wife and his step-daughters. As they leave, Lucette appears, upset at having to stay at home, yet resigned to her miserable fate as Cendrillon, the little ash girl. She falls asleep in an attempt to escape her misery. While asleep she is visited by a fairy who, with the aid of some spirits, dresses Lucette in a beautiful gown. Once awake, she is sent to the ball wearing glass shoes which will keep her identity concealed, with the injunction that she must return by midnight.
Act 2
At the palace the Prince is inconsolable. He had always believed he would meet a special woman with whom he would fall in love, but his father insists that he must choose a bride tonight, special or not. The entire court tries to cheer the Prince - The Master of Ceremonies tries to cajole him, the Doctors try to cure him, the Ministers try to legislate him into happiness – but all to no avail. Eventually, princesses from all over the world arrive desperate to be chosen. They are joined by the socially ambitious Madame de la Haltière and her ever-hopeful daughters. When the Prince seems to fall for someone, the guests, astonished, bow to the strange woman’s natural authority. Cendrillon keeps her true identity from the Prince, though they feel they recognise each other in their hearts. As midnight chimes, Cendrillon must leave the man she loves.
INTERVAL
Act 3
Cendrillon has fled the court, but on the terrifying journey home she has lost one of the slippers given to her by the Fairy. She begs the Fairy for forgiveness, thinking herself unworthy of the happiness she felt at the court, but hides when her father returns arguing with Madame. and her daughters about the strange girl at the ball. He thought the girl seemed good-natured and kind, while they saw her as impudent and unfashionable. Mme.’s abuse of Pandolfe brings Cendrillon out of hiding. She becomes distraught when the step-family tells their warped version of the story of the stranger at the ball. Seeing his daughter’s distress, Pandolfe can finally bear no more, and ejects Mme. and her selfish daughters. He tries to reassure Cendrillon with promises of returning to their old home, and goes to prepare to leave. Believing the Prince to have deceived her, a despairing Cendrillon vows not to inflict her misery on her father - but memories of her mother overwhelm her and she passes into the land of the fairies.
Underneath the fairies’ oak, hidden from each other, both Cendrillon and the Prince plead for the Fairy Godmother to intervene. They recognise each other’s voice, and with the Fairy’s help find each other again.
Act 4
Pandolfe watches over the unconscious Cendrillon. She revives, and Pandolfe calms her agitation by telling her that everything – the ball, meeting the Prince – was a dream.
It is spring, and a herald announces that the Prince is searching for the mysterious girl at the ball who has lost a shoe. Cendrillon realises that all was not a dream, and prepares to meet the Prince. Mme de la Haltière arrives, still believing that either Noémie or Dorothée will be chosen from amongst the crowd of desperate hopefuls. The Prince enters in a state of utter despair, holding on to the one shoe left behind. Just when he feels all is lost, the Fairy summons Cendrillon so that she and the Prince can finally unite.
Director’s Note
Versions of the Cinderella story have appeared throughout history. The earliest accounts were first written down in China over a thousand years ago. It has sprung up in cultures the world over ever since, always slightly different, yet always essentially the same. As with all fairy tales, the superficial simplicity and child-like quality mask hidden depths. At heart, it tells a story of the soul – how someone, anyone…and possibly everyone, can confront and overcome the difficulties of truly becoming ourselves. It deals with sibling rivalry, the fear of growing up, the blossoming of sexuality – all wrapped up in the striving for a better self.
Massenet based his version on the Cendrillon (little girl of the ashes) of Charles Perrault in his ‘Tales of Mother Goose’. It doesn’t feature the more lurid twists of some versions – such as the sisters choosing to mutilate their feet so that they will fit the shoe, or having their eyes pecked out for their vanity – though it does create a world which is darker and more threatening than more recent ‘disneyfied’ accounts. The fairy story, in it’s mission to access the soul, speaks the language of the unconscious – symbolic language. This is a language where the same object can hold many different, even contradictory, meanings. Take shoes, for example. In ancient China a small foot was considered the sine qua non of beauty, and has long been the object of erotic fascination. The Fairy offers Lucette a pair of shoes which will allow her to become a princess, i.e. become whole, achieve her potential. These are shoes in their benign aspect – as signifiers of role, or duty (‘sit down and put your slippers on’ being an invitation to put the troubles of the work persona aside). But the symbolic life of the shoe has a darker face too – the shoe as signifier of sexual energy. Part of becoming whole is to mature sexually, and the girl’s fear of this makes her flee the ball. At the end of the story, Lucette has overcome her fears and, in the context of love, can embrace mature wholeness. Or, in symbolic language, she puts on a pair of shoes. The resonance of this language, and the apparent irrationality of some of the narrative, combine to create a pungent atmosphere which has the disturbing power of a dream.
