Northern Ireland Opera Young Opera Voice of 2023’ - Anna graduated in 2022 with distinction, from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (BMus(Hons), MMus, MPerf). She was very fortunate to receive the Dufferin Foundation prize at the Camerata Ireland Academy 2024 and the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize at the Northern Ireland Opera BBC Radio 3 Festival of Voice 2023. Recently, she played  ‘Gabriel’ in a staged production of Hadyn’s ‘Creation’ with the Scherzo Ensemble, ‘Lucia’ in Britten’s ‘Rape of Lucretia’ with British Youth Opera, and covered the title role of ‘Elena’ in ‘Elena e Gerardo’ - Bottini, with Random Opera. Anna has also been fortunate to work with Wexford Festival Opera, Longborough Festival Opera, West Green Opera, Opera Collective Ireland, Sestina Music, Northern Ireland Opera and numerous choral societies in the UK and Ireland.

Ellen Mawhinney studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has now graduated from the Royal Academy of Music Opera School after studying with Kate Paterson and Ingrid Surgenor. Ellen is the winner of Northern Ireland Opera’s Young Opera Voice of the Year award, the Deborah Voigt Prize at Northern Ireland Opera’s Festival of Voice, and the inaugural Charles Wood Song Competition. She has been a featured artist live on BBC Radio 3: In Tune and spotlight recitalist for Classical Connections with BBCNI. She is a Leeds Lieder Young Artist, a Josephine Baker Trust artist and a member of the Academy Song Circle. This past summer she was also a fellow young artist at the Toronto International Song Festival with her duo partner. She is the grateful recipient of the John Talbot Collender Award.

With the Royal Academy of Music, she performed the role of Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, Miss Wordsworth in Britten’s Albert Herring and the role of Josephine in Martinu’s Comedy on the Bridge.

Other operatic performances include Falsirena in La fiera di Venezia with Bampton Opera, Annina in La traviata with Northern Ireland Opera and Chorus in Die Fledermaus with Northern Ireland Opera, Alice in Wonderland with Opera Collective Ireland.

London-based Soprano Rebecca Milford is thrilled to be returning to Merry Opera, after singing the title role of Cinderella in their production Cinderella ’23. Rebecca was a Wild Arts Young Artist, performing the roles of Lauretta and cover Gianetta in their tour of The Elixir of Love. Other operatic roles include, Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen with Opera Brava (2022), Head Hen and cover Vixen in Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen with Hampstead Garden Opera (2022), and cover Anne Page in Vaughn-Williams’ Sir John in Love with British Youth Opera at Opera Holland Park (2022). Alongside her performing career, Rebecca is an experienced opera outreach manager and practitioner, who passionately advocates accessible opera and music for all, and is currently the Education Manager for the opera company Wild Arts.

https://www.rebeccamilford.com/

Valerie Wong, Hong Kong-born Soprano took part in multiple opera productions including Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan as Peep-Bo, L'elisir d'amore by Donizetti as Gianetta, Les Contes d'Hoffmann by Offenbach as La Voix, Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini as La Badessa and La Ciesca, Semele by Handel as Ino, Così fan tutte and Le Nozze Di Figaro by Mozart, Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II, La Cenerentola by Rossini, Don Giovanni by Mozart, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, HMS Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan, Otello by Giuseppe Verdi. She recently made her debut as Wenjiao in The Monk of the River at the Tête à Tête Opera Festival 2021. Wong graduated with a Master of Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under John Evans. She also obtained the Bachelor of Music (Honours) under renowned soprano Nancy Yuen and the Diploma of Music from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2015. Wong was a recipient of the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir Scholarship, the Michael Rippon Memorial Scholarship, and the Guildhall Financial Award.

www.valeriewongyiwing.com

Samantha is a recent Masters and APD graduate of The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire; Previously, she trained in Veterinary Science at Harper Adams University. Upon graduating with distinction, she was awarded the Postgraduate Course Prize and the St Clare Barfield Rosebowl for Operatic Distinction 2021. She has been involved in several productions, most recently as ‘Hänsel’ in Humperdink’s opera ‘Hänsel and Gretel', ‘Cendrillon’ in Massenet’s opera, ‘Cendrillon’, Martha in Tchaikovsky’s opera, ‘Iolanta’, Mercédès in Bizet’s opera, Carmen with North Wales Opera Studio, Mary Magdalene in a semi-staged production of Bach’s St. John Passion with Cumbria Opera Group, Dorabella in Mozart’s ‘Così fan tutte’ (Cumbria Opera Group), Cherubino (Scenes) in Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’, La Zelatrice (Scenes) in Puccini’s ‘Suor Angelica’, but also as Mother/Other Mother in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s 'Coraline', and Fanny Price in Dove's 'Mansfield Park'; she also gained a place on The Royal Opera House’s Jette Parker Artist Programme mentorship scheme, and has since been paired with Australian operatic soprano, Lauren Fagen. Samantha also has a vehement passion for art song, winning The Edward Brooke’s English Song Prize in 2019 and also, being a semi-finalist in The London Song Festival 2022. One of her proudest accomplishments was being a Pendine International Voice of the Future semi-finalist last year; she performed both opera and song alongside some British sign language. She is looking forward to exploring this more, touring a programme consisting of composers and poets born or resident, along the famous journey from John O’Groats to Lands End; the heart of this project is to make music and performances more accessible to communities who wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience recitals or productions, whilst also bringing knowledge to their land’s heritage. She is looking forward to performing this throughout the country this year.

