"Cheryl and Karin sang in the church at our wedding and were absolutely fantastic. Their performance was breathtaking".

Miller & Hinton Wedding

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Mezzos


Clare McCaldin

As well as her accomplished stage work, Clare McCaldin is a sought-after recitalist and oratorio soloist, and an established performer of traditional and contemporary repertoire.

 

Recent operatic roles include Örzse in Kodaly’s Háry János with the Ryedale Festival Opera [cond. Justin Doyle] and Mrs Coaxer in Britten’s version of The Beggar’s Opera [cond. Christian Curnyn] for the Royal Opera Covent Garden.  Other roles for the Royal Opera include Cousin (Madama Butterfly) and Glasha (Kat’a Kabanova) and elsewhere Clare has performed Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte, Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus,  Siebel in Faust, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Oreste in ‘La Belle Helene’ with Jose Carreras as guest artist [Diva Opera],   Véronique in Le Docteur Miracle,  Flora in La Traviata [Longborough Festival Opera], and Mrs Peacham in The Threepenny Opera [Wexford Festival Opera].

 

Among her broader repertoire are various movement-based projects: Willian Tuckett’s The Wind in the Willows and Pinocchio at the Linbury Royal Opera House; Wayne McGregor’s Dido & Aeneas for the Royal Opera /Royal Ballet; Sea of Souls, with Ron Howell and composer Yuko Katori; and the Silver Swan with the Clod Ensemble.

 

In the contemporary repertoire Clare’s recent roles include the Stardust Person in Stephen McNeff’s The Gentle Giant (ROH2, Royal Opera Covent Garden), the Mezzo Actor in Judith Weir’s A Night at the Chinese Opera for Scottish Opera, and premieres of works by Jonathan Mills, Jean-Philippe Calvin and Graham Coatman.  In contemporary concert repertoire she has performed with Esa-Pekka Salonen and Diego Masson in works by Berio and Birtwistle, and at the BBC Proms.

 

In 2008 she premiered Stephen McNeff’s Farfalle di Neve in recital at the Royal Opera House, and in concert there this year she will give the first performance of his Madrigali d’Estate, commissioned for her.  As a resident artist at the 2010 Presteigne Festival she will be premiering other works written for her by Stephen McNeff, Hugh Wood and Alexander L’Estrange, as well as existing works for voice and chamber ensemble by Nicholas Maw, and will give a solo recital with pianist Simon Lepper.

 

Among her other appearances this year are recitals throughout the UK with pianist Paul Turner, and concerts with the Southbank Sinfonia, the LePage Ensemble, Paris-based baroque ensemble La Réjouissance and a recital with the Vienna Piano Trio for the Haydn bi-centenary in Vienna.


Tamsin Dalley

Born in in London where she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Recent operatic roles include Mauxalinda ‘The Dragon of Wantley’ by John Lampe with the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin [cond. Gary Cooper], at the Potsdam Festival in Germany [Opera Restor’d], Kera ‘The Minotaur’ by Harrison Birtwistle [cond. Antonio Pappano] for The Royal Opera, Covent Garden [world premiere], The Witch ‘Hansel and Gretel’ with the BBC Concert Orchestra [cond. by Charles Hazelwood] at The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Chichester Festival, The Mayor’s Wife ‘Jenufa’ at the Endellion Festival [cond. Richard Hickox], Anna in ‘Tobias and the Angel’ by Jonathan Dove for New Sussex Opera, Prince Orlofsky ‘Die Fledermaus’ with Jose Carreras as guest artist [Switzerland/Diva Opera], Iolanthe ‘Iolanthe’ [Gilbert and Sullivan] for The D’Oyly Carte, Carmen [Riverside Opera, European Chamber Opera], Mercedes ‘Carmen’ [Opera Ireland] and die Vertraute ‘Elektra’ [BBC Prom, Albert Hall]. Tamsin has sung Third Lady ‘The Magic Flute’, Flora ‘La Traviata’ and Rosette ‘Manon’ by Massenet, Baba the Turk ‘The Rake’s Progress’ by Stravinsky for English Touring Opera. Tamsin has performed Third Lady ‘Die Zauberflote’ for London City Opera [London/US Tour], Holland Park Opera, Milan Opera Festival, Longborough Festival Opera and Garsington Opera [cover].

