Carmen - Cast and Creative Team

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Jeremy Silver - Music Director

Acclaimed for being “as exciting as he is subtle in his conducting”, Jeremy Silver’s passionate music making and overriding sense of lyricism and balance have made him an esteemed conductor among orchestras, singers and opera directors alike. Recent performances include Handel’s Alcina at Longborough Festival Opera and two exciting Donizetti rediscoveries, L’assedio di Calais and Il Furioso all’isola di San Domingo with English Touring Opera in performing editions resulting from his considerable editorial work on both scores.
He has worked extensively in South Africa with all the country’s major symphony orchestras in repertoire ranging from the classical symphonies of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert through to the iconic works of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Saint Saëns Organ Symphony, Rachmaninov 2nd Symphony, Elgar Enigma Variations, several works of Ravel and the Webern Passacaglia. He has also conducted La Bohème and Le Nozze di Figaro with Cape Town Opera and Lucia di Lammermoor with Gauteng Opera (formerly BTE).

As principal conductor of Opera Africa (2004 – 2007) he conducted productions of I Capuleti e I Montecchi, La Traviata and Rigoletto as well as a tour of the South African opera Princess Magogo to Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam. A small selection of other productions in the UK includes Pelléas et Mélisande (Glyndebourne Touring Opera); Madama Butterfly (English National Opera); Aida and Carmen (Raymond Gubbay productions, Royal Albert Hall); La Rondine, Lucia di Lammermoor and Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera Holland Park) and Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Fledermaus (English Touring Opera). Appearances abroad include productions of Les Huguenots and Tosca at the Opéra-Théâtre de Metz, a concert with the renowned Polish orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia at the Evian Festival,  Turandot at the National Theatre in Malaysia and Die Fledermaus at Yale Opera. Contemporary work includes two operas by Mark Glentworth, Blood Rose and Ula, at the Tête-à-tête festival in London and  the work of a variety of young composers over two years at the Jerwood Opera Writing Course at Aldeburgh Music. As staff conductor at English National Opera he worked closely with such composers as Mark Anthony Turnage, Gavin Bryars, Gerald Barry, Jonathan Dove and Martin Butler.

Jeremy Silver has been Music Director of Opera on a Shoestring, English Pocket Opera Company and Opera Brava where productions have included a national tour of Tristan and Isolde, Massenet’s Cléopâtre, Milhaud’s La Mère Coupable as well as La Bohème, Così fan tutte, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La Traviata, Don Pasquale, Lucia di Lammermoor and Don Giovanni. He also served on the music staffs at Scottish Opera, English National Opera and Glyndebourne.

Jeremy Silver studied Modern Languages and Music at Clare College, Cambridge and went on to study conducting at the Royal College of Music with Norman del Mar, continuing his studies for a number of years with internationally renowned teacher George Hurst.  He furthered his studies at the prestigious National Opera Studio in London where he is now a member of the artistic team.

Ptolemy Christie - Director

Our director Ptolemy Christie has many years of experience working in opera and has directed Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Cosi fan tutte, La traviata (Nevill Holt /Pimlico Opera), ‘The Tales of Hoffmann’ (Nationale Reisopera), La traviata (Winslow Hall Opera) and Sondheim’s Assassins in two British prisons using a cast of inmates (Pimlico Opera). Assistant Director credits include Die Walküre, Götterdämmerung (Tiroler Festspiele), Pelléas et Mélisande (Glyndebourne Festival Opera), Jenůfa (Opera Zuid / Hannover), and he has assisted John Cox on numerous productions including Rake’s Progress (Glyndebourne, San Francisco and Opera Australia), Die Frau ohne Schatten (Royal Opera House and Melbourne Festival) Capriccio and Albert Herring (Opera Australia).

Leah Sams - Designer

Leah Sams is a set and costume designer, technical draughtsman and scenic artist based in London. She has designed shows from fringe productions such at ‘Trash’ (Rosemary Branch Theatre) to medium scaled shows such as ‘Broadway Showtunes’ (Bournemouth Pavilion).

Her roles in the West End includes design associate on ‘Cirque Berserk’ (UK Tour 2017), technical draughtsman on ‘Three Little Pigs’ (Palace Theatre), scenic artist on ‘American Idiot’ (The Arts) and the breakdown artist for costumes on ‘The War Of The Worlds’ (Dominion Theatre).

