Susan Bullock CBE Music and Vocal Expand Susan Bullock’s unique position as one of the world’s most sought-after British dramatic sopranos was recognised by the award of a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in June 2014. One of her most distinctive roles, Wagner’s Brünnhilde has garnered outstanding praise leading Susan to become the first ever soprano to sing four consecutive cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Royal Opera House under Sir Antonio Pappano. Appearances as Richard Strauss’ Elektra have brought her equal international acclaim and collaborations with leading conductors including Fabio Luisi, Semyon Bychkov, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Mark Elder and Edo de Waart. Susan continues to expand into new repertoire including Kostelnička (Jenůfa) for Grange Park Opera, Minnie (La fanciulla del West) for English National Opera, Mother and The Witch (Hänsel und Gretel) for Opera North, Mrs Lovett (Sweeney Todd) for Houston Grand Opera, Mother in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek at the Edinburgh International Festival and with Scottish Opera and, further ahead, adds Klytaemnestra (Elektra) Canadian Opera.
Iain Burnside Song Expand Iain Burnside is a pianist who has appeared in recital with many of the world’s leading singers. His recordings straddle an exuberantly eclectic repertoire ranging from Beethoven and Schubert to the cutting edge, as in the Gramophone Award-winning NMC Songbook. Recent recordings include the complete Rachmaninov songs (Delphian). Burnside’s passion for English Song is reflected in acclaimed CDs of Britten, Finzi, Ireland, Butterworth and Vaughan Williams, many with baritone Roderick Williams. Away from the piano, Ian is active as a writer and broadcaster. As presenter of BBC R3’s Voices he won a Sony Radio Award. For GSMD, Ian has devised a number of singular theatre pieces. A Soldier and a Maker, based on the life of Ivor Gurney, was performed at the Barbican Centre and the Cheltenham Festival, and later broadcast by BBC R3 on Armistice Day. His new project Swansong has been premiered at the Kilkenny Festival and will play in Milton Court in November. Iain is Artistic Director of the Ludlow English Song Weekend and Artistic Consultant to Grange Park Opera.
Maria Cleva Italian Expand Maria Cleva has been coaching at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden for over thirty years. She has also coached at the WNO, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne Festival. Her other coaching credits include the Marinsky Academy, St. Petersburg, the Munich State Opera and the Vienna State Opera. Maria has worked on many recordings as Italian coach for Deutschegrammophone, Philips and Decca with Sir Colin Davis, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Georg Solti, Trevor Pinnock CBE and Sir John Elliot Gardner among others. She teaches at the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio.
Florence Daguerre de Hureaux French Expand Born in Paris, Florence settled in London in 1982, trained as a singer at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. She is now in great demand as a French coach, and has been working in music colleges and opera houses in England and Europe for the last 30 years: Glyndebourne, ROH, Salzburg Festival, La Scala, Stockholm Royal Opera, Danish Royal Opera, New Israeli Opera, De Nederlandse Opera, Korea National Opera, Teatro Real, Wielki Theatre Warsaw etc. As well as lecturing and doing pre-concert talks, she has worked with many distinguished singers in preparation for operatic roles, recitals and recordings. Florence loves working with young artists and is a staff member at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal Academy of Music, the National Opera Studio and the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at ROH. Florence is a co-founder and director of the Academy of French Song and Opera
Matteo Dalle Fratte Italian Expand Matteo Dalle Fratte is an Italian language coach, musicologist and Italian tenor, who studied at the University of Padua and with Paolo Badoer, a pupil of Gilda Dalla Rizza, Puccini’s favourite soprano. In addition to his role as Italian language coach at the National Opera Studio since 2010, Matteo is a Professor of Italian at the Guildhall School, where he completed a Research Fellowship in Italian phonetics for opera in 2013. He is also an Italian coach on the ROH Jette Parker Young Artists Programme and visiting Professor at RCM, RCS and RWCMD. In 2014, Matteo founded Melofonetica to promote the correct use of Italian language in opera. With Melofonetica Academy, Matteo leads courses in the UK and Italy, using his research-based Melofonetica Method®, which helps singers and other music professionals develop their skills in sung Italian. Since 2010 Matteo has coached opera productions for the Royal Opera House, Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras, Welsh National Opera, Opera North, Grange Park Opera, Classical Opera, Nevill Holt Opera, Arcangelo, La nuova musica, Opera Settecento and Opera Rara.
