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MEET THE Artists

Bronwen Stephens-Harding, Mezzo-Soprano

Bronwen Stephens-Harding

Founder, Director and Scriptwriter
Mezzo-Soprano

At the age of eight, Bronwen declared her wish to be an opera singer. After a varied career, combining corporate marketing with busking, choral singing, opera performance and singing studies, she is now pursuing her dream full-time. After achieving a Diploma in Opera & Performance from Associated Studios in London and working in the UK and Europe, Bronwen founded Rogue Opera in 2018 with a vision of bringing opera to new audiences and unconventional spaces. As well as singing the title role in Rogue Opera’s inaugural season of Bizet’s Carmen, Bronwen directed the production and saw it performed in a variety of venues. 

Working with a dedicated troupe of musicians and seeing her concepts come to life on the stage have been a high point in her musical career, which continued with the company’s second season, presenting a vibrant, contemporary reimagining of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in 2019, which Bronwen directed. In the second revival tour she also performed the role of Donna Elvira. The challenges presented by Covid-19 in 2020 have taken Bronwen and Rogue Opera into new ventures, broadcasting over 45 livestream performances and building an archive over 100 video performances of arias and ensembles, providing creative work for Rogue Opera artists and introducing new audiences to opera. Delighted to be back to in-person events, Bronwen has created, written the English libretto and directed this new production 'A Modern Opera Love Story' for Fuller’s Opera in the Garden. 

Cast-Photo_Murgatroyd_2

Guy Murgatroyd

 Music Director
Pianist

British pianist Guy enjoys a modest reputation as one of a leading generation of pianists pliable to many musical roles.

Having worked with diverse musicians, including Leslie Howard, Elly Ameling and Andrew Lloyd Webber, along with contemporary composers including Rolf Hind, Edward Rushton and Nikolai Kapustin, Guy is no stranger to most corners of the repertoire. He had a scholarship at Birmingham Conservatoire in 2012 and recently completed postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in  London. Guy is also the founder and director of the London Art Song Collective which aims to further the performance of 20th century art song, an undervalued and untapped repertoire. The collective features over 50 singers, hand-chosen for various projects spanning over 450 composers and 25 languages.

Having assisted with Carmen in 2018, Guy took on full musical direction for Rogue Opera in 2019 and was integral to the company’s 2020/21 pandemic online program. Guy has the superhuman ability to fill in for a whole orchestra in Rogue Opera’s compact productions and is the essential fifth character in Fuller’s Opera in the Garden. 

Nick Dwyer, Baritone

Nick Dwyer

Baritone

Nick is returning for his second Rogue Opera Fuller’s tour. Last year he played the title role in Sweeney Todd, a Victorian Melodrama for Opera Della Luna at Wilton’s, a show reviving this summer in Bath and Manchester. Prior to this he performed as the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance for Celebrate Voice Festival, where he previously sang the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro.

Nick is a graduate of Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and has since performed over 300 performances as Marcello in Opera Up Close's Olivier Award winning La Bohème. Elsewhere, roles include Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo at Grange Park Opera, where he previously performed as Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin whilst understudying the title role. Nick has ventured into music theatre as Javert in Les Misérables for Pimlico Opera Prisons Project, featuring the inmates of HMP Erlestoke. Nick has also worked in the film industry, where he performed a role in Holby City (drunk Santa Claus) and as a body double for Batman.

Beatrice Floyer-Acland, Soprano

Beatrice Floyer-Acland

Soprano

Beatrice is an English soprano currently based in London. In July 2017 Beatrice graduated from the MA Opera performance course at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with merit. Recent operatic engagements include ElviraDon Giovanni. The Oxford Alternative Orchestra, Micaëla Carmen, Rogue Opera, Elvira (cover) Don Giovanni Longborough Festival Opera and British Youth Opera, Iris Semele Mid Wales Opera, Zhou Kommilitonen! The Welsh National Youth Opera conducted by Alice Farnham and Alice Ford Falstaff RWCMD conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Beatrice has performed alongside Sir Bryn Terfel and Rebecca Evans in the Liverpool Philharmonic's production of Falstaff under the baton of Vasily Petrenko. Highlights in opera scenes work include performing the role of Tatyana in Act 3 of Eugene Onegin with the Welsh National Opera orchestra and the role of Cecily in excerpts from Barry The Importance of Being Earnest in a joint project with RWCMD and Music Theatre Wales.