Frequently Massenet goes out of his way to make it unclear whether the events we are witnessing are real, or dreamt. In Act III we see Cendrillon and the Prince meet by the fairies’ oak, yet immediately after Pandolfe tells us that she has been in a coma for months. Once home, Cendrillon recounts her terrifying journey back from the ball, yet she constantly falls into the present tense, as if the events were happening there and then. The non-linear flow of events, and the gallery of grotesques which inhabit Cendrillon’s world, conspire to take us deep inside a girl’s troubled soul as she struggles with the pain of leaving childhood. Yet despite the central character’s pain, Massenet treatment is both hypnotically charming and frequently funny. As was the habit in French opera, he wrote ballets for act II, often cut on the rare occasions Cendrillon is performed. We have had the pleasure of collaborating with the Associates of Scottish Ballet which has enabled us to retain the opera in its original form. Further collaboration with both the orchestra of Scottish Opera, and students from the St.Petersburg Conservatoire has made this project an exemplar of artisitic co-operation and cultural exchange. How appropriate that this ensemble effort is to tell a story known across the world, a story dealing with the universal struggle to grow up, a story of everywoman….and everyman. And, let’s face it, striving for maturity is not the preserve of children.
Student Production Team
Stage Manager Kate Frost
Deputy Stage Manager Elisabeth Laufer
Assistant Stage Managers Danielle Fletcher Herd, Suzie Goldberg
Technical Stage Manager Mark Lovell
Assistants Mark Carry, Paul Crowe, Emma Hullin
Production Electricians Roy Fairhead, James Gardner
Assistant Electricians Mhairi Begg, Callum Howie, Peter Strain
Prop Shop Manager Simon (Leo) Horton
Prop Makers Rebecca Hamilton, Sarah Kydd, Libby Nagle
Assistant Prop Makers Dan Birch, Brian Clarke, Amy Cummings, Jennifer Earl, Susan McCarroll, Laura Montgomery, Fraoch Thin-Smith, Stephanie Todd
Workshop Jordan RA Mills Dan Birch Graham Burn Kirsten Hogg Allan Kimmett Marty Lawson Graeme Mackie Ross McMillan Cameron Muirhead Ashleigh Riley
Scenic Artist Alastair Law
Assistant Scenic Artists Brian Clarke Natasha Falconer Steven Wylie
Costume maker Anne Page
Wardrobe assistants Emma McKie Francesca Rose Andrew Smart
Orchestra
Violin 1 Tony Moffat, Leader Frances Pryce Terez Korondi Tim Ewart Sharon Haslam Sian Holding Anne Simpson Michael Larkin Vaclav Bohonek Stewart Webster* Liam Lynch*
Violin 2 Angus Ramsay, Section Principal Liz Jones Lesley Buchanan John Robinson Gavin Rhind Malcolm Ross Mary Ward Caroline Subedi Nicola Connell* Shona Dysart* Emily Carr – Rehearsal cover*
Viola Lev Atlas, Section Principal Rachel Davis Christine Swift Georgia Boyd Alison Hastie Ian Swift Emma Stevenson* Joanne Miller* Helena Flint*
Cello Stephen Adam, Acting Section Principal Marie Connell Sarah Harrington Aline Gow Helen McSherry Ying-Ying Han* Kathleen Ross – Rehearsal cover*
Double Bass David Peller, Section Principal Sarah Neil Chris Freeman Lesley-Ann Smith* Ed Lucas – Rehearsal cover*
Flute Richard Blake, Section Principal John Hall
Piccolo Lindsey Ellis*
Oboe Joseph Houghton, Section Principal Kirstie Logan
Clarinet Nicholas Ross, Section Principal Lawrence Gill
Bassoon Janet Bloxwich, Section Principal Alan Warhurst
Horn Sue Baxendale, Section Principal David Pryce Rebecca Hill/Hugh Potts Stephanie Jones Christina Guarino*
Trumpet Andrew Lynn, Section Principal Simon Bird
Trombone Matthew Gee, Section Principal Alan Pash Michael Owers - Rehearsal cover*
Bass Trombone Christopher Stearn
Tuba Craig Anderson, Guest Section Principal Timpani Ruari Donaldson, Section Principal
Percussion Jay Allen, Section Principal June Binnie* / Christopher Edwards* Philip Hague*
Harp Saida de Lyon, Section Principal Annakate Pearson*
Off-Stage Band Flute Katie Punter* Oboe Louisa MacPherson* Trumpet 1 Caroline Munro* Trumpet 2 Tom Poulson* Percussion James Swan* Harp Annakate Pearson* Celeste Ian Ryan* Keyboard Glockenspiel Michael Bawtree (Off-stage Conductor)*
On-Stage Band Viola Ronan Watson* Flute Katie Punter* Harp Annakate Pearson*
- RSAMD Student
Scottish Opera Staff Orchestra and Concerts Director: Jay Allen Orchestra Technicians: Stevie Winning Brian Murphy Librarian: Jane Watts Assistant to the Orchestra and Concerts Director: Rona Hutcheson
Bridget Kimak Production Designer (set and costume)
Bridget started her career as a sculptor and began designing for the stage after a postgraduate course at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, UK.
Designs for opera include Il Viaggio a Reims and Semele for Chicago Opera Theatre, La Cenerentola for the Royal Opera House, Figaro’s Bryllup For De Ny Opera, Denmark, Falstaff, The Marriage of Figaro and Idomeneo for the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, The Magic Flute and Midsummer Night’s Dream for British Youth Opera, The Maid of Norway for Norway’s Opera Vest, Agrippina for the Royal College of Music and The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat for The Bridewell Theatre in London.