Other roles include The Old Prioress ‘Les Dialogues des Carmelites’ by Poulenc [Aldeburgh Festival], Madam Larina in ‘Eugene Onegin’ [Opera by Definition], Grimgerde ‘Die Walkure’ by Wagner [Newbury & Covent Garden Festivals], Third Orphan ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ [Spoleto Festival, Italy], Die Haushalterin [cover] ‘Die Schweigsame Frau’ by R Strauss [Garsington Opera], Martha ‘Patience and Sarah’ [Opera Amazons], Suor Zelatrice ‘Suor Angelica’ by Puccini and Hippolyta ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by Britten [Broomhill Opera]. Tamsin has also sung Olga, Nicklausse, Marcellina and Fiamina in the British Premiere of Massenet’s ‘Griselidis’.

Tamsin has wide experience in oratorio, most recently singing in Bach’s St John Passion at Westminster Abbey, ‘Messiah’ at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall, the Verdi Requiem and Carl Jenkins’‘The Armed Man’ and ‘Stabat Mater’ conducted by the composer. She has devised recitals including some with poetry and English song on the life of William Wordsworth given at the poet’s house Rydal Mount in The Lake District.

Tamsin’s interest in contemporary music has taken her throughout Europe, performing works by composers such as Birtwistle, Gubailudina, Ligeti and Kantscheli. She has recorded two new works by American composers; ‘A Long Way’ a song cycle by Kevin Kasker and ‘Acts’ for mezzo and orchestra by Newton Strandberg, with the London Symphony Orchestra at EMI Studios, Abbey Road and sings Lucia on Roberto Alagna’s CD ‘Nessun Dorma’. Tamsin was also the voice behind the Fiat ‘Spirito di Punto’ advertising campaign.


Dervla Ramsay

Born in Derry, N. Ireland, she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1993 she was the winner of the Ulster Bank Music Foundation Award for Young Irish Musicians (RTE, The Late Late Show), which enabled her to continue her studies in Italy with various teachers including Margarita Rinaldi and Renata Scotto.

In 1994 she won the Concorso Internazionale di Bagna di Lucca and made her debut as Volpino (Haydn’s Lo speziale). While in Italy she sang with various companies including Teatro Communale, Florence and Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa, where she sang La Cenerentola in a televised performance of opera extracts with Renata Scotto. A member of the Royal Opera Chorus since September 1999, her solo roles have included Lolette (La Rondine, Puccini), Contess Ceprano (Rigoletto, Verdi), Trainbearer (Elektra, Strauss) and Third Page (Lohengrin, Wagner).

She sang the role of Cenerentola in the ROH Linbury Theatre production of the ‘Sixty Minute Cinderella’.

Her oratorio experience includes the mezzo roles in the Messiah (Handel), Nelson Mass (Haydn), St. Matthew Passion (Bach), Elijah (Mendellsohn), Requiem (Mozart), Gloria (Vivaldi).

Dervla has also sung with the Covent Garden Big Band at tea dance events in the Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House.


Ayozie Pollendine

Ayozie trained on The Knack, English National Opera's  performance course for young singers, as well as developing her jazz singing and songwriting skills under the direction of Laka D on ENO's The Works Programme.
She then went on to study at The Royal College of Music on the Creative Leadership Course, with singing as a second study with tutor Stephen Roberts. On graduating, she was one of three shortlisted nationwide for a Black Educational Achievement Award for outstanding achievement in higher education at a ceremony hosted at The House of Commons.
Ayozie now works as a singer and a vocal animateur, as well as writing her own material.

Performing credits as a singer include: Demon Juice( Royal Opera House, Clore Studio, and Stratford Circus Theatre); Orlando Gough's Singing River (Royal festival Hall reopening) in which she featured one of eight soloists; Luciano Berio's Laborintus II (Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cologne Philharmonie)conducted by Diego Masson, which was broadcast live on BBC Radio Three; 'Photo Me' (a musical by Dominic Harlan, at the Tete a tete Opera festival); 'Esther'(Palace Theatre, Jermyn Street Theatre, West End). Throughout 2007, Ayozie toured with Big InTent Theatre Company in 'Free for All' a show in Cathedrals nationwide commemorating the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. Other performances include the Streetvibe festival at The Scoop, City Hall, London, with Eugene Skeef; David Knott's 'Celebration' at Snape Maltings Concert hall, Aldeburgh; 'Corridors' by Richard Taylor for The Knack, and a concert at the London Coliseum for ENO's The Works.

As a vocal animateur, Ayozie has worked with English National Opera (Bake for One Hour, Family days on The Magic Flute and The Mikado);The Southbank Centre(Paco Pena's Requiem for the Earth, and various schools projects);  The Royal Opera House (Orlando Gough's On the Rim of The World), and is currently working with Southwark Splash.

Ayozie is currently studying musical theatre repertoire with Ann James (tutor at the Royal Academy of Music).