Photo by Clive Barda

Elizabeth Connell

Class Director
London

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In December 2008 Elizabeth Connell had a triumphant success in the title role at the opening night of Turandot at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Elizabeth Connell is acclaimed for her performances of the great Strauss, Verdi and Wagner heroines. Most recently she sang Elektra in Las Palmas, Gertrude (Hänsel und Gretel) for the Royal Opera and concerts of Jenufa with the London Symphony and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestras.

Her 2010 performances include Elektra in Auckland as well as a solo recital in London St John's Smith Square. In April 2011 she will be returning to Opera Australia in Melbourne for Verdi's Macbeth.

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Marie Claire Breen

Soprano
Ayrshire

Marie Claire is currently on the Master of Opera course at the Alexander Gibson Opera School, RSAMD, under the tuition of Patricia Hay. Within the RSAMD, Marie Claire has taken part in several competitions, concerts and operas.

Recent engagements include two performances in America at St. Mary's College of Maryland's annual River Concert Series where she performed with trumpet virtuoso John Wallace and other internationally acclaimed trumpeters and public masterclass with Malcolm Martineau as part of the Edinburgh International Festival.

Jemma Brown

Mezzo soprano
Scotland

Jemma Brown (mezzo soprano) was a music scholar at St Leonards School, St Andrews, before obtaining a BMus hons) from the University of Glasgow in 2007, studying with Patricia MacMahon.

She graduated in 2008 with a PgDip from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and in 2009 with a Master of Music in performance. Jemma is currently continuing her studies with Kathleen McKellar Ferguson on the MMus (opera) course at the Alexander Gibson Opera School, RSAMD.

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Elin Pritchard

Soprano
Wales

Studying under the direction of Pat Hay and Judith Howarth, Elin is currently on the Opera Course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She completed the Post-Graduate Diploma course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in July 2009 and also gained her Bachelor of Music with Honours in 2007.

Elin has performed the Title Role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica in RWCMD’s Summer Opera 2009 and Fiordiligi from Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte in Concert. She covered the role of Anne Trulove from Stravinsky’s opera The Rake’s Progress for British Youth Opera’s Summer Season 2009.

In June 2010 Elin will perform the role of Countess Almaviva for RSAMD.

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Fiona Scott

Soprano
Scotland

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Fiona Scott was born in Preston, Lancashire.

She has just completed the Opera School of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, studying with Pat Hay. Previously Fiona attended the Royal Northern College of Music.

Fiona was the recipient of the Dame Eva Turner Award for Dramatic Sopranos (RNCM) and the Wagner Society of Scotland Bayreuth Bursary for 2008. She recently reached the Semi Finals of the 6th International Richard Wagner's Neue Stimmen (Bayreuth & Karlsruhe).

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Bjartmar Sigurdsson

Tenor
Iceland

Bjartmar was born in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1975.   Although he showed an interest and talent in music at an early age, it was not until the age of 28 that he realized the potential to become a classical singer and he began to study privately with singing teachers in Iceland and in the UK.

Bjartmar moved to Glasgow to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating with a Postgraduate Diploma in Opera Studies. He is now in his second year of a Masters course.         

In 2009 Bjartmar was granted a generous scholarship from the Scottish Wagner Society.

Michel de Souza

Baritone
South America

Michel was born in Petropolis, Brazil. He started studying music at the Canarinhos de Petropolis boys’ choir later graduating in Organ from the School of Music, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he also continued to study singing. Subsequently he worked with the tenor Benito Maresca in Sao Paulo. In 2007 he won first prize in the Maria Callas Vocal Competition in Sao Paulo. Michel is also a Samling scholar.

Michel is studying on the Master of Opera course at the RSAMD with a scholarship from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and will take part in the Scottish Opera Emerging Artist program next season. 

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Adam Laslett

Repetiteur
Australia

Australian-born Adam Laslett is pursuing a Masters in opera repetiteur studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

Adam completed a Masters of Philosophy in piano performance at the Australian National University School of Music, in Canberra, Australia, undertaking a study of creativity and interpretation. Subsequently, he worked as an accompanist for the School. 

He has performed as an associate artist with singers, instrumentalists and choruses in Australia, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA and New Zealand

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