Elizabeth (Tilly) Green is a second-year postgraduate at The Royal Academy of Music studying under Kate Paterson. Here, she holds the position of being a Josephine Baker Trust Scholar. Having started her singing career as a chorister at both Canterbury and Rochester Cathedral, Elizabeth has performed on commercial recordings for Regent Records and Decca Records, the latter of which was both as part of the choir and as a soloist.

Elizabeth has performed as a soloist internationally, singing J S Bach’s St John Passion in Aachen, Germany. Some of her other soloist opportunities have included Handel’s Messiah at Canterbury Cathedral, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Haydn’s Creation and Dvorçak’s Stabat Mater amongst others.

Whilst pursuing her undergraduate studies at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and graduating with a first-class honours degree, Elizabeth successfully auditioned for the Associate Artist programme under the tutelage of Karen Cargill. Whilst at RCS, she took part in opera scenes, performing the roles of Papagena and Fiordiligi. Elizabeth also completed a year-long contract with the Scottish Opera Young Company as well as a workshop with British Youth Opera. In December 2021, she performed the role of Sandmann in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel as a Young Artist for Westminster Opera Company, the performance of which was reprised at Château de Panloy, France.

Elizabeth recently performed as Venus in Venus and Adonis with Hampstead Garden Opera and Gertrude (Hänsel und Gretel) with Berlin Opera Academy under the Ian Donald Wilson Memorial Scholarship. Elizabeth is also in demand as a recitalist internationally, performing at venues such as Budapest International School, Cobham Hall School and Canterbury Cathedral.

On the concert platform, Elizabeth has performed Songs for Sue by Oliver Knussen under the baton of Barbara Hannigan as part of a project with Julliard school. She also performed the Staged Messiah with The Merry Opera Company which toured around Kent and London. Most recently, Elizabeth has been an Emerging Artist with The Australian Contemporary Opera Company, based in Melbourne where she performed many roles, most notably the Secretaryin Menotti’s The Consul.

Ralph Thomas Williams is a British countertenor active around the United Kingdom having finished his studies at The Royal Northern College of Music. Roles include Cupid (Venus and Adonis) with HGO, premiering Isaac/Caspar in Luke Styles/Britten's Awakening Shadow for Cheltenham and Presteigne Festivals, Ruggiero (Alcina) with SOA and The Woodcutter’s Boy (Pilgrim’s Progress) with RNCM. Recent premiered roles include Rafe Abandon (The End of The World Party) by Lente Verlest for Hull Urban Opera and Host (The Red Room) by Amir Tafreshipour for Tête à Tête Festival.

Ralph is a winner of The Bessie Cronshaw & Frost Brownson Song Cycle Prize 2019 and The Manchester Welsh Society Award 2019 at RNCM.

Concert engagements include Pergolesi Stabat Mater with Northern Chamber Orchestra, the title role in Handel’s Cesare with Malden Festival, the title role in Handel’s Solomon with The Michael Haydn Orchestra, Haydn’s Arianna a Naxos with the London Mozart Players, soloist with Liverpool Bach Collective and Eboracum Baroque, Handel’s Messiah with both British Sinfonietta and Northern Chamber Orchestra and Vivaldi arias with Manchester Baroque.

