OPERA PRIZE

Panel Members

David Gowland – Artistic Director, Jette Parker Artists Programme

Since studying at RCM and NOS, David has worked with Festivals of Glyndebourne, Wexford, Aix-en-Provence, Orange, Salzburg  also opera Houses in Amsterdam, Rome, Naples, Paris, Madrid , Copenhagen. He was Head of Music in Geneva 1989-96 and senior coach to Jeffrey Tate on “Der  Ring des Nibelungen” (1998). He founded the ROH Young Artists Programme in 2001, now known as Jette Parker Artists Programme. As its Artistic Director he regularly coaches artists at the UK conservatoires, is a jury member on many national and international competitions, also sourcing, nurturing and offering advice to aspiring talent worldwide through masterclasses and auditions, notably those who are overlooked due to ethnicity, lack of access, socio-economic circumstances, sexual orientation, etc. Masterclasses include Far-East Asia: (China, Japan, South Korea); Australasia (Tasmania, Australia, New Zealand); Latin-America (Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay), also South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and many European cities. David is aware of the increasing demands on artists to prove their validity and relevance in an environment where we must all fight to defend the artform.

Helen Hogh – Director of Vocal Artists, Groves Artists

Since graduating from Southampton University with a BA Hons in Music and English, Helen has worked in various areas of Arts Administration including positions as PA to the General Director of English National Opera, Artist Manager at Harrison Parrott and Concerts Manager of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She joined Ingpen and Williams as an Artist Manager in 1997 and became a Director of Groves Artists in September 2016.

Philip Sunderland – Music Director 

Philip was born in Norwich and educated at the Cathedral School. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio, Philip began his professional life as a repetiteur, working for all the major opera companies in the UK. This led to many conducting opportunities, first with English Touring Opera, for whom he conducted Marriage of Figaro, Cenerentola, Pearl Fishers, Daughter of the Regiment and Cosi fan tutte. In 1999, having worked as an assistant conductor at Opera North, Philip was appointed Chorus Master, a role he performed for five years. Whilst working for Opera North he conducted La traviata and the company’s acclaimed production of Sweeney Todd, as well as numerous concerts including the Brahms’ Requiem in York Minster. Philip has continued to conduct for ETO, winning an Olivier Award for Paul Bunyan in 2015 and returned the following year with Tales of Hoffman. He was music director to Swansea City Opera and W11 Opera for Young People and Chorus Master at the Bregenzer Festspiele. In 2014 he was commissioned by the Saffron Hall to write an opera for over 200 schoolchildren, professional singers and orchestra. The Glass Knight was first performed in the Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden in March 2015. Advent Calendar, a setting of biblical texts and a poem by Ronan Williams, was premiered in St Mary’s church, Saffron Walden in 2018. Philip is delighted to return to Clonter Opera, having conducted Rigoletto in 2009, a particularly exciting time as his son was born prematurely during the final stage and orchestra rehearsals! Philip is currently Head of Preparatory and Vocal Faculty Opera at the Royal Academy of Music, for whom he conducted Cunning Little Vixen in 2019.

Amanda Roocroft – Professor of Vocal Studies, Royal College of Music & Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Amanda Roocroft graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in 1990 and quickly gained international acclaim as one of Britain’s most exciting singers. She has enjoyed a close relationship with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Festival, the English National Opera, the Welsh National Opera, and the Bayerische Staatsoper, performing leading roles ranging from Handel to Wagner. Amanda has also sung at The Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Houston, Amsterdam, Berlin, Salzburg, Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris. Amanda is a professor of vocal studies at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She is passionate about teaching and believes in developing young singers into unique, well-rounded artists through solid technique and vivid imagination. She has conducted masterclasses at various esteemed institutions, including RNCM, RCM, GSMD, Pembroke College Cambridge, and the Royal Opera House for the Young Artist Programme. Amanda has also been a visiting tutor at the Sammling Foundation, Abbingdon summer school, Jackdaws, Leeds Lieder Festival, and the Mediterranean Opera Studio Festival. Amanda has received several prestigious awards, including The Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for an operatic debut and a Silver Medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians. In 2007, she was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for her portrayal of Jenufa at the English National Opera.

