3, 5, 7 & 10 June 2024
7pm
Milton Court Theatre
Alcina
John Ramster director
James Henshaw conductor
Louis Carver designer
Andy Purves lighting designer
Jonathan Strutt video designer
Abigail Kessel intimacy director
William Byram assistant director & movement director
Michael Rose assistant conductor & chorus master
Sam Bernstein associate lighting designer
Digital Programmes
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Milton Court
Please make sure that digital devices and mobile phones are silenced during the performance.
Eating is not permitted in the auditorium.
Drinks are allowed inside the auditorium in polycarbonates.
Filming or recording of the performance is not permitted.
Latecomers will be able to enter the auditorium at a suitable break in the performance.
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Founded in 1880 by the City of London Corporation
Chair of the Board of Governors
Emily Benn
Principal
Professor Jonathan Vaughan
Vice-Principal & Director of Music
Armin Zanner
Please visit our website at gsmd.ac.uk
Welcome
George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Alcina (HWV34) (1735)
Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Surtitles kindly provided by Royal Academy of Music and adapted for this production.
Please note this production contains depictions of hanging and death.
Strobe lighting will be used during the performance.
The performance duration will be approximately 2 hours and 55 minutes (Part I: 93 minutes, Interval: 20 minutes, Part II: 58 minutes).
Guildhall Opera Orchestra & Academy of Ancient Music
At Guildhall School we are proud of our long-standing collaboration with Academy of Ancient Music (AAM). Many of AAM’s players are Guildhall School alumni and professors. AAM has performed often in our Milton Court Concert Hall as a Barbican Associate Ensemble. Our side-by-side concert projects are a highlight of the Historical Performance students’ annual calendars. And now we are delighted to expand the scope of our work together by welcoming AAM back, this time into the beautiful Milton Court Theatre, for this production of Handel’s Alcina. It is a thrill for Guildhall’s opera singers and instrumentalists to learn from performing alongside members of AAM and I hope you will enjoy the results of our expanded partnership this evening.
Armin Zanner
Vice-Principal & Director of Music
Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is an orchestra with a worldwide reputation for excellence in baroque and classical music. Using historically informed techniques, period-specific instruments and original sources, we bring music vividly to life in committed, vibrant performances.
Established 50 years ago by Christopher Hogwood to make the first British recordings of orchestral works using original instruments, AAM has released more than 300 albums to date, collecting countless accolades including Classic BRIT, Gramophone and Edison awards. We now record on our own label and are proud to be the most listened-to period-instrument orchestra online, with over one million monthly listeners on streaming platforms. With Music Director Laurence Cummings, AAM celebrates the orchestra’s Golden Anniversary in 2023–24 with the completion of a landmark project to record Mozart’s complete works for keyboard and orchestra, the publication of a new book by Richard Bratby detailing the history of the organization, and celebratory performances across the UK and internationally.
Beyond the concert hall, AAM is committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians and music-lovers through our innovative side-by-side learning and participation initiative, AAMplify. Working with music colleges and universities across the UK, we engage the next generation of period instrumentalists with side-by-side sessions, masterclasses and other opportunities designed to bridge the gap between the conservatoire and the profession, safeguarding the future of historical performance.
AAM proudly holds the position of Associate Ensemble at London’s Barbican Centre and the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, and Orchestra-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge, Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival and The Apex, Bury St Edmunds.
Synopsis
Bradamante (disguised as her handsome warrior brother ‘Ricciardo’) journeys to the island ruled by Alcina, an immortal sorceress. She is on a quest to rescue her lover Ruggiero, who has been bewitched by Alcina. She and her companion, Melisso, encounter Morgana, Alcina’s younger sister, who is instantly enamoured of the rugged ‘Ricciardo’ and impulsively decides to leave her lover Oronte, who works for Alcina.
The island magically transforms into Alcina’s glamorous palace, where they find Ruggiero completely under Alcina’s spell, the famous warrior now a lotus-eater living only for pleasure, with little memory of his previous life. They also meet a schoolboy, Oberto, who is always searching for his father Astolfo (Bradamante’s cousin), who disappeared after being shipwrecked on the island. Bradamante and Melisso suspect that, like many of Alcina’s discarded former lovers, he has been transformed into a wild animal.
Melisso and Bradamante find an opportunity to remind Ruggiero of his former life, but his enchanted brain can only love Alcina. Oronte, angered by Morgana’s rejection, challenges the newcomer ‘Ricciardo’ (Bradamante in disguise). Morgana intervenes to save her new lover.
Oronte, spurned and desperate, deliberately triggers Ruggiero by inventing a romance between Alcina and ‘Ricciardo’. Overcome with jealousy, Ruggiero confronts Alcina, but she reassures him of her love. Bradamante impetuously confesses her true identity to Ruggiero, but when Melisso quickly moves to deny this, Ruggiero is left hopelessly confused.
Morgana warns ‘Ricciardo’ that Alcina plans to turn him into a wild beast to prove her love for Ruggiero and begs him to flee, but ‘Ricciardo’ tells her he loves a certain someone on the island. Morgana is thrilled, convinced that she must be that someone.