Gemma Morsley, Mezzo-Soprano

Gemma Morsley

Mezzo-Soprano

Gemma's operatic roles include Carmen (Opera South East), Grimgerde Die Walküre (Grange Park Opera), Amneris Aida (Guildford Opera), Flora La traviata (King’s Head), Maddalena Rigoletto (France and UK tour), Marcellina Le nozze di Figaro (Dartington International Festival), Dorabella Così fan tutte (Opera Chez Cartier & Jacksons Lane Theatre) La Ciesca and Zita Gianni Schicchi (Fulham Opera and Lunchbreak Opera respectively), Gertrude Romeo et Juliette (Arcadian Opera), Flowermaiden Parsifal (Elemental Opera), 2nd and 3rd Ladies Die Zauberflöte (Zeist Opera Festival, Netherlands, St John’s Smith Square & Riverside Studios) and ensemble in six tours of John Ramster’s staged Messiah. She has sung Larina Eugene Onegin for OperaUpClose for whom she also created the role of Mrs Bear in Peace at Last.

Gemma has recorded and performed several operas in concert with Opera Rara including Semiramide, Il proscritto and La princesse de Trébizonde under the batons of Sir Mark Elder, Carlo Rizzi and Paul Daniel respectively.

Music theatre roles include Mrs Sowerberry & Mrs Bedwin in Oliver! and Fruma-Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof (Grange Park Opera and BBC Proms), the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Creation Theatre, Oxford) and numerous performances from the G&S canon.

David Powton, Tenor

David Powton

Tenor

David Powton gained his MA in Opera Performance from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, studying with Adrian Thompson and Nicki Rose, generously supported by the Leverhulme Foundation and the Manning Prize for Tenors. Roles include The Mayor (Albert Herring, Britten), Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart), Caius (Falstaff, Verdi) and Alfred (Die Fledermaus, Strauss).

David has performed as a soloist with Royal Northern Sinfonia. Concert performances include Seven Last Words from the Cross (MacMillan), A Child of Our Time (Tippett) and Verdi Requiem. Recent performances include Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore (Donizetti) with Opera’r Ddraig, Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart) with Random Opera and Marat/Dupont in Black, el payaso (Sorozàbal) with Cervantes Theatre.

Sam Young, Baritone

Sam Young

Baritone

British baritone Sam Young studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he was awarded the Chartered Surveyors Vocal Prize, and previously graduated from Bath Spa University. In 2023, he was recipient of the Young Artist Award in conjunction with the Strand International Festival of Song.

Sam has previously been a member of the chorus with companies including Glyndebourne Festival Opera/Tour and English National Opera. He will be making his debut with Longborough Festival Opera this summer as an Emerging Artist, in the role of Sergeant in their production of La bohème. Previous roles include the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Hurn Court Opera); Customs Officer cover in La bohème (Glyndebourne Tour); Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro (Heritage Opera); Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (St Bartholomew's Orchestra; Flat Pack Music); Le Comte Ludorf in La Nonne Sanglante (Gothic Opera, UK premiere, Off-West End Awards winner, Best Opera production 2022); Papageno in The Magic Flute, Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore, Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Mikado in The Mikado (Opera Anywhere, UK tour); Marcello cover in La bohème, Moralès in Carmen (Oxford Opera); Leporello in Don Giovanni (Rogue Opera);

Sam has appeared as a soloist in concerts across the UK and Europe. In 2019, he performed as part of Downton Abbey Live with the Chamber Orchestra of London at Highclere Castle, and again with the City Lights Symphony Orchestra at KKL Luzern, Switzerland. Other solo concert and oratorio credits include Orff’s Carmina Burana; Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem; Handel’s Messiah; Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Opera in the City Festival); Jesus in Bach’s St John’s Passion; Haman in Handel’s Esther.

https://www.samyoungbaritone.com/

https://www.samyoungbaritone.com/

The LGT Young Soloists

Violin 1

Emmanuel Webb
Viviane Plekhotkine

Violin 2

Mira Marton
Kiana Chan

Cello

Clelia le Bret
Gabriel Webb

Viola

Aisha Goodman
Jiemna Barrio-Briones

Bass

Nathan Perry

The LGT Young Soloists is an exceptional string ensemble comprised of highly talented young musicians from around the world, aged between 12 and 23. Established in 2013 by violinist Alexander Gilman and pianist Marina Seltenreich, the group has quickly garnered a reputation for its virtuosity, energy, and innovative programming. Sponsored by LGT Private Banking, the ensemble offers a platform for young prodigies to perform at a professional level, honing their skills through intensive training and collaboration.

The LGT Young Soloists have performed at prestigious venues and festivals across the globe, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musikverein, and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. They are known for their dynamic and engaging performances, which often include both classical masterpieces and contemporary works, demonstrating a commitment to broadening the traditional repertoire.

In addition to live performances, the ensemble has released several critically acclaimed albums under the Sony Classical label. These recordings showcase their technical prowess and artistic maturity, earning praise from critics and audiences alike.

Through their dedication to excellence and passion for music, the LGT Young Soloists continue to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide, fostering the next generation of classical music stars.

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