Compère

Anna Meadmore

After training at the Guildhall School of Music and the London Opera Centre, Anna joined the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus. She was then a member of the BBC singers, broadcasting live as well as doing tours, recordings and Proms, and performed as a soloist with the Monteverdi Choir, in London and all over Europe. She sang with Opera North, and understudied the role of “Jennifer” in Tippett’s “The Midsummer Marriage”, at ENO. Anna was also principal soprano in Gilbert and Sullivan concerts, touring Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, beginning at the Sydney Opera House, and later the Lincoln Center, New York, and Queen Elizabeth Center, Vancouver. Her solo work with the English Bach Festival included recordings of Vivaldi for EMI and staged productions at the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Opera House. One of the highlights was singing in a Rameau opera in the historic theatre within the Palace of Versailles. After moving to Cheshire, Anna was soprano soloist in BBC performances of the Verdi Requiem and Haydn’s Creation. She gave a Manchester Mid-Day Concert recital, accompanied by Robin Humphreys, and further recitals at Jodrell Bank Planetarium and Tabley House. She sang Mozart and Ravel with the Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra and the Strauss “Four Last Songs” with the Stockport Symphony Orchestra. For Wilmslow Opera she took the principal soprano roles in La Traviata, La Sonnambula and Faust, and appeared for two years in Phantom of the Opera, in Manchester, as the opera singer “Carlotta”. As presenter, compère and adjudicator Anna has worked at concerts in the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, and the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and compered a Millennium Prom in Leeds Town Hall. On another new career path, Anna now works as a speaker on cruises.

Accompanist

Robin Humphreys

A Professor of Vocal Coaching at the Royal Northern College of Music, Robin Humphreys is a graduate of the University of Birmingham and a holder of the prestigious Diploma in Professional Performance from the RNCM, where he studied piano accompaniment with David Lloyd. Appearing in concert for over 45 years, he enjoys a highly successful career as an accompanist and répétiteur (praised as “world-class” by Louise Flind for “Opera Today”), the breadth of his repertoire being reflected in television and radio broadcasts ranging from BBC Radio 3 to Emmerdale. Performance venues range from the Purcell Room to Kathmandu!
Robin has a particularly close association with Clonter Opera Theatre in Cheshire, where he has worked annually as Assistant Musical Director and Accompanist since 1999. For 35 years he was an accompanist member of the British & International Federation of Festivals.

Contestants

Conrad Chatterton – RAM 

Conrad Chatterton is an English baritone pursuing an Advanced Diploma in Opera at the Royal Academy of Music (RAO) with Mark Wildman, Ingrid Surgenor, and Chris Hopkins. He holds a Master of Music degree with Distinction from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). Conrad’s notable roles include ‘Sir John Falstaff’ in Sir John in Love, ‘Vater’ in Hänsel und Gretel, ‘Mr. Gedge’ in Albert Herring, and ‘Gianni Schicchi’ in Gianni Schicchi. Recent highlights are covering ‘Kromow’ in The Merry Widow and ‘Curio’ in Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne’s 2024 Summer Festival, where he also joined the Chorus. His previous Chorus work includes Glyndebourne Festival 2023 and Grange Park Opera. Conrad also performs oratorio repertoire nationally, including Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Brahms Requiem and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio amongst others. He will next perform as ‘Papageno’ in RAO’s Die Zauberflöte and will be returning to the Glyndebourne 2025 Summer Festival Chorus.

Henna Mun – RCM

Henna Mun is a South Korean singer, born in Japan and raised in Canada. She is in the final year of the International Opera Studio at the Royal College of Music in London. This year, Henna is the recipient of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation – Community Jameel Scholar supported by the Midori Nishiura Scholarship and the Basil Coleman Opera Award. Henna made her Glyndebourne Festival debut last summer and was a Jerwood Young Artist and the 2024 John Christie Award winner. She covered the role of Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare. Henna will be returning to Glyndbourne to originate the role of Phyllis in The Railway Children (Mark-Anthony Turnage) and to cover Michal in Saul. Henna was at the English National Opera last autumn. Her recent operatic roles include Hanna in The Merry Widow, Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld, and Ilia in Idomeneo. Henna was a guest artist at the BST Hyde Park concert in London last summer with Andrea Bocelli.