Disguised as Atlante, Ruggiero’s former professor, and using a powerful magic ring, Melisso releases Ruggiero from Alcina's magic and restores all his memories – revealing the desolation of Alcina's island. Melisso persuades Ruggiero to keep his new knowledge a secret, to continue pretending to love Alcina until he can escape under the pretext of going hunting. Bradamante again reveals her identity to Ruggiero who mistakenly believes that she is Alcina disguised as Bradamante. Bradamante is devastated and incensed. Ruggiero, who only just returned to his true self, no longer knows what is real.
Alcina is determined to convince Ruggiero of her love by transforming ‘Ricciardo’ into an animal, but she is persuaded not to by an ardent Morgana and Ruggiero (now feigning his love for Alcina). Ruggiero asks Alcina for permission to go hunting (Melisso’s cunning plan) and she grants it.
Oberto reveals to Alcina that he is now getting more hopeful of finding his missing father. Alcina plays along, knowing full well Oberto's father is one of her many transformed former lovers on the island.
Oronte brings news of Ruggiero and ‘Ricciardo’s plot. Alcina, feeling the betrayal deeply, experiences real human emotions of grief and fury maybe for the first time.
INTERVAL
The besotted Morgana refuses to believe the truth about Ricciardo's betrayal until she sees Ruggiero and Bradamante together with her own eyes. Oronte wishes he did not love Morgana so much. Oberto is told of his father's fate at Alcina's hands – he is confident he will see his father again soon. Ruggiero begs Bradamante's forgiveness much to Morgana's fury. Ruggiero says the beauty of Alcina's world will decay and disappear with her magic.
Alcina plots revenge on Ruggiero, attempting to summon her deepest and darkest magic, but her affection for Ruggiero proves stronger than her powers. She chooses Love and rejects Magic.
Morgana is now desperate to return to Oronte. This is all Oronte needed to hear to be happy, for him finally to feel like a winner. Alcina confronts Ruggiero, vowing vengeance. Bradamante hopes that the heavens will reward her true heart.
Alcina's despair reaches new depths as she hears of the defeat of all her armies by Bradamante and Ruggiero. Oberto bravely challenges Alcina and she cruelly tries to make him kill his transformed father, Astolfo.
Alcina and Bradamante vie for Ruggiero's love. Ruggiero and Melisso destroy the magic artefact that is the source of all Alcina’s power. All her spells are broken and across the island, her former lovers are once again suddenly human, including Oberto’s father. Love triumphs.
Synopsis based on an original from Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. and adapted for this production by John Ramster.
Cast
Alcina
Georgie Malcolm
Morgana
Yolisa Ngwexana
Biqing Zhang (cover)
Oberto
Samantha Hargreaves
Manon Parry (cover)
Ruggiero
Shana Moron-Caravel
Karima El Demerdasch (cover)
Bradamante
Julia Merino
Cecily Shaw (cover)
Oronte
3 & 7 June:
Emyr Lloyd Jones
5 & 10 June:
Jonah Halton
Harun Tekin (cover)
Melisso
Alaric Green
Hector Bloggs (cover)
Astolfo (silent role)
Harun Tekin
Guildhall Opera Orchestra & Academy of Ancient Music
Violin I
Pavlo Beznosiuk^†
Anna Brown
Rowan Dymott
Violin II
3, 5 & 10 June:
Bojan Čičić^
Zoe Hodi
Evan Lawrence
7 June:
James Toll^
Zoe Hodi
Evan Lawrence
Viola
3 & 5 June:
Emilia Benjamin^
Andrei Gheorghe
7 June:
Joanne Miller^
Andrei Gheorghe
10 June:
Elitsa Bogdanova^
Andrei Gheorghe
Cello
Christopher Suckling†
Kosta Popovic
Double Bass
Izzy Nisbett
Oboe & Recorder
Gail Hennessy^†
Otto Hashmi
Horn
3 & 5 June:
Ori Langer
Henry Ward
7 & 10 June:
Ori Langer
Jack Reilly
Harpsichord
3 & 7 June:
Samuele Piccinini
Henry Reavey
5 & 10 June:
Samuele Piccinini
Meghan Rhoades
Ensembles, Programming
& Instrument Manager
Phil Sizer
Orchestra Librarian
Anthony Wilson
Music Stage, Logistics &
Instrument Manager
Kevin Elwick
Music Stage Supervisors
Shakeel Mohammed
Louis Baily
^Guest Principals from Academy of Ancient Music
†Guildhall School Staff & Professors
Names and seating correct at time of publication.