Other theatre credits include: The Adventures of the Stoneheads at the National Theatre (Lyttelton); the World premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Saturday Night, After Magritte, On the Twentieth Century, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Antony and Cleopatra, The Jewess of Toledo, Othello and The Best of Times at the Bridewell Theatre; Othello at the Cochrane Theatre; Hamlet, The Tempest, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Young Shakespeare Company; Hamlet at Greenwich Theatre, The Woman who Cooked Her Husband, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Mr Wonderful, The Thirty-nine Steps and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at Chester Gateway Theatre; Dick Daredevil at the Drill Hall; Midsummer Night’s Dream at the New Vic Studio; and The Skin of Our Teeth at the Redgrave Theatre.
Bridget also leads workshops for The Royal Opera House.
Martin Lloyd-Evans Director
Martin studied physics at Manchester University and Theatre Arts at Bretton Hall College. Most recently he has directed Cosi fan Tutte for British Youth Opera. For other companies this year he has directed the British premiere of Dove’s The Little Green Swallow for GSMD, Andrea Chénier for Opera Holland Park and On London Fields (RPS Award Winner 2005) at the Hackney Empire.
Other productions include: for OHP Le Nozze di Figaro, Stiffelio and Don Giovanni; Mid-Wales Opera Rigoletto and La Traviata; BYO A Midsummer Night’s Dream ; GSMD The Rape of Lucretia, Maskarade, Postcard from Morocco, The Beggar’s Opera, Weill-Krenek-Ullmann Triple Bill, the UK premiere of The Aspen Papers (RPS Award nominee); Garden Opera Cenerentola, Don Giovanni, Carmen, The Barber of Seville amongst many others.; the premiere of Spirit Child for Lontano; The Mikado Penang State Festival; Associate Director La Traviata and Idomeneo for Welsh National Opera. Theatre work includes Wallace and Gromit: Alive on Stage on tour and the West End; Dog in a Manger at Edinburgh and London as well as extensive work with internationally acclaimed theatre company Cheek by Jowl. Martin is Resident Producer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and regularly runs workshops for developing singers.
Future projects include The Queen of Spades at Holland Park.
Colin Grenfell Lighting Designer
Also for RSAMD: L’Enfant et Les Sortileges, Figaro, & Falstaff. Other opera includes La Boheme (English Touring Opera/OTC), Eugene Onegin, Andrea Chenier (Opera Holland Park), The Rape of Lucretia (Guildhall), The Magic Flute, A Midsummer Nights Dream (BYO). Passions, Charades (BAC). Theatre Designs include: Theatre of Blood (Royal National Theatre/Improbable), Tick,Tick…Boom! (Menier Chocolate Factory), Aladdin (Bristol Old Vic), Presence (Plymouth Theatre Royal), Travels with My Virginity (UK tour/Portland TBA Festival), Bye, Bye, Birdie (Guildhall). Also for Improbable Theatre: The Hanging Man (West Yorkshire Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith, Vienna Festival and US Tour), Lifegame (Royal National Theatre,UK & US tour/Off Broadway run/Brisbane Festival), Animo (UK & world tour), Coma (UK Tour), Spirit (UK & Off Broadway, Brisbane and Berlin Festivals), and the multi award winning 70 Hill Lane (UK & world tour). Other Designs include: Kes (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Unthinkable (Sheffield Crucible), Playing The Victim (Told By An Idiot/Royal Court Theatre); Kosher Harry, Bodytalk (Royal Court Theatre), Old King Cole (Unicorn Theatre), Marie Luisa (Gate Theatre), My Dad’s a Birdman (Young Vic Theatre); Heavenly (Frantic Assembly, UK Tour/Off Broadway); Crime and Punishment in Dalston (Arcola Theatre); Breaststrokes (Stella Duffy/BAC), Ben Hur (BAC); Life in the Folds (out of inc); Charlie Lavender (Southwark Playhouse); Would Say Something, Consuming Songs, Bottle (Guy Dartnell, UK Tour/BAC); Dog (John Hegley, BAC); Ladies and Gentlemen Where am I? (Cartoon de Salvo); Stiff (Spymonkey, UK & World Tour); Two Dreamers (Primitive Science/Design Council); To The Island with the Goose (Park Music Ensemble, SBC).