Work on an international platform includes set and costume designer for ‘Father Christmas’ which was performed in Singapore (SOTA Theatre), and the technical draughtsman on productions such as ‘My Little Pony’ (Asian Tour) and Three Little Pigs (International Tour).

She has also designed for Opera and Film, work includes design for ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ (All Saints Church, Dulwich) and ‘Canal’ (film in post-production).

Leah is also a graphic designer whose clients includes Avex Classics International and Imperial College.

Phillipa Thomas - Carmen

Phillipa Thomas studied music at the University of York, winning the York University Concerto Prize and, following her MA, continued her vocal training at Birmingham Conservatoire where she was a finalist in competitions and winner of the Birmingham Conservatoire Singing Prize.
 
In 2016 Phillipa performed the roles of Dorabella (Così fan tutte, Dulwich Opera Company), Giovanna (Rigoletto, Nevill Holt Opera) and Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus, Fulham Opera Young Artist). Past operatic credits include Carmen, Cherubino, Dido, Mercedes and Olga, among others.

Recent solo engagements include Bach's Cantata No.48 (RPO under Ben Pope), Mahler’s Symphony No.2 (Kings College Cambridge under Stephen Cleobury), Duruflé's Requiem (Bristol Choral Society under Hilary Campbell); as well as Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium, Dvořak’s Mass in D, Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem for other UK choral societies. Phillipa is currently recording solos for numerous oratorios as part of an ongoing project with the professional ensemble Blossom Street Singers.

James Hutchings - Don José

James is a graduate of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance during which he held a choral scholarship at the St Mary’s Battersea Parish Church.

He has sung in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Hall and Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, and has worked in companies such as Opera Up Close, Dorset Opera, Bury Court Opera, Hampstead Garden Opera and Blackheath Halls Opera.

Operatic roles he has performed include Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Tamino and Monotatos (Die Zauberflöte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Lensky (Eugene Onegin) and Remendado (Carmen). He has performed as a soloist in C.P.E Bach’s 'Magnificat', Mozart’s 'Requiem', Haydn’s 'The Creation', Rossini’s 'Stabat Mater' and J.S Bach’s 'St Johns passion' as the tenor soloist and the Evangelist.

Loretta Hopkins - Micaëla

Loretta Hopkins studied music at The University of Edinburgh and Birmingham Conservatoire, where she gained a postgraduate diploma, generously supported by The South Square Trust, and continues to train with Mary Plazas. In competition, Loretta was a finalist in Birmingham Conservatoire’s Mario Lanza Prize and Vienna Conservatoire's Internationale Sommerakademie opera prize. Opera roles include Violetta (cover) La traviata, Donna Anna (cover) Don Giovanni (Winslow Hall Opera);  Lisa The Queen of Spades (Park Opera); Adina, L’Elisir d’Amore (Midland Opera); Micaëla, Carmen (Opera at Bearwood); Kate Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly (Lambeth Orchestra); Greta Fiorentino, Street Scene and Fox (cover), The Cunning Little Vixen, (Birmingham Conservatoire); a Sprite Fantastic Mr Fox and The Aunt Madama Butterfly (Opera Holland Park). For Dulwich Opera Company, Mimi La bohème, Fiordiligi Così fan tutte, Donna Anna Don Giovanni, and Countess Le nozze di Figaro.

David Fletcher - Escamillo

David read music at the University of York, where he enjoyed a busy performing schedule. David now studies with Raymond Connell. Roles have included Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, Leporello Don Giovanni, Figaro Le nozze di Figaro, Schaunard La bohème, Yakusidé Madama Butterfly, Montano (cover) Otello and Moralès (cover) Carmen, Fiorello The Barber of Seville, Cox Cox and Box, The Page Amahl and the Night Visitors, Strephon Iolanthe, and Giuseppe The Gondoliers. David has sung in the chorus with Winlsow Hall Opera, the Nederlandse Reisopera and Opera Holland Park. David is also a regular concert performer, having given recitals featuring Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin, Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, and Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel.

Claudia Haussmann - Frasquita

Claudia is a MMus Vocal Studies student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where she is generously supported by the RCS Trust scholarship and studies under the tutelage of Kathleen McKellar-Ferguson.