Production Team
Opera Department Students & Fellows
Assistant Director & Movement Director
William Byram
Assistant Conductor & Chorus Master
Michael Rose
Repetiteurs/Surtitle Operators
Samuele Piccinini
Henry Reavey
Meghan Rhoades
Freelance
Wardrobe Manager
Nikki Weston
Wigs, Hair & Makeup
Lucia Mameli
Debbie Purkis
Repetiteur Coach
Nicholas Ansdell-Evans
Additional Staff
Italian Language Coach
Valeria Racco
Production Arts Students
Production Manager
Alec Schneider
Assistant Production Manager
Linus Pomroy
Stage Manager
Eva Gaidoni
Deputy Stage Manager
Charlotte Antingham
Assistant Stage Managers
Amy Jacobs (rehearsal ASM)
Ida Pontoppidan
Brook Richardson
Technical Manager
Eloise Soester-Gulliver
Technical Assistant/
Automation Operator
Beau Morton-Turner
Production Electrician
Dan Basnett
Lighting Programmer
Ed Frearson
Production Sound Engineer/Video Engineer
Peter Adams
Costume Supervisor/
Wardrobe Manager
Batoul Ghallab
Costume Assistants,
Makers & Dressers
Talia Kenan
Uju Olisa
Beca Roberts
Dallas Thompson
Props Co-ordinator
Abbie Hardcastle
Prop Makers
Bow Edwards
Oscar Keeys
Bea Taylor
Scenic Art Co-ordinator
Emily Cave
Lead Scenic Artist
Alyena Feran
Scenic Artists
Agatha Giannini
Jakub Sypien
Brighton Temple
Stage Crew
working across our Opera and Drama productions this year:
Liam Allen
Iden Amys
Christina Angus
Jamie Baker
Alfred Blake
Didier Brown
Katherine Byrne
Archie Carr
Eddie Comerford
Alissa Crew
Jay Culmer
Seth Cunningham
Jasmin Davenport
Tara Duffy
Kirsty Edwards
Nia Edwards-Williams
Josh Essl
Iris Farquharson
Alice Friend
Hawks Gómez
Jasmine Green
Rohan Green
Finn Irving
Toby Ison
Meg Jordan
Finn Karat
Talia Servadio Kenan
Hollie Lester
Koren Little
Imogen Marinko
Emma Mason
Daniel McDermott
Walter Nash
Shannon Parker
Jaiden Parsons
Kamila Przybylski
Kez Reynolds
Beca Roberts
Agnes Rønningen
Joshua Sanderson
Dan Shelley
Abbie Simcock
Kennedy Stephens
Pasha Taylor-Hanson
Nicole Thomaz
Iris Towers
Grace Waring
Lili Warden
Isabela Way
Joseph Wilkins
Sid Worth
Christa Yap Shin Yee
Creative Team
John Ramster
director
Guildhall School Productions for the Opera Course: Beginnings: New and Early Opera, Radamisto, Opera Makers; for the Vocal Department: The Magic Flute, Giulio Cesare, Albert Herring, Die Fledermaus, L'incoronazione di Poppea, The Marriage of Figaro, Black Harvest by Duncan MacLeod.
Other credits include L'elisir d'amore (Jyväskylä Opera, Finland); The Flying Dutchman, Carmen, The Paperbag Princess, Carmen in Isolation (Bergen National Opera); The Marriage of Figaro (Icelandic Opera); The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro (Turku Festival, Finland); Lucia di Lammermoor (National Theatre, Belgrade, Serbia); Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, Eugene Onegin (West Green House Opera); Don Giovanni (Kilden Theatre, Norway); The Magic Flute, Cinderella 23, Messiah, Kiss me Figaro!, The Mikado (Merry Opera Company); The Rake's Progress, Die Dreigroschenoper, The Rape of Lucretia, The Lighthouse, Eugene Onegin, La Calisto, Rinaldo, La finta giardiniera, L'incoronazione di Poppea (Royal Academy of Music); Agrippina (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland); Theodora (Royal Northern College of Music);
Ariodante (Cambridge Handel Opera Group); Il pastor fido (London Handel Festival).
Future Plans Suor Angelica (West Green House Opera); The Flying Dutchman (Trondheim Opera and Kilden Theatre, Norway); La bohème (Teater Vanemuine, Tartu, Estonia), Messiah (Søholm Opera, Denmark).
James Henshaw
conductor
Guildhall School alumnus James Henshaw is an Olivier-nominated Opera, Choral and Orchestral Conductor and Founder/Principal Conductor of The Outcry Ensemble. From 2016–2019 James was Chorus Master at the English National Opera, and during his tenure the Chorus won a 2016 Olivier Award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Opera’ and ‘Best Chorus’ at the International Opera Awards.
Operatic credits as conductor include The Magic Flute (Staatstheater Meiningen); The Creation (Glyndebourne Touring Opera); Mask of Orpheus, Paul Bunyan (English National Opera); as assistant conductor: The Magic Flute, Jenůfa (English National Opera); Il Trittico (Hamburg State Opera); Don Giovanni (Glyndebourne); Rigoletto (Opéra de Rouen); La bohème (Glyndebourne); The Magic Flute (Garsington Opera, Longborough Festival Opera); Flight (Scottish Opera); Owen Wingrave (Aldeburgh Festival).
Orchestral and choral credits include Beethoven Symphony No 5 (London Philharmonic Orchestra); Brahms Symphony Cycle, Beethoven Symphony Cycle (The Outcry Ensemble); A Child of our Time, The Dream of Gerontius, Elgar Symphony No 1 (BBC National Orchestra of Wales/BBC Proms).