Andrew Griffiths Music and Vocal Expand Andrew Griffiths studied conducting under Martyn Brabbins in Glasgow and trained as a répétiteur at the National Opera Studio and at Scottish Opera before joining the Jette Parker Young Artist programme at The Royal Opera (2006-08). He has conducted for ROH, WNO, Opera North, Opera Theatre Company, Early Opera Company, Mid Wales Opera, Bampton Classical Opera, and Iford Festival Opera, and appeared in concert with the orchestras of ROH and Opera North, the Orchestra of the Swan, Southbank Sinfonia, and the Orpheus Sinfonia. He has also worked at Glyndebourne, ENO, Chicago Opera Theatre and with the BBC Symphony and Scottish Symphony Orchestras, and regularly coaches the Young Artists at ROH and NOS. He is often engaged for projects outside the standard operatic canon, and is particularly experienced in Baroque repertoire and the music of the last fifty years. In addition to his work in the theatre, he is in constant demand as a choral director; he regularly broadcasts with the BBC Singers and is musical director of Kingston Choral Society and chamber choir Londinium.
Seb Harcombe Stanislavsky Method Expand Seb originally read music at London University but changed direction to study acting at RADA. After 15 years of performing with major UK companies (including the RSC and National Theatre), he became a director and teacher. He has been Head of Acting at RADA and Drama Centre London. Recent UK productions as director include A Waste of Time (Proust), After Troy (Glyn Maxwell), Therese Raquin (Zola), The Illusion (Corneille), A Bright Room Called Day (Kushner), Billy Budd (Melville), Ladybird (Sigarev), La Dispute, (Marivaux), Electra (Sophocles/Payne), Bloody Poetry (Brenton), and the operas La voix humane, Eugene Onegin, Idomeneo and Dido and Aeneas. Seb was made a UNESCO Theatre Ambassador in 2013, directing an all-male version of Richard the Third in Beijing (in Cantonese).
Karen Halliday Movement Expand Karen trained as a dancer, singer, actress and sports injury therapist. She worked as a professional performer for over thirty years. Opera: at least fifty productions including: Glyndebourne ‘Orfeo Ed Euridice’, Royal Opera House ‘L’Africaine’, ‘Fidelio’, ‘Cunning Little Vixen’, ENO ‘Mikado’, “Queen of Spades’, and forty or more other productions, Garsington ‘Die Liebe der Danne’, New Sadlers Well Opera ‘HMS Pinafore’ as assistant choreographer and re-staging Musicals :West End and tours including: Palladium ‘Showboat’, Barbican ‘Wizard of Oz’, Victoria Palace ‘Brigadoon’, Aldwych ‘Annie Get your Gun’, also tours “Cabaret’, ‘My Fair Lady’ Choreography :all styles/media from Disney to Shakespeare Film/television: As actress, dancer, choreographer Plays: including ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream,’ ‘Hans Christian Anderson’ ‘Blood Wedding’, ‘Full Circle'
Alex Ingram Music and Vocal Expand Alex Ingram read Music at Cambridge, won a Piano Accompaniment Scholarship to the Guildhall, and was a Trainee Repetiteur at the NOS in its inaugural year. A fortnight later he started as a repetiteur at WNO and a year later became Assistant Chorusmaster at ENO. Then to Australia for 3 years: as Assistant and, shortly afterwards, MD of State Opera of South Australia. Returned to Europe for a year as a solorepetitor in Kiel ; subsequently invited by Mark Elder to rejoin ENO. He stayed with ENO for 17 years, conducting his first opera there in 1990. Promoted to Resident Conductor in 1998 he has since conducted more than 100 opera performances at the Coliseum as well as shows for ETO, BYO and many other smaller UK opera companies. His repertoire covers almost all the mainstream operatic favourites, including 6 Wagner operas - 5 of them at ENO, Tannhäuser at the Sydney Opera House. He has also conducted ballets at the ROH, the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Wiener Staatsoper, the Met, Japan and China.
Della Jones Music and Vocal Expand Della Jones, one of Great Britain’s leading mezzo-sopranos, was born in Neath, South Wales. With a wide repertoire extending from early to contemporary music, Della has appeared with all the leading British opera companies, while foreign engagements have included performances in the U.S.A., Russia, Japan, Canada, and throughout Europe in over 200 operatic roles. Her concert appearances include engagements all over the world with leading orchestras and conductors, such as Sir Georg Solti, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Mark Elder, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Mark Minkowski. Della Jones broadcasts regularly on radio and television both in this country and abroad and has recorded prolifically with all the major record companies in over a hundred recordings. Della is sort after in her work coaching singers and Master Classes in Britain, around Europe and New Zealand.
