10th December 2016, 7.30pm
Linlithgow Academy Theatre
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
Tickets: Full £12, Students £5
Scotland's OPERA BOHEMIA returns to Linlithgow with the world's favourite Russian opera, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Scottish performers Douglas Nairne and Catriona Clarke lead a cast of young professional singers.
Tchaikovsky's magical score is full of memorable melodies and haunting themes. The Opera, based on Pushkin's famous novel, tells the story of a wealthy young man, who lives to regret his nonchalent dismissal of a young woman's love. John Wilkie's imaginative production sets the action in the time of the Russian Revolution.
The libretto is in Russian, with English surtitles, and accompanied by piano and violin.
Opera Bohemia exists as a non-profit making organisation, and aims to produce more operatic performances across Scotland, to create opportunities for professional artists in all areas of opera and to introduce opera to first time opera goers and a younger generation in a dynamic way. They tour their operas to smaller venues in Scotland where the opportunity to experience their modern interpretation of these famous operas, performed by rising operatic stars, has proved hugely popular.
The cast is gathered together in Glasgow for just 7 days before the opening performance. The rehearsal period is extremely intense with all costumes, scenery, lighting and props being produced in that time.
CAST LIST
Catriona Clark – Tatyana
Acclaimed Scottish soprano Catriona Clark graduated with Distinction from the Royal College of Music and the Royal Scottish Conservatoire. Since then her operatic and concert career has taken her throughout the world performing roles such as Violetta (La Traviata), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Cio Cio San (Madame Butterfly) Marie (La Fille du Regiment), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Euridice (Orphee aux Enfers), Mimi/Musetta (La Boheme), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Tytania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Frasquita/Micaela (Carmen), Mistress Ford (Merry Wives of Windsor) and the title role in Handel’s Semele with companies including The Royal Opera, Opera North and Diva opera. Oratorios include Verdi's Requiem, Haydn's Nelson Mass and Creation, Orff's Carmina Burana, Mozarts' C minor Mass and Requiem, Bach's Magnificat, Poulenc's Gloria and Tippet's Child of our Time.
Career highlights include performing Adele in Die Fledermaus alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Jose Carreras, Alfie Boe and Bryn Terfel in the Royal Albert Hall and opera gala performances for members of the Royal family.
Douglas Nairne - Eugene Onegin
Douglas won a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music where he gained an advanced Masters with distinction before completing a Masters in Opera at the Sir Alexander Gibson Opera School. Roles include Silvio 'Pagliacci' with Lakeland Opera, Marcello ‘La Boheme’, Enrico 'Lucia di Lammermoor', 'Eugene Onegin’, Sharpless ‘Madame Butterfly’ with Opera Bohemia and Herald in 'Burning Fiery Furnace' which he performed at the Aldeburgh Festival and at the Hermitage in St Petersburg with Mahogany Opera. Douglas toured New York, San Francisco and North Carolina with the Britten Sinfonia and most recently sang the role of ‘Alistair’ in Noise Opera’s, Hirda, written by Gareth Williams and Chris Stout.
Douglas has performed many oratorios including the Britten War Requiem, Brahms Requiem, and the Vaughan-Williams Sea Symphony with the Scottish Opera Orchestra. He has performed Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen, Kindertoten Lieder and Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the Mahler Players.
Tyler Clarke – Lenski
Winner of the 2009 Les Azuriales Opera Trust Prize, Tyler Clarke studied at the Royal College of Music International Opera School, Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto, and the National Opera Studio. Tyler made his debut with English National Opera as Liverotto Lucrezia Borgia later returning as Count Almaviva The Barber of Seville. In 2013 he made his debut at the Opéra de Lyon in the world première of Auzet’s Steve Five. Additional roles include: Aminta Atalanta and San Giovanni La Resurrezione at the London Handel Festival, First Customer / Monk Wagner Dream for Welsh National Opera, Bastien Bastien and Bastienne at the Geneva Music Festival, Steersman Der fliegende Holländer at the Dorset Opera Festival and Young Sailor Tristan und Isolde for Nationale Reisopera (a production that was awarded Opera of the Year by Place de l’Opera). Recent highlights include: Romeo Romeo und Julia for Opera de Lyon and Anthony Hope Sweeney Todd for Nederlandse Reisopera.
Katie Grosset – Olga
Scottish Mezzo Katie Grosset is a former Scottish Opera Emerging Artist and alumnus of the National Opera Studio in London. Previous seasons have seen Katie appear as Romeo in Capuleti E I Montecchi for Pop Up Opera, Shoushan in Tchouhadjian's Gariné at Grimeborn, and Mercedes in Carmen at Nevill Holt where her performances all received high praise. She also took the title role in Carmen for a concert performance at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, and made her debut as a guest soloist at the Royal Festival Hall in London in May. Katie's future engagements include 2nd Lady in the Magic Flute for St John Opera, Giovanna in Regent's Opera's Rigoletto, and one of six voices collaborating in Scottish Opera's world premiere The 8th door. Katie is thrilled to be making her second appearance with Opera Bohemia.
Cheryl Forbes - Larina
Cheryl Forbes was born in Falkirk and at age seventeen was accepted to all five of the UK’s music conservatoires on full scholarships, ultimately choosing London’s Guildhall, where she studied with Johanna Peters.
She later continued her studies at the RCS, where she obtained the Leverhulme Trust and Sons of the Rock scholarships. From 2008 she studied in New York with Marilyn Horne.