Louis Carver
designer
Guildhall School Productions include Opera Scenes, Opera Makers, Radamisto, Beginnings: New and Early Opera, The Secret Rapture.
Opera credits include Dido and Aeneas, Don Giovanni (Westminster Opera Company, Château de Panloy); The Barber of Seville, Kiss me Figaro! (Merry Opera Company, tour); La favourite (University College London Opera Society); L'incoronazione di Poppea (Royal Academy of Music); Nabucco, Lucia di Lammermoor (Dorset Opera Festival); Frankenstein (Trinity Laban).
Theatre credits include Ladybird, Cockroach, When She Danced, The Ecstasy and the Ecstasy, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Seagull (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art); Cabaret (Trinity Laban).
Andy Purves
lighting designer
Andy is a lighting designer, theatre-maker and project manager working across theatre, circus, educational and heritage projects.
Lighting design credits include projects with Common Wealth, Manchester International Festival, Sadler’s Wells, The Crucible Theatre (Sheffield), Frantic Assembly, Hijinx, Northern Stage, The Lowry (Salford), Theatre Royal (Plymouth), National Theatre Wales, Freedom Theatre (Palestine), Royal Academy of Music, Giffords Circus, The Old Vic, Royal College of Music, The Unicorn, National Centre for Circus Arts, Young Vic, Spymonkey, Barbican, Sydney Theatre Company, Stan Won’t Dance, Tamasha, Brighton Festival, Tom Adams, Annie Siddons and the National Theatre of Scotland.
Andy won a ‘Knight of Illumination Award’ for his work on Frantic Assembly’s The Believers in 2014.
Jonathan Strutt
video designer
BA (Hons) in Production Arts (third year).
Guildhall School Productions include Video Designer Opera Makers (dir Will Kerley), Video Designer Spring Opera Scenes (dir Olly Platt), Lighting Programmer Autumn Opera Triple Bill (LD Simon Corder), Lighting Programmer Our Town (LD Joshua Gadsby), Production Manager Spring Opera Scenes (dir Olly Platt), Scenic Artist Summer Opera Double Bill (des Anna Bonomelli).
Other Credits include work on various productions at Roundhouse, Troubadour Studios and Southwark Playhouse as well as working on multiple productions and local tours as Production/Technical Manager for Beaconsfield Musical & Operatic Society, Chilterns Theatre Company and Red Kite Theatre.
Abigail Kessel
intimacy director
Intimacy Direction and Movement Direction theatre credits include Shakespeare productions at The Globe (Rutgers Conservatory) and numerous productions for Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Guildhall School and El Teatro San Martín in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Film credits include Pretty Red Dress (BBC, BFI); Lady Chatterley’s Love (Netflix); The Wasp (XYZ Films); Love Films (Film 4) and various productions for Netflix, Disney+, Film 4, Warner Bros, Sky TV, Sky Arts and Hulu.
Television credits include Extraordinary series 2 (Disney+, Sid Gentle Films); Three Little Birds (Tiger Aspect, ITV); A Small Light (ABC); Tell Me Everything (Noho Film & TV, ITV); Red Rose (Eleven Films, Netflix, BBC3).
Abigail is Artistic Director of ARC Dance Academy London which she founded in 2015 to bring professional dance training to her local community to inspire the next generation.
William Byram
assistant director & movement director
Guildhall School Assistant Director Junior Fellow.
Assistant Director Credits include Autumn Opera Scenes 2023, A Star Next to the Moon, Spring Opera Scenes 2024 (Guildhall School).
Movement/Choreography Credits include La traviata (Instant Opera); The Merry Widow, Faust, La traviata (Opéra de Baugé); Act II from Eugene Onegin (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance); Dido and Aeneas (Purchase Opera, USA).
Performer Credits as a dancer in works by George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Wayne McGregor, Maxine Doyle, Kinsun Chan and Ohad Naharin.
Future Plans Assistant director/Choreographer Die Fledermaus (St Paul’s Opera); Director Dream Lovers (Stanley Arts); Observing La bohème (Longborough Festival); Edgar (Opera Holland Park).
Michael Rose
assistant conductor & chorus master
Guildhall School Junior Fellow.
Repetiteur credits include Trouble in Tahiti, A Hand of Bridge (Cumbria Opera Group); Banished, Coraline, Les arts florissants (Royal Birmingham Conservatoire); The Decision (Birmingham Opera Company); Dead Man Walking, Sāvitri (Guildhall School).
Assistant Conductor credits include Opera Makers 2023, A Star Next to the Moon (Guildhall School).
Sam Bernstein
associate lighting designer
BA (Hons) Production Arts – Theatre Technology (third year).
Professional credits include Lighting Work Placement (National Theatre); Lighting Designer Vocalworks Concert (Bath Pavilion, MD Tim King); Lighting Programmer Compass Group Conference (Grosvenor House); Lighting Technician Modicare Launch (Natural History Museum); Lighting Technician Fiesta Flamenca (Hackney Empire, LD Oliver Hynds); Lighting Designer Matilda Jr and Little Shop of Horrors (Kingswood Theatre, dir Mark Hale). Sam also works as a freelance lighting technician at the Royal Opera House and Rose Theatre.
