Mozart – Così Fan Tutte

Ella Taylor (they/them) is a keen collaborator and recitalist, working especially with people underrepresented in classical music, as well as working with composers and librettists in the creation of new, LGBT+ focused work. 

Past roles have included Sparrow (Rylan Gleave’s Powder Down) for Shadwell Opera, Paris (Paride ed Elena) for Bampton Classical Opera, The Cock (The Cunning Little Vixen) with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Gerda (Errollyn Wallen’s The Paradis Files) for Graeae.

They gave a talk for the Royal Opera House’s Engender 2021 Festival about navigating a career as a trans opera singer, and how companies can be the most effective allies they can be.

Martha Jones (she/her) studied at the Royal College of Music International Opera School and was awarded the Susan Chilcott Scholarship by the Royal Philharmonic Society during her time there. She has participated in Young Artist programs for the Ravinia Festival, Carnegie Hall, Britten Pears, and Samling.

As well as singing Dorabella for Wild Arts’s Così Fan Tutte last summer, she has performed the same role for English Touring Opera and Classical Opera /The Mozartists, and has sung with English National Opera, the Grange Festival, Scottish Opera, Opera de Limoges, Opera Vlaanderen, Glyndebourne, and the LPO. Her recordings include The Call with Malcolm Martineau.

Gareth Brynmor John (he/him) studied at St John’s College, Cambridge, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio where he was supported by the Royal Opera House. As well as performances with Welsh National Opera, English Touring Opera, Royal Academy Opera, and Shadwell Opera, he sang Guglielmo for Wild Arts’s Così fan tutte in 2022, and has performed extensively in concert (at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, and Guildford and Chichester Cathedrals).

He recently shared two recitals with Roderick Williams as part of the Momentum Artists project and is reprising his Opéra de Lille performance as Ismeron (The Indian Queen) this Spring with performances at Opera de Caen, Opera de Luxembourg and Antwerp Opera.

Richard Dowling (he/him) is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music’s Opera Course and supported by Opera Prelude. As well as various live performances with English Touring Opera (including Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passions), he has appeared in a number of their online broadcasts during lockdown, and in roles for Garsington Opera (in their 2013 and 2015 seasons), Birmingham Opera Company, Buxton International Festival, and as a young artist for Mid-Wales Opera. He sang Pedrillo (The Abduction from the Seraglio) in Tokyo with Diva Opera.  

Joanna Songi (she/her) studied at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music and was awarded first place in the Dean and Chadlington Competition, and the Brooks-Van der Pump English Song Competition. She was an Opera Prelude Young Artist, a Philip and Dorothy Green Young Concert Artist Award winner, and a Britten-Pears Young Artist.

As well as performing with companies including Glyndebourne, Garsington Opera, West Green Opera, Opera de Tenerife, the Dunedin Consort, and the English Concert, her recent roles have included Despina for Wild Arts’s Così fan tutte (2022), and a variety of parts in Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse (2022), with a subsequent NT Live Broadcast. 

Eddie Wade (he/him) studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and at the National Opera Studio. He won First Prize and the Verdi/Wagner Prize at the National Mozart Competition in 1996 and made his Royal Opera House debut the same year as The Mandarin (Turandot). Eddie furthered his training at the National Opera Studio, sponsored by The Royal Opera and the Sybil Tutton Trust. 

He has worked extensively in lead roles with the Royal Opera House, Opera North, Glyndebourne, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, and English Touring Opera, and is known especially for his performances as Baron Douphol in La Traviata.