Glenn Tweedie is from Whiteabbey Co Antrim where he is now based having spent a large part of his earlier career in London. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester as an undergraduate and then the Royal College of Music in London as a post graduate. Further study and singing has taken him to Italy and the Teatro del Maggio in Florence, some time with The European Festival Chorus in Saltzburg including their Italian tours. He has worked with the National Reis opera in the Netherlands and has been on major tours singing Opera and operetta in UK and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Malaysia. Glenn sings an extensive tenor repertoire in concert, oratorio and opera. He has worked ‘a number of seasons’ with BYO, Grange Park Opera, European Chamber Opera, Buxton Festival Opera, Opera UK and many more and has been singing with Merry Opera for a number of years in many of their productions and as a regular in their Gala concerts. His roles include a wide variety of repertoire including Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) , Ferrando (Cosi fan tutte),  Tamino (The Magic Flute), Monostatos (The Magic Flute) Mozart, Torquemada (L'heure Espagnol) Ravel, Lacouf and Le journaliste (Les Mamelles de Tiresias) Poulenc, Dr Caius (Falstaff) , Edouard (Un giorno di regno) Gastone (La Traviata) Verdi, Piquillo (La Perichole) Offenbach, Don Luigi (Maria Padilla) Donizetti , Pifear (Si J'etais Roi), Camille (The Merry Widow) Lehar, Hypochondriac (The Gambler) Prokoviev and Triquet and Lensky in (Eugine Onegin) Tchaikovsky. Glenn was in the original cast of the Merry Opera Messiah and has now sung around 60 performances.

David Walsh is a freelance musician and tenor based in Glasgow, Scotland. Originally from Donegal, Ireland, he studied Music at the University of Aberdeen and has performed professionally across the UK and internationally. His credits include singing with the Dunedin Consort, Sestina Early Music Ensemble, Northern Irish Opera, and Aberdeen Vocal Ensemble. David is a former Tenor Lay Clerk at Canterbury Cathedral and has received the University of Aberdeen's Ogston Music Prize. He is also an alumnus of the Dunedin Consort's 'Bridging the Gap' scheme and was a scholar with the professional vocal group Voces8.

Cameron Gergett is an Irish Tenor who has recently graduated from a Masters at Trinity Laban, studying with Robert Alderson. Whilst at Trinity Laban he was supported by the Kathleen Roberts Scholarship, the Morag Noble Scholarship and also a Choral Scholarship at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel Choir. Cameron previously completed a BA in Music at Durham University before taking up a Choral Scholarship at Liverpool Cathedral. Whilst in Liverpool, Cameron also regularly performed with the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra. Recent performances include Tamino in The Magic Fluter with Opera Viva, Ship Victor in Libby Larson’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus and Chorus for Longborough Opera Festival's La Boheme. As a part of Trinity Laban Opera Scenes, Cameron has played numerous roles such as Fenton in Falstaff, Tamino in Die Zauberflote, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Spalanzani in Tales of Hoffman, Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos, Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia and Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus Serail. Cameron has also recently performed as a soloist with Chorleywood Music Society, Southend Bach Choir and Luminosa Choir.

Harry Swanson is an exciting young baritone, renowned for his adept performances in both solo and ensemble settings, and a deep appreciation for a broad spectrum of musical styles.

He studied Linguistics at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was Senior Choral Scholar. Following his studies, Harry served as a Choral Scholar at Canterbury Cathedral, where he was part of the cathedral’s pioneering program for early career musicians, engaging in performance, composition, and educational outreach.

Harry sang principal roles in contemporary operas The Wings of the Dove and Judith with Cambridge University Opera Society. His recent concert repertoire includes baritone solos in Lili Boulanger’s Pour les funérailles d’un soldat, Roderick Williams’ O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, and Fauré’s Requiem, and bass solos for Haydn’s Missa in Tempore Belli, as well as Mozart’s Krönungsmesse and Requiem. Also an experienced recitalist, he was a finalist in the Association of English Singers and Speakers' Catherine Lambert Junior Recital Prize - winning the Marian Lines Speech Prize - and a semi-finalist in the Clare College Song Competition.

Harry is also an accomplished guitarist and trombonist, playing in various pop, jazz, and funk bands, and a freelance composer and arranger. Outside of music, he works as a Senior Dialogue Designer at PolyAI, where he crafts sophisticated AI conversational agents that enhance human-computer interaction.

Before setting up Merry Opera, Matthew spent many years advising boardrooms of European companies where he saw passions played out in operatic dimensions. For Merry Opera: Leporello Don Giovanni, Basilio Barber of Seville, Bartolo Marriage of Figaro, Sarastro Magic Flute, Germont La Traviata, Benoit/Alcindoro La Boheme, Marcus Kiss Me, Figaro!, Sergeant of Police Pirates of Penzance, bass soloist in staged productions of Handel’s Messiah and Verdi Requiem. Elsewhere: Raimbaud Count Ory, Kecal Bartered Bride, The Old Man in Bloch’s Macbeth, Swallow Peter Grimes, Drunken Poet Fairy Queen, Polyphemus Acis and Galatea. He has also performed concerts of opera and cabaret items on tour and at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Will Sharma is a conductor and répétiteur working across a broad range of opera, orchestral and music theatre repertoire. In 2023, Will joined the music staff of Dijon Opera as assistant conductor, coach and language coach for their production of The Turn of the Screw, as well as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as assistant/cover conductor and continuo for their production of Händel's Arminio. He continued his work as a répétiteur with Longborough Festival Opera, working on productions of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, and their education and outreach production of The Downfall of Don José, an adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen.

