MEET THE CAST
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.
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.
Sophie Levi-Roos
Assistant Director
Sophie is a multi-disciplinary performer, director, and librettist from Leeds.
She initially trained as a singer and holds a BMus in Music from The University of Birmingham, an MA in Opera Performance from RWCMD, and was a 2016-17 Young Artist soprano at The National Opera Studio.
As a soprano, principal operatic roles have included: Donna Anna – Don Giovann’, Romilda – Cavalli’s Xerse, Susanna and Countess –Le Nozze di Figaro, Clorinda – La Cenerentola, Adina –L’Elisir d’amore and Vixen Sharp-ears – The Cunning Little Vixen.
In 2014 Sophie directed her first full scale opera, Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, performed in the Dora Stoutzker Hall in Cardiff, whilst she was in her first year of opera school, because she enjoys dancing to the edge of sanity and back.
More recent productions have included assisting on Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes and Donizetti’s Don Pasquale – a show for which she also provided the full English translation of the subtitles.
Lovers, Losers & Larrikins is the first of what Sophie hopes will be many more exciting collaborations with Rogue Opera.
Sophie can be found online at www.sophieleviroos.co.uk and on Instagram @uglysingingface.
Hazel Neighbour
Soprano
Hazel Neighbour is a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music opera studio where she studied with renowned soprano Nuccia Focile. She has worked for companies such as Glyndebourne, Mid Wales Opera, and Grimeborn Festival and is an alumna of British Youth Opera, Dartington International Festival, and the Franz-Schubert-Institut in Baden bei Wien. Before studying singing, Hazel read Chemistry at Imperial College London. Her operatic roles include Mimì, La bohème; Contessa Almaviva, Le nozze di Figaro; Micaëla, Carmen; and Governess, The Turn of the Screw. A passionate exponent of contemporary music, Hazel created the role of Atalya in The Butt, adapted from the celebrated book by Will Self at the contemporary music festival Musiktheatertage Wien in Austria. Highlights of Hazel’s concert and oratorio experience include A Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams at Dorking Halls, Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder and Mozart’s Vesperae solemnes de confessore at West Road Concert Hall. During the pandemic, she made her theatre debut touring Shakespeare plays around the UK. Hazel’s forthcoming engagements include a summer tour with Rogue Opera and performing Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel at the Vienna Opera Festival as well as role debuts of Violetta Valéry, La Traviata and Rosalinde, Die Fledermaus.
James Schouten
Tenor
Canadian-born tenor James Schouten is studying at the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under the tutelage of Stephen Robertson. James switched from high baritone to tenor in 2019 after graduating from the Royal College of Music. His performed operatic roles include: Don Jose Carmen (Opera in Oborne), Laca Jenufa (Fulham Opera), Isepo La Gioconda (Grange Park Opera), Eisenstein Die Fledermaus (Opera Gold), Parpignol La bohème (Opera UpClose), Starveling A Midsummer Nights’ Dream (RCMIOS), Bartolo Il barbiere di siviglia (PopUp Opera), Silvio I Pagliacci (Hampstead Garden Opera) and Harlekin Ariadne auf Naxos (Queens’ Opera).
Recent contemporary projects include Tony West Side Story, Animus/Pianist in Simone Spagnolo’s Even you, lights, cannot hear me (Opera in the City Festival), Nebuchadnezzar in Joseph Cabons’ To Himself, Alone, Jawad in Orlando Gough’s Weather The Storm (Garsington Opera/Rosetta Life), Scarpia/Musical Director/Keys Rock Tosca, and Jon/Composer/Musical Director of lockdown micro-opera Threshold for OperaVision’s 2020 competition Opera Harmony. Future roles include Prince Charmant Cendrillon (RCS Opera) and Idomeneo Idomeneo (RCS Opera). James is generously supported by ABRSM and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Trust.