Principal roles include: Despina Così fan tutte (Mozart: Dulwich Opera Company), Musetta (cover) La Bohème (Puccini: Dulwich Opera Company), Poussette Manon (Massenet: OperaCoast), Saffi The Gipsy Baron (Strauss II: Southgate Opera) and Soprano 1 (cover) Le vin herbé (Martin: RCS). Scenes include:  Alice Falstaff (Verdi: RCS), 1st Lady Die Zauberflöte (Mozart: RCS), Sophie Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss: Associated Studios), Frasquita Carmen (Bizet: Associated Studios), Zdenka Arabella (Strauss: Associated Studios) and Laoula L'étoile (Chabrier: AIMS).  

Claudia held the John Ireland Choral Scholarship 2014-2015 at Sloane Square Choral Society, with whom she performed Dvořák's Mass in D, Haydn's Nelson Mass and Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium. She received the Les Aldrich Music prize at the North London Music Festival 2015 in addition to the gold medal in the competition's Operatic class and silver medal in the Lieder/Mélodie class. She has taken part in masterclasses with Graeme Danby, Timothy Redmond and Michael Lloyd and had received coaching from Malcolm Martineau, David Cowan, Rachel Nicholls and Penelope Randall-Davis.

Urszula Bock - Mercedes

Urszula Bock studied at Birmingham Conservatoire and Associated Studios in London. She completed BMus (Hons) (Voice) degree under Margaret Field and MMus Performance & Pedagogy (Voice) under Christine Cairns at Birmingham Conservatoire. At the Conservatoire she was a competition finalist in: Mario Lanza Opera Prize (2012), Birmingham Conservatoire Singing Prize (2012), Ashleyan Opera Prize (2012) and Reginald Vincent Lieder Prize (2010). Operatic roles include Antonia’s Mother, Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Harrow Opera, 2017); Charlotte, Werther’s 3rd Act (Opera Foundry, 2017); 2nd Lady, Die Zauberflöte (Richmond Opera, 2016); Lola, Cavalleria rusticana (Opera Foundry, Midland Opera, 2016); Marcellina, Le nozze di Figaro (Ensemble OrQuesta Opera Academy, 2016); Nancy, Albert Herring (Aylebsury Opera Group, 2015); Olga, Eugene Onegin (Brent Opera, 2015); Popova, The Bear (Helios Chamber Opera, 2013); La Frugola, Il tabarro (2013) and Mrs Olsen, Street Scene (2012) for Birmingham Conservatoire.

Caspar James - Zuniga and Le Dancaïre

Having completed his post-graduate studies at Trinity-Laban Conservatoire Caspar Lloyd James is now based in Berlin and studies with Anooshah Golesorkhi.
Since relocating to Berlin Caspar has sung the role of ‘Masetto’ for The Berlin Opera Collaborative’s Don Giovanni as well as ‘Harlekin’ for their Ariadne auf Naxos which was recorded at Deutsche Oper rehearsal studios. Highlights of his performances at Trinity-Laban include the title roles of Handel’s Imeneo, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. In 2016 he took the role of ‘the Surgeon’ in the premier of newly commissioned opera Banished by Stephen McNeff. In 2015 he took the role of ’Starveling’ in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has performed the role of the ‘Sergeant’ in La bohème for Dulwich Opera Company and for the Celebrate Voice festival in Salisbury. Also for Dulwich Opera he has performed the role of ‘Figaro' in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, ‘Masetto’ in Don Giovanni and understudied ‘Guglielmo' in Così fan tutte. For Opera Dinamica he performed the role of ‘Lord Dunmow’ in Lennox Berkley's A Dinner Engagement.

Jeremy Vinogradov - Le Remendado

Jeremy Vinogradov studied in Australia and on scholarship at the Vienna Konservatorium. He then gained significant experience as a baritone for UK companies including ETO, BYO, Carl Rosa and D'Oyly Carte, Early Opera Company, Grange Park, Longborough, Iford and Pimlico Opera.
Noted for his strong stage persona, which since aided a move into character tenor repertoire, he sang Orlofsky for Opera della Luna, and his first G&S: the Learned Judge/Joseph Porter with Heritage Opera and Opera South East (OSE); and the Major General for Opera Anywhere.
Jeremy made his tenor debut as Mayor Upfold with Surrey Opera (SO), and sang Offenbach’s Orpheus, Danilo and Goro for OSE; the Ringmaster Bartered Bride for Kentish Opera; Tisiphone Hippolyte for Linden Baroque; Gastone for New London Opera Players. Most recently he performed Flute for SO, Monostatos for OSE and Dr Blind for Fulham Opera.

For Dulwich Opera Jeremy sang Basilio and Curzio in semi-staged performances of Le nozze di Figaro.

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