Cheryl has appeared in many major venues, including the Barbican, St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Royal Albert Hall, Glyndebourne and London Palladium, with such orchestras as the LSO, BBCCO and BBCSSO.
Recent and forthcoming engagements include Madama Butterfly (Suzuki); Eugene Onegin (Larina); Gianni Schicchi (Zita); The Sloans Project (Manageress/Wife); as soloist for Rutter’s Feel the Spirit, conducted by the composer himself, and Sir Thomas Allen’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro (Marcellina – cover) for Scottish Opera.
Her hometown has honoured her twice: she was awarded Falkirk Scroll of Honour (1992) and Falkirk Personality of the Year (2015).
Lynn Bellamy – Filippyevna.
Lynn Bellamy is a student of the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, studying under Margaret Izatt. She has participated in masterclasses given by Susan Graham and Malcolm Martineau, Patricia McMahon and Lisa Milne. Opera roles include La Grosse Dame (Les mamelles de Tiresias), Neighbour (Mavra) and Kate Julian (Owen Wingrave). Lynn looks forward to performing Narciso (Agrippina), La Mere (Le Vin herbé) and Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) over the coming year. Lynn has also covered the roles of Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Bianca (The Rape of Lucretia). As part of the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival, Lynn took a chorus role in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Lynn regularly performs in concert, recently including Mozart’s Requiem with St Mary’s Music School, Vivaldi’s Gloria with Strathaven Choral Society and the Pergolesi Stabat Mater with Glasgow Lyric Choir. Lynn is supported in her studies by the Robertson Trust and the Stirling Educational Trust.
Ross McInroy - Prince Gremin
Ross McInroy, from Scotland, is a member of the Chorus of Opera North, most recently performing as Schmidt in their production of Andrea Chenier. A former Scottish Opera Emerging Artist and previously a trainee at the National Opera Studio, London, he is grateful to the Friends of Covent Garden, the Scottish Opera Endowment trust, Robertson Trust and Dewar Arts Awards for their generous patronage. Ross graduated from the Royal College of Music International Opera School (Artist Diploma in Opera) and the Royal Academy of Music (DipRAM Opera distinction) where he was awarded the Dorothy Pattinson Prize and Adah Rogalsky Scholarship. He began his studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the RCS) gaining BMusHons, the Governors Recital Prize, Linn Choir Prize and the Mary D Quant Scholarship. In 2009/10, Ross was a member of English National Opera’s “Opera Works” and made his BBC Proms debut with the BBC SSO. Ross is a founder member of the Scots quartet “Evermair”.
Christian Schneeberger – Triquet
Christian J. B. Schneeberger graduated BMus (Hons.) M.Mus in Vocal Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he was the sole male finalist in the Governors’ Recital Competition, and won the Hugh S. Roberton Prize for Scottish Singing, including the William Allan Prize. He currently studies under Amand Hekkers. Christian has won numerous competitions including the Glasgow Grand Cup for Opera; the Gervase Elwes Memorial Trophy; the Thomas A. Kerr Trophy for Scots song; the Agnes Duncan Trophy for the best vocal performance at the Glasgow Festival. In oratorios, Christian performs iconic Tenor solos from Mozart “Requiem”; Orf’s “Carmina Burana”; Haydn’s “Nelson Mass”; Bach “Magnificat” and excelled in a modernised “Acis and Galatea” in a role the Herald critic noted he took “with aplomb”. Christian is pursuing his career in opera and oratorio appearing with Opera Bohemia, Ayrshire Opera and A La Canto and is currently Musical director at Starstruck and a vocal teacher at Hutcheson’s Grammar School.
Andrew Brown - Piano
Andrew Brown is an accompanist working in both the classical music and dance worlds. He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) with Fali Pavri, graduating with a Master’s Degree in solo piano performance, and now works there as an accompanist on the modern ballet course. He has worked with a wide variety of arts organisations in Scotland including Scottish Ballet and the National Theatre of Scotland, with whom he toured the UK and played on Broadway. He is also involved in a variety of education projects, including the Edinburgh International Festival’s ‘Art of Listening’ programme, where he introduces Edinburgh children to classical music and Art song in particular.
Feargus Hetherington – Violin
Feargus Hetherington studied at the RCS and the Cleveland Institute of Music, USA, and teaches violin and chamber music at the University of St Andrews. He takes part in the Habitat4Music seminars in the USA, working with violinist and conductor Joseph Swensen and performs with the Kentigern Quartet. Feargus has worked with the BBC SSO, RSNO and and SCO and performs frequently as guest leader of the Scottish Concert Orchestra. Feargus has given recitals in the UK, Germany, Poland and New York City. His recitals with Benjamin Powell, of the Brahms Viola Sonatas were met with critical acclaim - praising the ‘thoughtful and intelligent interpretation…virtuosic technique and shrewd musical artistry.’ (The Herald). This winter he premieres the Violin Concerto by Tom David Wilson and appears in recital for Skye Chamber Music. Feargus' recent educational outreach work includes mentoring for Scottish Opera's Connect company. He has been generously supported by the Musicians Benevolent Fund and Creative Scotland and was a recipient of the John Ireland Prize.
John Wilkie - Director
John has directed productions of La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, Madama Butterfly for Opera Bohemia previously. Other revival/assistant director credits include: The Importance of Being Earnest (The Royal Opera House), Carmen (Scottish Opera), Lakmé and Adriana Lecouvreur (Opera Holland Park), L’itlaliana in Algeri (Garsington Opera) and La Cenerentola (Danish National Opera).
Kindly sponsored by Peterkin and Kidd