Kate Maravan Meisner Technique Expand Kate is an actress, writer and teacher. She trained at RADA and works in Theatre, Television and Film. She has co-written scripts for theatre, the BBC and Channel 4 and teaches on a weekly basis at The Actors Centre and at her own practice in Exmouth Market. In 1997 Kate met Scott Williams and discovered the Meisner Technique and embarked on an ongoing practice and exploration of the work. She began teaching the Technique in 2000 and teaches in the UK and internationally. With the work firmly rooted in and focused on the Meisner Technique, Kate has been inspired by her explorations into the work of Gabrielle Roth's 5 Rhythms Dance; Kath Burlinson, Authentic Artist Collective; Paul Oertel, Discipline of Freedom; Paula Shaw, The Max and others, to widen and continuously develop her approach.
Steven Maughan Music and Vocal Expand Steven Maughan studied music at Durham University before going on to study piano accompaniment at the RNCM, and to train as a coach and répétiteur at the National Opera Studio. Since then, Steven has worked principally at Glyndebourne where he is now a senior coach. Next season, he will work on a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande and a revival of Der Rosenkavalier, both with Robin Ticciati. Steven also works regularly for De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam where he prepared, amongst others, Der Rosenkavalier with Sir Simon Rattle, Don Carlos with Yannick Nezet Seguin and La Fanciulla del West with Carlo Rizzi. Steven was senior coach on The Rape of Lucretia at the ROH Covent Garden, and was music and language coach on David McVicar's new production of The Turn of the Screw at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Steven now coaches at the National Opera Studio, the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music.
Rebecca Meitlis Feldenkrais Method Expand Rebecca Meitlis is a Feldenkrais Practitioner, her practice focuses on performers, building on her professional experience in Opera and Creative Learning. As well as teaching at The National Opera Studio, she is a visiting professor at the Opera Academy Teatr Wielki Warsaw, teaches at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, ALRA and the Opéra National de Bordeaux. She collaborated with Sally Burgess on a research project, The Creative Singer, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has been invited to teach at Exzellenz-Labor Gesang with Hedwig Fassbender Her career in opera began when she was awarded an ACE Director’s bursary at Scottish Opera. She was a staff director at English National Opera and co-directed the Baylis Programme with David Sulkin. She has worked for many arts and education organisations including Youth Music, Creative Partnerships and The Britten Pears Foundation. Rebecca has published an article about her work with singers in the Journal of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, entitled Connecting through the breath towards expressive communication in performance; an enquiry into the training of Opera singers.
Florent Mourier French Expand French pianist Florent Mourier is a recitalist, collaborative pianist and vocal coach. He is passionate about music making, drama, pedagogy, communication and the human voice. Florent trained in Paris, Amsterdam, the Guildhall School of Music and the National Opera Studio in London. Florent is an ENOA Young Artist, a Britten-Pears Young Artist, an Oxford Lieder Festival Master-course alumnus, a laureate of the Fondation Royaumont and a member of the Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Florent works as pianist/vocal coach at the Guildhall School of Music, the National Opera Studio and for the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House.
Martin Pacey Music and Vocal Expand Martin Pacey studied piano with Sidney Harrison and Hamish Milne, and composition with Alexander Goehr. Prior to working in opera, he wrote reviews and articles on music for a variety of publications, including The Musical Times, The Listener, The Independent and The Sunday Telegraph. He is an occasional guest repetiteur for ENO, having been a full-time member of the music staff there from 1997 to 2008, and has worked freelance for Opera North, Opera Australia and La Monnaie. He was involved in ENO’s ‘Opera Works’ program for young singers from 2013 to 2017 and coaches regularly at the Royal College of Music as well as at the Studio.
Margaret Papoutsis Osteopath Expand Margaret has spent her entire professional life working with performers. Singers, musicians and dancers have all benefitted from her unique approach to the many challenges of a performer’s professional life. At The National Opera Studio, Margaret specialises in the optimisation of a singer’s posture and vocal mechanics. This encourages the most effective anatomical and functional efficiency for singing. Margaret has always favoured an holistic approach to health and successfully integrates nutrition, and other complementary therapies within her recommendations. Emphasis is placed on providing the singer or pianist with the tools to maintain health throughout their professional career. Margaret is a Gold Medal graduate from the British School of Osteopathy (now the University College of Osteopathy) and has diplomas in Nutritional Therapy (and diet), Herbal Medicine, and Sports Nutrition. She is also an experienced Advanced Psych-K Facilitator. Margaret is registered with the General Osteopathic Council, and British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT).