Guildhall School Productions include Lighting Designer Much Ado About Nothing (dir Chelsea Walker), Lighting Designer Spring Opera Scenes 2023 (dir Ollie Platt); First Camera Operator The Living Room (dir/LD Oliver Hynds), Lighting Programmer Days of Significance (dir Monique Touko, LD Oliver Hynds), Lighting Programmer Autumn Opera Scenes 2022 (dir Martin Lloyd Evans, LD Josie Ireland), Video Engineer Dance Nation (dir Paul Foster), Assistant Scenic Carpenter Opera Triple Bill (dir Rodula Gaitanou).
Opera Department Students & Fellows
Alaric Green
baritone/bass
Guildhall School Opera Course (second year) studying with Robert Dean and Stephan Loges.
Scholarships Fishmongers' Music Scholarship; Countess of Munster Musical Trust; Henry Oldfield Trust; Sophie's Silver Lining Fund.
Previous roles include Il pellegrino/Abbate Zosimo Maria egiziaca, George Benton Dead Man Walking, Pedro Páramo A Star Next to the Moon (Guildhall School); Count The Marriage of Figaro, King Alphonso La favorita, Cecil Maria Stuarda, Le Philisophe Chérubin, Graf Cappricio (Guildhall School Opera Scenes); created the role of Ulric in Lanternfish, a new opera for Guildhall School Opera Makers.
Future Plans Fiorello The Barber of Seville (Waterperry Opera Festival); Figaro (cover) The Marriage of Figaro (English National Opera).
Jonah Halton
tenor
Guildhall School Opera Course (second year) studying with Amanda Roocroft.
Scholarships Carpenters' Company Henry Osborne Award; Dyers' Scholarship; Dow Clewer Foundation Scholarship.
Previous roles and experience include Second Attendant A Full Moon in March (Royal Opera House); Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw, Leicester Maria Stuarda, Der Tenor Capriccio, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Števa Jenůfa (Guildhall School Opera Scenes); Father Rentería A Star Next to the Moon; Il lebbroso Maria egiziaca, Il Principe Aprile La bella dormente nel bosco, Walther/Hugo/Old Woman Blond Eckbert (Guildhall School); Robert in Lanternfish, a new opera for Guildhall School's Opera Makers; Head Peasant/Lensky (cover) Evgeny Onegin (West Green House Opera); Solo in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella; Pasek The Cunning Little Vixen with Sir Simon Rattle and Peter Sellars (Barbican Centre and Philharmonie de Paris); BBC Symphony Total Immersion: Chamber Music & Songs by Detlav Ganert, broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Future Plans Ernani; Don Pelagio La Canterina (Buxton International Festival 2024).
Samantha Hargreaves
soprano
Guildhall School Opera Course (first year) studying with Marilyn Rees.
Scholarships Gita de la Fuente Prize; Christina and Ray McGrath Scholarship; Opera Europa Eva Kleinitz Scholarship 2024; Tait Memorial Trust White Loewenthal Award; AMF Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award.
Competitions John Fulford Prize in Herald Sun Aria Competition 2022; Acclaim Ambassadorial Prize 2022.
Previous roles include Poppea The Coronation of Poppea, Pamina The Magic Flute, Nella Gianni Schicchi, Beth Little Women (University of Melbourne); Hannchen Die Opernprobe, Reserl Der häusliche Krieg (Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program); excerpts of Susanna The Marriage of Figaro, Frasquita Carmen, Adele Die Fledermaus, Norina Don Pasquale, Mélisande Pelléas et Mélisande, Zerlina Don Giovanni (Guildhall School Opera Scenes).
Future Plans Guildhall School Opera Makers 2024, Guildhall School Autumn Opera 2024.
Emyr Lloyd Jones
tenor
Guildhall School Opera Course (second year) studying with Susan Waters.
Scholarships Horners' Becker Scholarship; Tobacco Pipe Makers' Scholarship.
Competitions Dunraven Gleemen Young Welsh Singer of the Year 2024; Pendine Park International Voice of the Future (Llangollen International Eisteddfod) 2022; Betty Bannerman French Song Prize (Royal Northern College of Music/Clonter Opera) 2022; The Joyce and Michael Kennedy Award for the singing of Strauss (Royal Northern College of Music) 2021.
Previous roles include Fulgor A Star Next To The Moon; Il pellegrino/Abbate Zosimo Maria egiziaca, Eckbert Blond Eckbert (Guildhall School); Bunyan/Evangelist The Pilgrim’s Progress, Sir Hugh Evans Sir John in Love (British Youth Opera); Count The Marriage of Figaro, Musiklehrer Ariadne auf Naxos, Forester The Cunning Little Vixen, Edmund Bertram Mansfield Park (Royal Northern College of Music).
Future plans Don Riccardo/Chorus Ernani (Buxton International Festival 2024).