Timothy Dean Conductor
Timothy Dean studied music at Reading University, and then piano and conducting at the Royal College of Music. He became Chorus Master and Head of Music for Kent Opera conducting a wide repertoire on tour in the UK and abroad, including a cycle of the Britten Church Parables. In 1987 he was appointed the first Music Director of British Youth Opera. Since then he has been instrumental in developing the company into a vital part of the national infrastructure for training young singers and musicians to an advanced level, as well as conducting many productions and concerts for the company. He was also conductor of the London Bach Society in the late 1980s, following the death of Dr Paul Steinitz, and was Music Director of The Opera Company from 1990 - 1994. In 1990/1 he spent a year as Assistant Music Director with the New D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, conducting on tour in the UK and USA, after which he made debuts for English National Opera (Oedipus Rex/Bluebeard’s Castle) and Scottish Opera (Barber of Seville). In 1994 he was appointed Head of Opera at the RSAMD in Glasgow, in charge of new postgraduate courses in opera training for singers and repetiteurs. Since moving to Scotland, he has also worked with the Paragon Ensemble, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and Edinburgh Choral Union, as well as the Symphony Orchestras of both the Junior and Senior Academy and the RSNO. In 2001 he became Artistic Director of British Youth Opera and continues to be active as a coach, accompanist and conductor.
Kenn Burke Choreographer
Fife born Kenn trained in his home-town of North Queensferry before joining Scottish Ballet’s scholarship scheme. After completing his training at the Royal Ballet School in 1975, he returned to Scotland to dance with Scottish Ballet and was soon promoted to soloist. During his time with the company, Kenn quickly became one of Scottish Ballet’s most popular dancers with leading roles in Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Le Spectre de la Rose and many other works. In 1988, he was invited to join the Hong Kong Ballet as principal dancer.
He was appointed Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet 2 in 1990, which performed small scale touring works to isolated communities throughout Scotland. He was Assistant Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet under Galina Samsova and subsequently became the Acting Artistic Director, during which time he staged the ambitious and highly successful La Fille Mal Gardée.
Since leaving Scottish Ballet he has worked as guest teacher for a number of high profile companies throughout the world. He teaches regularly at Ballet West and works very closely with the company in rehearsal and on tour.
Mark Hathaway Assistant Director
Mark trained as an actor before studying singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His operatic roles include Figaro, Papageno, Don Alfonso, Leporello, Masetto, Dr Malatesta, Alidoro, Ping, Sacristan, Jack Point (Yeoman of the Guard), and Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance for the D’Oyly Carte in the West End. For the last three years, Mark has worked for Scottish Opera, directing two operas for children by Julian Evans: The Minotaur and The Mystic Maiden of Loch Katrine, as well as a touring production of operatic scenes entitled Essential Scottish Opera, and two sets of scenes with students of the National Opera Studio performed with the SO Orchestra at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow. He was Assistant Director on all four operas in Wagner’s Ring Cycle directed by Tim Albery, and has assisted on productions of Don Giovanni, La Traviata, Orfeo ed Euridice, Bluebeard’s Caste, Erwartung, Semele, and Fidelio. Most recently he assisted Anthony Neilson on The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival. Mark has directed productions of Aida, L’Elisir d’Amore, Carmen, The Magic Flute, La Traviata, Die Fledermaus, Orpheus in the Underworld, Dido and Aeneas, The Gondoliers, Britten’s The Little Sweep and The Blind Beggar’s Daughter by Geoffrey Bush. He was both performer and director in a double bill of operas – La Serva Padrona by Pergolesi, and Il Servo Innamorato by the contemporary composer Richard Gofton – which played at venues in London and Buenos Aires. Mark sang the role of Leporello in his own production of Don Giovanni on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Mark has just directed programmes of opera scenes at both the Royal Academy of Music and the RSAMD, together with a series of workshops at the National Opera Studio. In 2006, Mark will be Assistant Director on productions of Don Giovanni and Tamerlano at Scottish Opera, as well as directing another set of operas scenes at the RSAMD, and his own productions of The Beggar’s Opera and Iolanthe.
Michael Bawtree Assistant Conductor
Michael was born in Devon and studied at Christ’s College, Cambridge University, graduating in 1997 with a degree in music; in the same year Michael became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, winning three prizes as a result of the examinations. In September 2004, Michael moved to Glasgow to take up a two-year postgraduate scholarship at the RSAMD studying orchestral conducting with Dr Alasdair Mitchell. He has conducted the Suffolk Sinfonia, the Sinfonia of Birmingham and all the RSAMD orchestras. He has been Assistant Conductor for RSAMD productions of Falstaff and The Vanishing Bridegroom; in March 2005 he was Music Director for performances of Britten’s church parable Curlew River at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh. In July 2005, he traveled to India for a month to work with the Chamber Orchestra of the Calcutta School of Music, sponsored by the British Council. He has recently been appointed Chorus Master of the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union and is Music Director of the Glasgow Chamber Choir.
Ian Ryan RSAMD / Scottish Opera Repetiteur Fellow
Ian is the current recipient of the RSAMD/Scottish Opera Repetiteur Fellowship award which is funded by the Musicians Benevolent Fund. Born in Essex, he studied economics at Selwyn College, Cambridge and as a repetiteur at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2004-5). At the GSMD, Ian was the repetiteur for productions of The Little Green Swallow (Jonathan Dove), The Turn of the Screw and a Double Bill of L’Heure Espangole and Les Mamelles de Tirésias. He has also worked on small professional productions of Carmen, Tosca, Cosi fan Tutte, Don Pasquale, Die Fledermaus, Madama Butterfly and the premiere of a new opera, The Crocodile by Llywelyn ap Myrddin. He has performed live on Radio 3 (In Tune) and continues to work as an accompanist focusing on both vocal and string repertoire.