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Past highlights include: TIDE! at the Aldeburgh Festival, a world premiere by Emily Hazrati and Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh, commissioned by Britten Pears Arts; and West Green House Opera’s 5 star production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin; as well as orchestral concerts with the GoodEnsemble and Royal Forest of Dean Orchestra, where he was Principal and Associate Conductor respectively.

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A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Will completed his undergraduate degree in Vocal Studies under the guidance of John Evans and Adrian Thompson, before joining their Opera School. He studied as a répétiteur with Elizabeth Rowe and Susanna Stranders and subsequently as a conducting fellow where he was mentored by Dominic Wheeler. At Guildhall, Will worked as assistant conductor and chorus master for their 2021 Opera Makers world première as well as productions of The Little Green Swallow (Dove), Dido and Aeneas (Purcell) and various opera scenes. He was a répétiteur and continuo player for productions such as I’m Cleaning, I’m Cleaning (Esbenshade), the spring Opera Scenes, and their critically acclaimed production of La fedeltà premiata (Haydn).

Equally at home in Musical Theatre, the 22/23 season saw Will return to the world famous Minack Theatre for productions of Everybody's Talking About Jamie and 13: The Musical; and as musical director for The Kids Who Make It Happen at Cadogan Hall. He has worked on shows such as Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar (Lloyd Webber); Sweeney Todd (Sondheim); Dogfight (Pasek & Paul) and Sister Act (Menken) to name but a few.

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In 2023, Will took up the role the Musical Supervisor for The British Theatre Academy, working with some of the UK’s finest young performers on a wide range of musical theatre shows, concerts and workshops, having worked with the company since 2018. He has worked on recordings with iTheatrics as UK musical director and pianist for new JR productions including Matilda, Cats and My Fair Lady.

Prior to their sad closure, he was part of the creative team for the Make a Difference Trust, a charity which raised funds to help those affected by HIV and AIDS in both the UK and worldwide. Since 2017, he had been their Musical Director and Arranger for A West End Christmas, an annual concert featuring talent from London’s West End held at the Actor’s Church, Covent Garden, as well as playing for and advising on other events such as West End Eurovision.

Jack Stone was a student of Chethams; graduate of the Royal College of Music (receiving the Harold Darke Prize) and is an Associate of the Royal College of Organists. Jack has held accompanist posts at Dean Close School; Tewkesbury Abbey; Carlisle Cathedral; Chelsea Ballet; Morley, Regents & Chelsea Opera. He has performed at notable venues such as St Paul’s, Bristol, Manchester & Southwark Cathedrals; Temple Church & RCM. Jack is currently Director of Music at Catford Parish Church; répétiteur for Lewisham Urban Opera; tutor at Morley College; accompanist of The South London Singers and a freelance vocal coach and teacher.

Olivia conducts professional and student ensembles in London Her previous engagements include her role as Assistant Conductor for ‘La Bohème’ (Longborough Festival Opera), Conductor for ‘Dido and Aeneas’ (University of London), Assistant Chorus Master for Mahler ‘Symphony no. 3’ (Royal Academy of Music), Assistant Musical Director for ‘Hansel and Gretel’ (British Youth Opera), and semi-finalist in the DIMA International Choral Conducting Competition (18th Edition). This year, she has been shortlisted to compete in the London International Choral Conducting Competition.

Olivia graduated with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music, London, having received a DipRam award for outstanding performance, and the Sir Thomas Armstrong Choral Leadership Prize. Subsequently, Olivia was appointed as a Fellow at the Academy, where she founded The CONVENTional Project, an early music ensemble specialising in Italian convent music. Olivia has continued to develop her conducting through the RPS Women Conductors ‘Advance’ course, Glover-Edwards Conducting Programme, Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholarship, Dartington International Summer School Advanced Conductor programme, and as a Fellow of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain.

Orly Watson was a chorister at Armagh Cathedral and studied with Theo Saunders and George Minne before reading Music at Somerville College, Oxford and training at the Royal Academy of Music. He was awarded the Peter Rankin Pianist Internship by Northern Ireland Opera and works extensively with Ulster Touring Opera. Orly worked under a fellowship at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and is accompanist at Queen’s University Belfast. An expert song accompanist and chamber musician, he also performs as a piano and organ recitalist. Several of his compositions have been published and he was awarded the PRSf Early Career Commission by the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble. He was Organist at Dromore Cathedral, and has recently been awarded a place to pursue solo piano studies at the RIAM.