Georgie Malcolm
soprano
Guildhall School Opera Course (first year) studying with Yvonne Kenny.
Scholarships Guildhall Scholarship.
Competitions Second Prize & Schubert Prize, National Mozart Competition 2022; First Prize, Howard-Williams Memorial Prize 2022 (Royal Northern College of Music); Highly Commended, Betty Bannerman French Song Prize 2022 (Royal Northern College of Music); Finalist, Young Singers’ Competition 2023 (Bampton Classical Opera); Finalist, New Voices Competition 2023 (Northern Aldborough Festival).
Previous roles include Countess The Marriage of Figaro, Monica The Medium, Aunt Norris Mansfield Park (Royal Northern College of Music); Cleopatra (cover) Antonio e Cleopatra (Buxton International Festival); Venus Venus & Adonis (L’Offerta Musicale di Venezia); Atalanta Serse (New Chamber Opera); scenes from The Rape of Lucretia, Hänsel und Gretel, Die Fledermaus, Don Giovanni, Dialogues des Carmélites, The Rake’s Progress (Guildhall School); chorus in La Rondine, Les pêcheurs de perles, La traviata (Opera North).
Future Plans Guildhall School Opera Makers 2024; Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition 2024.
Julia Merino
mezzo-soprano
Guildhall School Opera Course (first year) studying with Janice Chapman and Marcus van den Akker.
Scholarships: Herbert and Theresie Lowit Memorial Scholarship.
Previous roles include Woman 2 Frida (Northern Opera Group); Joseph´s Mother (cover) Dead Man Walking, Prince Orlofsky (English) Die Fledermaus, Scenes from Werther, Idomeneo, Eugene Onegin, The Rape of Lucretia, Béatrice et Bénédict, Hamlet, Così fan tutte, Carmen, Semele, The Magic Flute (Guildhall School); Scenes from Falstaff, La clemenza di Tito, The Marriage of Figaro (Conservatoire of Málaga, Spain).
Future plans: Guildhall School Opera Makers 2024; Encuentro de Música de Santander (Spain, July 2024), Recital with Málaga Guitar Orchestra (Spain, August 2024).
Shana Moron-Caravel
mezzo-soprano
Guildhall School Opera Course (second year) studying with Robert Dean.
Scholarships Sally Cohen Opera Scholarship; Dow Clewer Foundation Scholarship.
Competitions Trinity Laban English Song Competition 2020.
Previous roles and experience include Gianetta (cover) L’elisir d’amore (King’s Head Theatre); Parthénis La belle Hélène (Blackheath Halls); Justina A Star Next to the Moon; Scenes from La Favorita, The Marriage of Figaro, Werther, La clemenza di Tito (Guildhall School); Leading role in the newly composed Lanternfish by Luka Venter (Guildhall School Opera Makers); Bluebeard's Castle (London Schools Symphony Orchestra, Barbican). Shana has performed in recitals curated by Nicky Spence and Dylan Brewly-Perez with Blackheath Halls Opera, and as a soloist in her own recital at the 2022 Classix Festival (Romania).
Yolisa Ngwexana
soprano
Guildhall School Opera Course (second year) studying with Yvonne Kenny.
Scholarships Gwen Catley Scholarship (The Amar-Franses & Foster-Jenkins Trust); Innholders' Scholarship; Dow Clewer Foundation Scholarship.
Competitions Finalist in the Voices of Black Opera Competition 2022.
Previous roles include Lauretta Gainni Schicchi (Operatunity, South Africa); Gilda (cover) Rigoletto (Opera North); Damiana Cisneros A Star Next to the Moon; Uno compagno & Voce d'un angelo Maria egiziaca, La Fata azzurra La bella dormente nel bosco, scenes from The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Werther, Capriccio, The Rake's Progress, L'enfant et sortiléges (Guildhall School); Quicksilver Lanternfish (Guildhall School Opera Makers).
Samuele Piccinini
repetiteur
Guildhall School Repetiteur Course (first year) studying with Elizabeth Rowe.
Scholarships Margery & Frederick Stephen Wright Eisinger Award; Leverhulme Arts Scholarship.
Repetiteur credits include Maria Egiziaca and La bella dormente nel bosco (Guildhall School), Spring Opera Scenes 2024 (Guildhall School).
Future plans Guildhall School Opera Makers 2024.
Henry Reavey
repetiteur
Guildhall School Repetiteur Course (first year) studying with Elizabeth Rowe and Bretton Brown.
Scholarships Leverhulme Arts Scholarship.
Repetiteur credits include Banished, Mesdames de la Halle, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Enchanted Pig, Opera Scenes (Royal Birmingham Conservatoire); A Star Next to the Moon; Autumn Opera Scenes 2023 (Guildhall School).
Future plans Guildhall School Opera Makers 2024.
Meghan Rhoades
repetiteur
Guildhall School Repetiteur Course (first year) studying with Elizabeth Rowe.
Scholarships Guildhall Scholarship.