James Arthur (Pandolfe)
James was born in Essex and was awarded a music scholarship to Ampleforth College in 1993. During a gap year he sang as a choral scholar at Guildford Cathedral before reading music at Durham University. Whilst at Durham he was a cathedral choral scholar and was also awarded the Sir Thomas Beecham scholarship for performance. Since 2002 he has been studying with Peter Alexander Wilson at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD). He has completed a Postgraduate Diploma and a Masters in Performance and is currently on the MOpera course.
Whilst at the RSAMD, James has sung the roles of Antonio in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, the Doctor and Policeman in Judith Weir’s The Vanishing Bridegroom, and has also been awarded the Florence Veitch Ibler prize for Oratorio.
Susan Boyd (Cendrillon)
Susan is from Northern Ireland and is in her first year of the MMus Opera course at the RSAMD, having attended the Royal Northern College of Music from 2000-2005. She worked with Peter Wilson during this time and is continuing her vocal studies with him in Glasgow. As a soloist she has worked on a wide variety of repertoire from covering and performing the role of Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, June 2003, to, more recently, singing the role of La Suore Zelatrice in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, December 2004, and playing Tisbe in the college’s production of La Cenerentola, conducted by Enrique Mazzola, March 2005.
In April 2005 she was selected as a finalist in the eleventh Belfast Classical Music Bursaries competition at the Belfast Waterfront Hall, winning the Ireland Funds Award, the Audience Prize and a BBC Studio Concert. In June she will perform the role of Stewardess in Jonathan Dove’s Flight at the Academy.
Helene Dahlberg (Noémie)
Soprano Helene was born in Stockholm, Sweden. After musical training in Stockholm, she completed her BMus (Hons) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, in 2001, where she studied with Annette Thompson. Currently, she is studying with Peter Wilson and Helen Lawson on the MOpera course at the RSAMD. Opera roles include Drusilla, L’Incoronazione di Poppea, RSAMD 2005 (‘plenty of bright tone and dramatic flow’ Opera Magazine); Second Woman, Dido and Aeneas RSAMD 2004; First Bridesmaid, Le Nozze Di Figaro RSAMD 2004; Firefly, Midsummer Magic world premiere GSMD 2001. Helene has also performed in operatic excerpts, such as Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande, Angelica in Orlando, Euridice in Orfeo, Manon in Manon and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at the RSAMD 2004/2005. Future plans include Almirena in Rinaldo and Tina in Flight by Jonathan Dove at the RSAMD. Helene is also an experienced concert singer and is currently supported by the Thomas Sivewright Catto Trust. Susan is most grateful to the Musicians Benevolent Fund and the Belfast Classical Music Bursary for their generous financial support, which is making this years study at the RSAMD possible.
Austin Gunn (Le Doyen du Faculté)
Austin, tenor, made his professional operatic debut in the Edinburgh International Festival as Vorsinger in Mozart’s Zaide with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Sir Charles Mackerras. Austin performs frequently in opera, oratorio and song at venues throughout the UK and Europe. Roles in scenes include Faust, Nemorino, L’elisir, Des Grieux, Manon, Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni, Pedrillo, Entfuhrung and in full productions Fairfax, Yeoman of the Guard, Raleigh, Merrie England and Bardolfo, Falstaff. Future engagements include Alfred, Die Fledermaus in Geneva and Tito, La Clemenza di Tito in London as well as oratorio performances.
Recording and film credits to date include Glory Revealed for Regents Records, an album of experimental music for the University of Westminster, Britten’s Curlew River for BBC Radio 3, a concert of Song for American television network PBS, and as the singing voice of a German soldier in the television series Band of Brothers directed by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
Nikolai Shamov (Pandolfe)
Born in 1982, Russian Baritone Nikolai is an exchange student from St. Petersburg State Conservatory N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. He completed his Choir Conducting degree at the Musical College in Kirov in 2001 and he is presently in the third year of his degree in Vocal Studies at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory where he studies with Honoured Artist of Russia, Valery Lebed. He has participated in masterclasses with David Wilson-Johnson and Vladimir Atlantov. He has performed Rotniy (Eugene Onegin), Baron Dufol (La Traviata), Fiorello (Barber of Seville) and Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas) at the Rimsky-Korsakov Theatre. His busy concert schedule includes performances of songs and arias by Schubert, Wolf, Bizet, Verdi, Donizetti, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, Dorgomiyjsky, Kui and others. He has performed Rachmaninov’s Cantata Spring at the Moscow Engelgard Hall.
Una McMahon (Dorothée)
Una began her vocal studies at the City of Belfast School of Music and from there moved to the Royal Irish Academy of Music where she completed a BA in Music Performance under the guidance of Dr Veronica Dunne. She is currently studying for her Masters in Concert Singing at the RSAMD under the tutelage of Pat Hay. On the conert platform Una has performed such works as Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Una has performed in recitals across Ireland, in Scotland, Germany and Italy. In September 2004 she sang live from Belfast for the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. In August 2005 she represented the RSAMD at the Klassik Music Festival Ruhr in Marl. In opera scenes performances she has played the role of third lady (The Magic Flute), Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro), Nikolaus (The Tales of Hoffmann) and Nerone (L’incoronazione di Poppea) all at the RIAM. Her full roles include Didone (L’Egisto) with the RIAM, Polly (The Beggar’s Opera) with Youth Opera N.Ireland and Amore (L’incoronazione di Poppea) with the RSAMD.