Michael Pollock Music and Vocal Expand Michael Pollock won a Demyship in music to Magdalen College, Oxford before going to the Royal College of Music to study piano accompaniment with Roger Vignoles. At the age of 21 he was appointed to the music staff of Welsh National Opera and over the next 20 years he prepared the casts for more than 75 operas (working closely with conductors such as Sir Reginald Goodall, Pierre Boulez, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Richard Armstrong and Carlo Rizzi). He also worked on several contemporary operas for Music Theatre Wales. He is Consultant Coach for the Harewood Artists at English National Opera, and a regular guest coach at the National Opera Studio as well as the opera schools of the Royal Academy of Music (where he has been awarded an Honorary Associateship), the Royal College of Music, and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (of which he is an Honorary Fellow). He frequently prepares complete operatic roles for singers such as Sarah Connolly, Rebecca Evans, Sara Fulgoni, Natalya Romaniw and Gwyn Hughes Jones.
Peter Robinson Music and Vocal Expand Peter Robinson MA(Oxon) FRCO Hon ARAM has been coaching at the NOS every year since 1981. A vastly experienced opera conductor, he has held staff positions at Glyndebourne (Chorus Master 1972-73), Opera Australia (Head of Music Staff and Resident Conductor 1974-80) and English National Opera (Assistant Music Director 1981-89).Since 1989 he jas been a freelance conductor and coach, working for many companies in the UK and Australia, including ENO, Scottish Opera, ETO, Opera Holland Park, Raymond Gubbay Ltd at the RAH, Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, State Opera of South Australia and West Australian Opera.He was Artistic Director of British Youth Opera (2006-14). He conducts and coaches regularly for GSMD and RAM, and also works at RCM and the ROH Jette Parker Young Artists Programme.The many eminent singers with whom he has worked over the years include Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Dame Felicity Lott, Rosalind Plowright, Susan Bullock, Dame Felicity Palmer, Sarah Walker, Della Jones, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Sir Thomas Allen, Norman Bailey, Sir John Tomlinson, and former NOS Directors Kathryn Harries, Donald Maxwell and Richard Van Allan.
Dr Ralph Strehle Performance Coaching Expand Ralph is performance coach, lecturer and researcher at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. As performance coach, he specialises in audition and competition preparation, designs individual psychological skills training programmes, offers peak performance workshops and career management. At RCS, he lectures in the Vocal Studies Department and in Creative and Contextual Studies focusing on effective practice techniques. Having worked as a classically trained singer in Europe and the UK, Ralph’s first-hand performance experience provides him with unique insights into a musician’s mindset and informs all aspects of his coaching. Ralph is currently writing his second PhD in the field of performance motivation. As well as working with individual clients, Ralph has coached at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatoire, the National Opera Studio and the New Generation Festival.
Ingrid Surgenor Music and Vocal Expand Ingrid Surgenor studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and with the legendary accompanist Gerald Moore. She began her career at the Glyndebourne Festival and in addition to a long association with Welsh National Opera, has worked at the Vienna, Taormina, Wexford and Hong Kong Festivals and with conductors including Sir Bernard Haitink, Carlo Maria Giulini, Sir John Barbirolli, Christoph Von Dohnanyi, and Sir Charles Mackerras. She spent nine seasons at the annual international Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, four as head of music preparation for Parsifal, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli and Pierre Boulez, directed by Wolfgang Wagner and Christoph Schlingensief. Ingrid’s television and radio performances have included career documentaries, song recitals and the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition where she enjoyed much acclaim as official accompanist for almost twenty years. Ingrid is a senior coach at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and is principal opera coach at the Royal Academy of Music, London. She has recently returned from Oper Stuttgart where she was Senior Coach for their first production of Britten's Death in Venice.
Heather Tomala Keyboard Skills and Musicianship for Singers Expand Combining her interests in music, theatre and languages, Heather pursues a diverse performing and coaching career encompassing musical direction, ensemble work and accompaniment. Her skills at the harpsichord, fortepiano, modern piano and keyboard have led to roles with the Southbank Centre, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Classical Opera Company, Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra, Handel Singing Competition, Tenebrae, Trafalgar Sinfonia, West End shows and UK touring productions. Heather enjoys inspiring musicians of all ages and is fascinated by approaches to learning, lending her expertise to theatrical and operatic projects, professional and community choruses. Positions include Keyboard skills & Musicianship tutor at the National Opera Studio, accompanist for Bel Canto Summer School (collaborating with Dame Emma Kirkby) and Dartington International Summer School, répétiteur for London College of Music’s Musical Theatre Department, Theory & Aural tutor for St. Paul’s School, and former Musical Awareness teaching for Junior Guildhall. Following great curiosity in music’s overlap with science, Heather is also a popular presenter for interactive lecture series MusicUpClose. Off duty she is a dedicated member of the Mulvihill Academy of Irish Dance, with 16 years’ training to date.