Repetiteur credits include A Star Next to the Moon; Autumn Opera Scenes 2023 (Guildhall School); La bohéme (The Music Academy of the West); The Magic Flute (The Trentino Music Festival); Amahl and the Night Visitors (Music On Site Inc.); Dido and Aeneas (Louisiana State University).
Future plans Guildhall School Opera Makers 2024.
Forthcoming Events
Making It
11 – 28 June
Silk Street & Milton Court
Making It is a three week long festival of new art created by Guildhall School’s eclectic and multi-skilled student community. Join us for performances, installations, concerts and talks and celebrate the next generation of trailblazing artists.
Kaleidoscope
13 – 21 June
Silk Street Theatre
Don't miss this collection of vital new performance works created by artists on the cusp of their professional careers. Kaleidoscope is a celebration of the diverse perspectives and boundless creativity of Guildhall School's final year actors.
Opera Makers
20 – 25 June
Milton Court Studio Theatre
Opera Makers features scenes from three Puccini operas, in addition to new works written by composers and librettists on Guildhall’s MA in Opera Making & Writing, performed by singers and repetiteurs from the first year of the Guildhall Opera Course.
Guildhall School Scholarship Fund
Each year the Scholarships Fund enables talented young actors, musicians, production artists and theatre technicians to take up their places or continue their studies at Guildhall School. We are extremely grateful to the many trusts, foundations, businesses, City livery companies and individuals who make annual donations to the Scholarships Fund, and to those people who make provision for legacy donations in support of the School in their wills. Production Arts and Opera students involved in this production who have received support from this year’s Scholarships Fund and from external donors are as follows:
Opera Department Scholars
Hector Bloggs Gwen Catley Scholarship (The Amar-Franses & Foster-Jenkins Trust)
Karima El Demerdasch Edith Vogel Bursary
Alaric Green Fishmongers' Music Scholarship
Jonah Halton Carpenters' Company Henry Osborne Award, Dyers' Scholarship, Dow Clewer Foundation Scholarship
Samantha Hargreaves Gita de la Fuente Prize, Christina and Ray McGrath Scholarship
Emyr Lloyd Jones Horners' Becker Scholarship, Tobacco Pipe Makers' Scholarship
Georgie Malcolm Guildhall Scholarship
Julia Merino Herbert and Theresie Lowit Memorial Scholarship
Shana Moron-Caravel Sally Cohen Opera Scholarship, Dow Clewer Foundation Scholarship
Yolisa Ngwexana Gwen Catley Scholarship, Innholders' Scholarship, Dow Clewer Foundation Scholarship
Manon Parry Sidney Perry Foundation Scholarship, Michael Bryant Bursary
Samuele Piccinini Margery & Frederick Stephen Wright Eisinger Award, Leverhulme Arts Scholarship
Henry Reavey Leverhulme Arts Scholarship
Meghan Rhoades Guildhall Scholarship
Cecily Shaw Guildhall Scholarship
Harun Tekin Guildhall Scholarship
Biqing Zhang Rosemary Thayer Award
Production Arts Department Scholars
Peter Adams Norman Gee Foundation Scholarship
Agatha Giannini Guildhall Scholarship
Abbie Hardcastle Guildhall Scholarship
Oscar Keeys Guildhall Scholarship
Uju Olisa Vanstone Scholarship, City of London Scholarship
Ida Pontoppidan Silver Bow Scholarship
Brook Richardson Guildhall Scholarship
Alec Schneider Guildhall Scholarship
Eloise Soester-Gulliver Guildhall Scholarship
Bea Taylor B&T Scholarship
Our Supporters
Guildhall School is grateful for the generous support of the following individuals, trusts and foundations, City livery companies and businesses, as well as those who wish to remain anonymous.