Adam Magee (Le Prince Charmant)
Adam was born in Birmingham and began singing at the age of seven with his local parish choir. He started singing lessons in 1991 with Jo Dwyer and subsequently went on to sing with the National Youth Choir, Ex Cathedra and the CBSO Chorus. After graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2002, Adam is now on the MOpera Course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama studying with Peter Alexander Wilson. Whilst at the RNCM, he performed in many of the College’s productions including the choruses of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte, Janacek’s Jenufa, and Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades. Roles include First Man in Armour in Die Zauberflöte, Dr. Caius in Verdi’s Falstaff, Peter Quint in Britten’s Turn of the Screw and Reuben Waterford in Beeson’s Dr. Heidegger’s Fountain of Youth. Adam has also performed the role of Benedict in Belioz’ s Beatrice and Benedict for West Riding Opera and sang in the choruses of Tchaikovsky’s Cherevichki, Rossini’s L’Equivico Stravagante and Le Conte Ory, and Strauss’s Arabella with Garsington Opera. Adam has performed at the Batignano Festival, Italy in both 2000 and 2003.
Elizabeth Key (Madame de la Haltière)
Elizabeth, from Mansfield, is currently in her final year at the RSAMD following the MOpera course under the tuition of Kathleen McKellar Ferguson. She has sung oratorio throughout the UK, including works by Bruckner, Handel, Mozart, Saint Saens and Rossini. She has also taken part in masterclasses with Malcolm Martineau, Roderick Williams, Ann Murray, Ian Storey and Jane Eaglen. In February 2006, Elizabeth has been invited to take part in masterclasses with the Samling Foundation.
Elizabeth’s early experience of singing was gained with the internationally renowned Cantamus Girls’ Choir in Mansfield, where she had tuition from the choir’s director Pamela Cook MBE, performing with the choir throughout Europe and Asia. Her roles in full productions include Ms Quickly, Falstaff (‘…a real mezzo with a fine low range…’ Opera magazine April 2005) Genevieve, Pelleas et Melisande and Gertrude, Romeo et Juliette (‘…Gertrude, Juliette’s nurse was especially noteworthy. Fine acting as well as fine singing…’ Musical Opinion November 2005.) (‘…Elizabeth Key’s cheerful, orotund Gertrude suggested a bright future in character mezzo parts…’ Opera magazine November 2005). This summer Elizabeth will be singing with Glyndebourne Festival Opera Chorus.
Olga Pudova (La Fée)
Twenty-three year old Olga was born in St Petersburg and is in her final year at the St Petersburg Conservatoire where she has studied since the age of eighteen. She has won prizes in three international competitions including the Rimskij-Korsakov competition. Last Summer, Olga embarked on an Operatic Concert Tour of Finland with Marinskij Theatre and next year she will tour France.
She is delighted to be performing in Scotland with the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Future performances include the roles of Contessa De Follviel in Il Viaggio a Reims (Rossini) and the title role in Nightingale (Stravinsky) at the Marinskij Theatre.
Whitaker Mills (Le Roi)
Whitaker commenced his singing career at the age of nine, when he joined the Chicago Lyric Opera children’s choir and appeared in a variety of their productions. After five years he moved to Washington DC where he continued to study privately, and was involved in productions from opera to musical theatre. At the age of seventeen he was accepted into the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, where he studied with Daniel Ferro and a number of well-known coaches.
After a break from studying, Whitaker returned to his singing career with Royal Academy Opera, where at twenty-three, was one of the youngest members of the opera programme. He studied with Mark Wildman. For Royal Academy Opera, Whitaker made his operatic debut in London as Cancian in School for Fathers, and has recently appeared as Le Surintendant des plaisirs in Massenet’s Cendrillon, and Speaker and Second Armed Man in The Magic Flute with Sir Colin Davis. For Windsor Festival, he has sung in Beethoven’s Mass in C at Eton College. Whitaker spent the summer of 2004 at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, where he studied with Warren Jones and Marilyn Horne. Now at the RSAMD studying with Steven Robertson, Whitaker will be performing the role of Minsk Man in the upcoming production of Flight.
Yulia Simonova (Cendrillon)
Yulia began her studies at the Liakhovitzkaya musical school in St Petersburg where she specialised in fortepiano. After further study at the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory on the choral conducting course, she began to enjoy success in a number of International competitions: the Young Voices Competition in Stanlil, Denmark in 1997, the Rachmaninov Competition, the Classical Romance Competition, the Young Opera Singers Competition in 2003 and most recently as a diploma winner in the Elena Obratsora Competition for Young Opera Singers.