Daniel Ott – RNCM

Daniel Ott, a distinguished baritone from the Hunter Valley, Australia. A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, holding both a Bachelor of Music (Performance) and a Master of Music Studies (Opera Performance). His operatic repertoire includes notable roles such as Hérisson (L’étoile), Nerone (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Belcore (The Elixir of Love), Erster Priester in (Die Zauberflöte), Le Fauteuil in (L’enfant et les Sortileges), and Dick Dead Eye in (H.M.S. Pinafore). He has also performed as a soloist at prominent events, including Woolworths’ Carols in the Domain and as a guest soloist at the Zhejiang Conservatorium of Music located in China. In recognition of his talent, Daniel was selected as a semi-finalist in the prestigious IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition in both 2022 and 2023. His achievements have been further acknowledged through the Tinkler Encouragement Award and language scholarships from the Goethe-Institut and the Istituto di Cultura Italiano. Daniel has recently relocated to the UK thanks to the generosity of the Waverley Fund, Leverhulme Arts Scholarship and Wagner Society of NSW. In 2024, Daniel made his operatic debut with Opera Australia, performing the role of Schaunard in (La Bohème) performing across Australian during their National Tour.

Juliet Wallace – RWCMD

Soprano Juliet Wallace studied English Language and Literature at King’s College London before training at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Trinity Laban, and now on the Advanced Opera course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where her studies are generously supported by Girdlers’ Company Charitable Trust Scholarship, the Dame Shirley Bassey Scholarship, the Leverhulme Arts Scholarship and the David and Philippa Seligman Award. Recent engagements include Susan (You Can’t Kill the Spirit at Tete a Tete), Tytania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), La Fata Azzurra (La Bella Dormente nel Bosco), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Pierrot Lunaire, Eve (Paradise Lost at The Master Shipwright’s Company), and Catalina (Black, el Payaso at the Grimeborn Festival). In March 2025, Juliet will be performing Donna Anna in the RWCMD’s upcoming production of Don Giovanni.

Stephanie Wong – RCS

Stephanie Wong is a soprano currently studying at Alexander Gibson Opera School, RCS under the tutelage of Linda Ormiston. Stephanie’s upcoming opera productions with RCS include Pamina Die Zauberflöte and Vespina L’infedelta delusa. Stephanie is also joining Grange Park Opera this summer as a chorus member. Stephanie has numerous opera (scenes) performing experiences in both Hong Kong and UK. Recent opera scenes with RCS include Governess Turn of the Screw and Blanche Dialogues des Carmelites, Gretel Hänsel und Gretel, Mélisande Pelléas et Mélisande, Other roles include Le Converse Suor Angelica (HKAPA), Zweite Dame Die Zauberflöte (HKAPA), Susanna Le nozze di Figaro (HKAPA scenes), Despina Così fan Tutte (NWOS), Ilia Idomeneo (RNCM scenes). Recently Stephanie is the French song winner in 2022 David Clover Festival of Singing, a 2023 Leeds Lieder Young Artist and third prize recipient in 2024 RCS Hugh S Roberton Prize for Scottish Singing.

Biqing Zhang – GSMD

Chinese soprano Biqing Zhang is currently studying the second year of opera course at Guildhall School of Music& Drama, with vocal teacher Marilyn Rees. She holds the Rosemary Thayer Scholarship. In 2023, Biqing was one of the semi-finalists in the Handel International Competition. In the same year, Biqing performed in the role of Poppea in Agrippina at Hampstead Garden Opera. More recently, Biqing played as a nightingale in La Bella Dormente Bosco in Guildhall Autumn Opera 2023. She was also involved in the Guildhall Opera Scene 2023-2024, in the role of Sandman in Hansel and Gretel, ophelie in Hamlet, Lucia in the rape of Lucretia, Manon and Zdenka in Arabella. In April 2024, Biqing joined the Leeds Lieder Festival as one of the young artists. In July 2024, Biqing played Callie in ‘Ursa Minor’ premiere as part of the Guildhall School Making It Festival. In August 2024, Biqing joined the Britten Pears young artist program (French Melodies). In November 2024, Biqing played the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus at Guildhall Autumn Opera. Her upcoming event including Mozart Requiem with Blaze intermational ensemble, Glyndebourne chorus 2025 and Guildhall Spring Opera 2025 Mansfield Park (Mary Crawford).

Interlude Pianist

Stephen Reynolds

Stephen Reynolds has been heard as a pianist and composer in concerts and broadcasts across Europe and the UK. His compositions feature in Stephen Hough’s English Piano Album (Hyperion). He was a prize winner at the Gian Baptista International Piano competition in Vercelli, Italy in 1972. His association as a pianist/accompanist for Clonter Opera began in 1974, as a consequence of his association with Mezzo-Soprano Betty Bannerman (Jeffery Lockett’s mother) at the Royal Northern College of Music.