Robbie Haylett
Baritone
Robbie Haylett is based in North London and studies with Gary Coward. Roles include: Marchese/Barone (La traviata, Verdi) for Singers Unite!; Mars, in the world premiere of @emele by Roger Simmons and David Willcock for Oxfordshire Contemporary Opera; Dancaïro (Carmen, Bizet) for Kentish Opera; Mathieu, with Roucher/Fouquier-Tinville cover (Andrea Chénier, Giordano) and Officier/Second Commissaire/Geôlier (Dialogues des Carmélites, Poulenc) for Midsummer Opera; The Traveller (Curlew River, Britten) for CUOS; Doctor P (The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, Nyman) with the Façade Ensemble. A devotee of new music, he has given the World Premiere of Rhiannon Randle’s Temptations, (as Israelite Father) and her Kalthertzige (cycle for baritone and strings); David Earl’s Strange Ghost (as Dudley Ward and Frederick Kelly); and Louis D’Heudieres’ interpretations of utopian music. UK premieres include Jeremy Thurlow’s Over The Frost (consort and solo performance with chamber ensemble), and Brahms’ arrangement for strings of Bach’s Cantata BWV 21. He is a regular soloist for choirs and choral societies.
Robbie has also worked as an arranger, composer, guitarist, songwriter, choral singer, and performance teacher. Most recently, he composed, arranged, and performed music for the audiobook of Wild by Amy Jeffs; further work for a collectors’ edition vinyl and CD release, including music to accompany stories from Jeffs’ Storyland, will be released soon.
MEET THE TEAM
James Korniej
Sound Engineer
From an early age, James has been involved with music production. Whether it’s live, studio or performing, he always strives to produce a quality outcome by going above and beyond to get the job done.
Over the past twelve years, James has learnt to play a variety of contemporary instruments to a high standard, including guitar, bass guitar and drums. This has had a substantial impact on his knowledge of a diverse array of musical aspects. Having worked in various job roles, James finds himself extremely passionate about providing high quality shows.
From working in pub gardens to arenas, James is always ready to take on a challenge and make sure the show will go on. Within the performance industry, James has worked in many different departments but mostly specializing in backline and audio. Some of the artists that James has worked for include: The Sweet, Matt Goss, Tom Chaplin (from Keane) and many more.
Eddie Latter
Tour Manager
Eddie has been involved in the theatre industry for 25 years. His work has been focussed in educational settings both as a Director and Facilitator, specifically working with young people and young adults. Over the years, his work in Youth Theatre, has seen him having to take on other roles, such as Company Manager, Tour Manager and Technical Manager. He is passionate about the arts being made accessible, so has joined Rogue Opera this Summer to help spread the word of another art form into local communities.
Patricia Okenwa
Movement Director and Dramaturge
Patrica is an alumni of Sadler’s Wells Summer University 2015-18, a choreographer and dance artist and a founding member of New Movement Collective. She choreographed the opera short film Ariadne by Elena Langer and Glyn Maxwell for English Touring Opera in 2021; Stabat Mater for B-Motion Festival, in Italy in 2017 and TheaterFestival Boulevard, in the Netherlands in 2018; Glitch for Renaud Wiser Company 2018; Becoming for Northern School of Contemporary Dance, touch each feel other for Edge Dance Company 2017; Scenes from Daphnis and Chloe for MusicArt London 2017; Hydrargyrum for Rambert 2016 and Ride for BBC Young Dancer winner, Connor Scott’s, grand final performance in 2015.
Patricia has also collaborated on VR experiences Camouflage 2018 and Dust 2017 and movement directed Marty and the Party by Leo Skilbeck at Derby Theatre 2021, Torn by Nathaniel Pierre-White at the Royal Court Theatre 2016 as well as a livestream AR performance by Liam Payne for the EE Baftas in 2021. This is her second collaboration with Rogue Opera.
Thank you for coming with us on this Rogue Opera journey through some of opera's best arias, duets and ensembles. If you haven't had a chance to see the fantastic stories these pieces are borrowed from, we hope your interest is piqued to explore further!