She has appeared under the baton of Valeri Gergiev as Masha in Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades at the Mariinsky Theatre, and sung the roles of Tatiana in Onegin, Iolanta in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème and Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte for the Academy Theatre of Opera and Ballet. She made her debut at the State Academy Bolshoi Theatre in Prokofiev’s Fiery Angel and following her performance for them as Tatiana in Onegin in 2005 has been invited to join the company as a principal singer. Since 2002 she has been the pupil of the Head of the St Petersburg Conservatory Vocal Faculty Professor Irena Bogachova.
Olesya Petrova (Madame de la Haltière)
Olessa was born in Leningrad. Olessa attended music school as a chorister for 7 years. In 2001 she entered the Rimsky Korsakov Music School in St Petersburg studying singing under the tuition of Tamara Serduk for two years, after which she entered the Rimsky Korsakov State Conservatory where she is in the third year of her five year degree course. She is a student of Professor Irina Bogachova, Head of the Vocal Faculty. She is the winner of the Russian Competition Three Centuries of Classical Songs. She was a laureate prize winner in the “Hope of Russia” competitions in 2003 and 2005. Olessa is currently at the RSAMD as an exchange student to perform the role of Madame de la Haltière in Massenet’s Cendrillon.
Anders Östberg (Le Premier Ministre)
Swedish baritone Anders is in his second year on the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama’s MOpera course, where he studies with Peter Alexander Wilson and George Gordon. On his graduation from Birmingham Conservatoire he was awarded a First Class BMus (Hons) degree after four years of singing studies with Henry Herford. He also awarded the Principal’s Prize for outstanding contributions to the life of the Conservatoire.
Major operatic roles include Onegin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin for New Youth Opera, Bartolo and Antonio in The Marrige of Figaro for Opera!, and Giove in La Calisto at the Birmingham Conservatoire.
Recent engagements include Eldest Son in Judith Weir’s The Vanishing Bridegroom and chorus for the Edinburgh International Festival’s acclaimed production of Britten’s Curlew River. Anders will be appearing as Argante in Rinaldo and Steward in Jonathan Dove’s Flight in the next two RSAMD opera productions.
Elizabeth Traill (La Fée)
Elizabeth was born on the Isle of Wight and read Music at the University of Durham before studying vocal performance within English National Opera’s Baylis Programme. She is currently studying in her final year within the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the RSAMD with Patricia Hay. Her study has been generously supported by a number of charitable trusts including the RSAMD Trust Fund, the Music Sound Foundation Award and a Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarship. She has recently won the Hampshire Singer of the Year Competition and secondprize in the prestigious inter-collegiate Clonter Opera Competition.
Operatic roles include Le Feu and Le Rossignol, L’enfant et les sortileges (cover), Damon, Acis and Galatea (cover) both for the RSAMD. Susanna, Marriage of Figaro for the University of Durham and Harriet the Irrascible Lunatic, On Thee We Feed (Richard Chew) with the ENO Baylis Programme.
Future plans include the Flight Controller in Jonathan Dove’s Flight at the RSAMD (June), an opera gala with Clonter Opera (April).
Douglas Nairne (Surintendant des plaisirs)
Twenty one year old Douglas was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife and is in his fourth year of the BMus course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) studying singing with Stephen Robertson. A member of the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS) since 1999, Douglas has appeared as their soloist in Torke’s Book of Proverbs. He has toured Sweden and Chicago, as well as performing at “The Last Night of the Proms” (BBC), and as part of an international live broadcast of The MTV Europe Music Awards with Christina Aguilera
Douglas has appeared on Radio Ulster singing the Faure Requiem and with the Belfast Philharmonic choir. He was invited to lead the National Anthem at Scotland’s televised home games, in the Autumn Series and RBS 6 Nations Rugby Tournament. In summer 2005 Douglas appeared at Royal Lyceum Theatre for Britten’s Curlew River for The Edinburgh International Festival.
Roy Fairhead (Production Electrician)
During the final year of his degree in Technical and Production Arts, Roy is specialising in lighting, sound and technical stage management. He has already completed a lighting design on The Last Supper in the New Athenaeum Theatre and worked as Production Electrician on Beauty and the Beast in the same venue. Roy is working on all three RSAMD operas this year and is looking forward to working freelance in the entertainment industry after he graduates.
Kate Frost (Stage Manager)
Kate discovered a passion for Opera as an Assistant Stage Manager on The Marriage of Figaro (2003) and since then has been Deputy Stage Manager on King Lear as part of the Shakespeare in the City festival, and Cosi Fan Tutte for British Youth Opera in the Peacock Theatre, London. Cendrillon is Kate’s third collaboration with Martin Lloyd-Evans and Elisabeth Laufer. She has found the experience very enjoyable and challenging and she hopes to pursue a career in opera stage management.