Exceptional Giving
Estate of David Bartley
The Cole Bequest
Victor Ford Foundation
The Leverhulme Trust
Estate of Barbara Reynolds
Estate of Rosemary Thayer
Estate of Berthe Wallis
Professor Christopher Wood MD FRCSEd FLSW
Leadership Giving
Amar-Franses & Foster-Jenkins Trust
City of London Education Board
Estate of Diana Devlin
Fishmongers’ Company
Norman Gee Foundation
Estate of Ralph Goode
Leathersellers’ Company
Herbert and Theresie Lowit Memorial
Scholarship
Ray McGrath Memorial Fund
Sidney Perry Foundation
Estate of Denis Shorrock
Hugh Vanstone and George Stiles
Wolfson Foundation
Henry Wood Accommodation Trust
C and P Young HonFGS
Estate of Eleanor van Zandt
Major Benefactors
Jane Ades Ingenuity Scholarship
Baha and Gabriella Bassatne
Behrens Foundation
Maria Björnson Memorial Fund
John S Cohen Foundation
Sally Cohen Opera Scholarships
D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
Elmira Darvarova
David Family Foundation
Dow Clewer Foundation
Drapers’ Company
Margaret Easton Scholarships
Marianne Falk
Amy and John Ford HonFGS
Albert & Eugenie Frost Music Trust CIO
Girdlers’ Company Charitable Trust
Haberdashers’ Company
Paul Hamburger Prize for Voice and Piano
Headley Trust
Estate of Elaine Hugh-Jones
Professor Sir Barry Ife CBE FKC and
Dr Trudi Darby
Cosman Keller Art and Music Trust
Gillian Laidlaw
Damian Lewis CBE FGS
London Symphony Orchestra
Alfred Molina FGS
Ripple Awards
Dr Leslie Olmstead Schulz
Skinners’ Company – Lawrence Atwell’s Charity
South Square Trust
Garfield Weston Foundation
Estate of Elizabeth Wolfe
Worshipful Company of Carpenters
Worshipful Company of Grocers
Worshipful Company of Innholders
Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers
Benefactors
Anglo-Swedish Society
Athena Scholarship
Estate of Ewen Balfour
George & Charlotte Balfour Award
Peter Barkworth Scholarship
Binks Trust
Ann Bradley
William Brake Foundation
Sir Nicolas Bratza
Noël Coward Foundation
Gita de la Fuente Scholarship
Susan Dibley
Robert Easton Scholarship
Eversheds Sutherland
Carey Foley Acting Scholarship
Mortimer Furber Scholarship
Gillian Gadsby
Andrew Galloway
Dr Jacqueline Glomski
Hargreaves and Ball Trust
Ironmongers’ Company
In memory of Barry MacDonald
Marina Martin
Estate of Sheila Melluish
Music First
NR1 Creatives
Norwich Chamber Music
Noswad Charity
John Peach
Peter Prynn
Harry Rabinowitz Memorial Scholarship
Fund
Salters’ Company
Edward Selwyn Memorial Fund
Graham Spooner
Stanley Picker Trust
Steel Charitable Trust
Steinway & Sons
Thompson Educational Trust
Kristina Tonteri-Young Scholarship
Worshipful Company of Barbers
Worshipful Company of Carmen Benevolent Trust
Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors
Worshipful Company of Dyers
Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers
Worshipful Company of Horners
Worshipful Company of International Bankers
Worshipful Company of Musicians
Worshipful Company of Pewterers
Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers
Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers
Worshipful Company of Weavers
Guildhall School
Production Arts Department
Vice-Principal & Director of Production Arts
Andy Lavender
Office Manager & Executive Assistant
Melissa Bonnelame
Deputy Director of Production Arts & Programme Leader BA Production Arts
Hansjörg Schmidt
Programme Leader, BA Digital Design & Production (formerly BA Video Design for Live Performance); Head of Theatre Technology
Andy Taylor
Programme Leader, MA Collaborative Theatre Production & Design
Emily Orley
Head of Costume
Rachel Young
Head of Design Realisation
Vanessa Cass
Head of Stage Management
Helen Barratt
Associate Producer
Stuart Calder
Outreach Manager (Production Arts)
Jon Hare
A full list of Production Arts teaching staff and technicians can be found on our website.
Guildhall School
Opera Department
Head of Opera Studies
Dominic Wheeler
Resident Producer
Martin Lloyd-Evans
Opera Department Manager
Steven Gietzen
Visiting Music Coaches
Lionel Friend
Alexander Ingram
Michael Lloyd
Elizabeth Marcus
Linnhe Robertson
Peter Robinson
Elizabeth Rowe
Susanna Stranders
Drama coaches
Martin Lloyd-Evans
Victoria Newlyn
Movement Coaches
Victoria Newlyn
Rachel Wise
Combat Coaches
Jonathan Leverett
Language Coaches
Florence Daguerre de Hureaux
Gerhard Gall
Johanna Mayr
Norbert Meyn
Emma Abbate
Emanuele Moris
Lada Valešová
Support the future of
the Performing Arts
As one of the top performing arts
institutions in the world, Guildhall School
of Music & Drama relies on your support
to maintain exceptional training for our
students, enabling their success in the
industry post-graduation.
From donating a named scholarship or
dedicating a seat in our venues, to joining
our Patrons’ programme, attending our
gala alongside notable alumni or leaving
a gift in your will, you could make a positive
difference to the next generation of talent.
“Each and every day, I reflect on the amazing
support my scholarship has given me. It
continues to empower me to take up space and
pursue my dream – I am forever thankful.”
– Francesca Gilbert, supported by the
Kristina Tonteri-Young Scholarship and
the Sir John Gielgud Charitable Trust.
To discover more, visit bit.ly/3P5jbIc
or contact the Development team at
development@gsmd.ac.uk or
+44 (0) 20 4582 2415
Opera Makers (Summer 2023) Photos © David Monteith-Hodge
Donate
We hope you thoroughly enjoy today’s performance at Guildhall School. If you feel inspired by our students and would like to support world-class training for these talented performers and production artists, we would be grateful for a voluntary donation.
Join the Guildhall Circle to access priority booking, exclusive events and more while providing vital support to our students. Join us at gsmd.ac.uk/circle.
Alternatively, you can make your gift using our contactless GoodBox devices located at the Box Office and foyer bars. Thank you.
Please visit our website at gsmd.ac.uk
Guildhall School is provided by the City of London as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nation.