Trainees 2011/12

Sopranos
Susanna Hurrell
Rhian Lois

Mezzo-sopranos
Catia Moreso
Josephine Thorpe

Tenors
David Butt Philip
Carlos Fidalgo
Anthony Gregory
Alexander Sprague

Baritones
Charles Rice

Bass
Aidan Smith

Repetiteurs
Jean-Yves Cornet
Ja Yeon Kang
Philip Voldman
Paul Wingfield

Alexander Baker baritone

Winner of Second Prize at the 2008 Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Competition, Alexander Robin Baker was born in 1985 in Epsom, Surrey. He was a Music Scholar at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, graduated in July 2007 B.Mus. with first-class honours from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating from the Opera Course under the tuition of David Pollard. During his time at the Guildhall he took part in many Concerts and Masterclasses, most notably with Sir John Tomlinson, Graham Johnson and Sarah Walker, and sang Edoardo L’Assedio di Calais, The Philosopher Chérubin Norton La cambiale di matrimonio.

He has appeared at the Oxford Lieder Festival and in an Opera Gala for Longborough Festival Opera, and sang Smirnov The Bear with the Nationale Reisopera RAP at the Grachtenfestival, Amsterdam.

Concert engagements have included Messiah for Lund University Chamber Choir, Sweden, David Mathews’ Marina in the Composers’ Portrait series, broadcast live on Radio 3, as part of the 2007 BBC Proms, and Edward Harper’s Second Symphony with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared at the Aldeburgh, Chipping Campden and Ponte de Lima, Portugal, Festivals, and has worked with the London Philharmonic, Brandenburg Sinfonia, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Ten Tors Orchestra, under conductors including Martyn Brabbins, Sir Andrew Davies, Simon Ible, Frank Ollu, Simon Over and Jeremy Silver. For Rambert Dance Company, he was baritone soloist in Eternal Light: A Requiem.

He made his Glyndebourne Festival debut in Billy Budd as Novice's Friend in 2010 conducted by Sir Mark Elder. He also features in the DVD by Opus Arte of the same production.

Alexander Robin Baker holds the 2010 Glyndebourne On Tour Donald A. Anderson Award following his performances of Mercurio in Poppea. He was a Jerwood Young Artist at the 2011 Glyndebourne Festival and sang the role of The Hunter Rusalka. In September 2011 he takes up a place at the National Opera Studio.