James Gardner (Production Electrician)
James is working on Cendrillon direct from the RSAMD Pantomime, Beauty and the Beast, for which he was Stage Manager. This is James’ third Production Electrician role at the RSAMD, having previously worked on Shakespeare in the City at the Arches and Howard Barker’s The Last Supper. James will shortly be Lighting Designer for the next opera production, Rinaldo, in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Elisabeth Laufer (Deputy Stage Manager)
Elisabeth would like to specialise in stage management and stage technology. Most recently she worked as Book Cover/Assistant Stage Manager for British Youth Opera on their production of Cosi Fan Tutte directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans. Last spring she toured Scotland with the Dance Company Chordelia. Her previous work includes ASM for The Csardas Princess (2002), Assistant Director for Giuditta (2003), both at the Operetta Festival Mörbisch, as well as for the Theatre Scala (2002/03), all in Austria. Elisabeth’s next project will be the RSAMD’s Rinaldo in May.
Mark Lovell (Technical Stage Manager)
Mark is thoroughly enjoying the challenges presented by this production, and in particular is looking forward to the logistics of the touring element. With a strong interest in electrics as well as stage technology he will be lighting RSAMD’s production of Jonathan Dove’s opera Flight in the summer. He can often be found wandering round Glasgow with a camera.
Jordan R.A Mills (Stage Carpenter)
Jordan finished the second of two workshop allocations with the initial fit-up of Cendrillon. He now has to concentrate on writing his research essay before being Technical Stage Manager for the two remaining 3rd Year Acting shows at the RSAMD in May. He hopes to conduct some of his research for the essay by spending a week in New York City in February - interviewing people, getting backstage tours and so on. He also hopes to make some contacts there, as he would like to work in the States upon graduation and, after a successful 2005 placement, hopes to gain employment with New York Stage and Film this summer.
Anne Page (Costume Maker) Anne Page is a third year student, specialising in stage management, costume and set design and props. She really enjoys making costumes. After making some of the costumes for last years Panto Beauty and the Beast, she started working on the costume for Prince Charming in Cendrillon. Anne is currently working on her role as Designer for the Shakespeare in the City festival this June. After graduation Anne hopes to secure a theatre post or perhaps move into television or films.
Scottish Ballet Senior Associates Programme
The dancers have had a wonderful experience participating in this exciting project. The opportunity to perform with so many other dedicated artists has greatly enhanced their existing training programme and is an opportunity these students will never forget. We look forward to building on this relationship in the future. Penny Withers Head of Scottish Ballet’s Associate Programme
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is Scotland’s national opera company, founded in 1962 by Sir Alexander Gibson. In 1974 the Company purchased the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, which reopened in 1975 as Scotland’s first national opera house, and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera was founded in 1980. Scottish Opera is committed to bringing the widest possible range of opera, performed to the highest possible standards, to the maximum audience throughout Scotland and the UK. It gives largescale performances at venues in Glasgow and Edinburgh and performs in smaller venues across the country that are not always served by other professional opera companies. Scottish Opera also operates an extensive programme of outreach and education work to benefit communities throughout Scotland, through the activities of its education unit and a wide range of initiatives undertaken in partnerships with sponsors and local authorities.
Anthony Moffat Leader of the Orchestra
Anthony was born in Hexham, Northumberland, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music with the eminent leader and soloist Manoug Parikian, winning many awards, including, in his final year, the Marjorie Hayward Prize for best violinist. As founder member of the Borante Piano Trio, he has toured extensively, notably in Vienna as soloist in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Haydn Chamber Orchestra of Vienna. The Trio has also given recitals in London’s Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room. In a solo capacity he has recorded for BBC Radio 3 and broadcast live on Radio 2. He has led many British orchestras, including the BBC Scottish Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Birmingham Royal Ballet Sinfonia, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Formerly Associate Leader of the Hallé Orchestra, he was appointed Leader of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera in 2000.
SCHOOL OF MUSIC STAFF
Head of Opera Timothy Dean
Assistant Head of Opera Duncan Williams
Head of Vocal Studies Stephen Robertson
Chorus Master James Grossmith Head of Orchestral Studies David Davies
Assistants to the Head of Orchestral Studies Amanda Galasso, Susan Johnston
Secretary to the Opera School Anita Dick
Principal Repetiteur Ian Ryan*
Repetiteurs Maki Yoneta, David Jackson
Surtitles written & operated by Emilie Alford
Language Coaches Christine Hallereau , Meriem Kada, Christopher Underwood
- Ian is the recipient of the MBF Repetiteur Fellowship, shared between Scottish Opera and the RSAMD.
With Thanks to...
he RSAMD would like to thank the following individuals and companies for their support:
Victorian Village
Make Up International
Golf 2000
Peerless of London
Harvie’s
Adelaide’s Nursery
Mandors
R S Components
The students at Clydebank College
Elna Kelly - Mak Hairdressing
Penny Withers, Head of Associate Programme, Scottish Ballet
Supporting Opera at the RSAMD
If you would like to support opera at the RSAMD further you can become an Alexander Gibson Opera School Patron. As an AGOS Patron you would receive the opportunity to be uniquely involved with the first purpose-built opera school in Britain, supporting students with bursaries, assisting with the production costs and witnessing the evolution of students into some of the most talented opera singers.
For more information, contact the Patrons Administrator on 0141 270 8283 or development@rsamd.ac.uk or visit www.rsamd.ac.uk/supportus.htm