Philip Langridge

Members leading the courses

John Graham-Hall August 4^th, 5^th, 6^th.    

John Graham-Hall came into the profession by a classic route: choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge; then the Royal College of Music. In the 25 years since he rose to fame, singing the role of that naive innocent Albert Herring in a classic Glyndebourne production of Britten’s opera, he has portrayed a myriad of roles; for the Royal Opera House, Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos and Monostatos, for Glyndebourne, Vanya Kudrjasin  Katya Kabanova‚ Flute in  Midsummer Night’s Dream‚ Basilio and Bob Boles, for ENO Valzacchi‚ Basilio‚ Monostatos‚ Lysander ,Mime‚ Herod‚ Sylvester in The Silver Tassie‚ Goro‚ Triquet‚ Shabby Peasant in  Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Alwa in Lulu. For Opera North Mayor Albert Herring‚ Elcius Croesus and Dr Caius. John is in great demand abroad singing at all the major opera houses and festivals throughout Europe . Perhaps because he does conjure such memorable characters, John’s schedule is packed; Aschenbach in Deborah Warner’s Brussels production of Death in Venice, Broucek with Opera North and David Alden’s new ENO staging of Katya Kabanova

“The work I want to do is to explore and hone the singer’s most important asset– communication. What an audience responds to is honesty and openness – when we are concerned about our sound, honesty flies into the wings and we lose all credibility. This will be three days of intensive, explorative rehearsal, focusing on text, embodiment of character, relationships, physical connection and emotional courage. We will push the boundaries both vocally but most importantly dramatically and  get to the point where acting and singing are the same impulse. Everything needs to be joined up: vocal technique, characterisation, pointing the text, moving across the stage and most importantly, communication - if you can’t communicate your meaning directly, you might as well pack singing in. As soon as we articulate the text, the whole thing lights up.”

Jacquie Crago and Harry Nicoll August  18^th 19^th 20^th 

Jacquie Crago is, amongst a host of other things, a voice and dialect coach with leading drama schools and theatres being a regular member of the RSC Voice and Text team working closely with international directors such as Rupert Gould, Greg Doran, Nancy Meckler and Marianne Elliott and is presently working on the acclaimed National Theatre production of War Horse. Jacquie is an actor, recently touring in Arnold Wesker's  'Four Portraits of Mothers' and an acting coach and director. She particularly enjoys working with young actors and singers and is a regular workshop leader with Co-Opera Co. Jacquie’s recent productions include : As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Chess, The Beaux Stratagem and Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off!  Before America laid claim to his talent Jacquie also worked regularly with John Doyle - Toni award winner for Sweeny Todd

Harry Nicoll hails from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands and studied at the RSAMD. As a consummate artiste, Harry is constantly in demand both in the UK and abroad. His recent roles include for ROH, Curzio, JoeLa Fanciulla del West Goro, Major Domo, Master of Ceremonies, Remendado. For Scottish Opera, Guillot de Morfontaine and Goro.  For  GTO  Basilio, Spalanzani, Sellem and title role Platée for the Reisopera.For  Opera North, Goro, Major Domo and Master of Ceremonies. Harry’s artistry has lead him to become one of the UK’s most sought after singers being one of this country’s leading interpreters of the Evangelist in Bach’s St John and Matthew Passions. “ A joy to hear and watch, Harry Nicoll brings every character he plays to life, fully inhabiting his world,  thrilling his audiences and making his art seem effortless – a true singing actor”   Jacquie and Harry have worked together for many years (they make a wonderful team!)  Their approach is to release unnecessary tension from the body; connect imaginatively, physically and emotionally with text; create grounded, detailed characters, able to function truthfully within the world and style of the opera; to maintain high musical standards. Their aim is to focus on the needs of the individual within a supportive and positive rehearsal space.  You will be encouraged to challenge perceived limitations, explore exciting new possibilities and release true potential.

Janis Kelly August 10^th, 11^th, 12^th

Janis Kelly most recently premiered Rufus Wainwright’s Opera, Prima Donna, singing the title role at the Manchester International Festival and its international tour takes it to Sadlers Wells London, Luminato Festival Toronto, New York City Opera, and Melbourne Festival. Her roles as Violetta, Marchallin, Magda, Countess and Pat Nixon, amongst many others, have brought her great acclaim both in the UK and abroad. In February 2011 Janis makes her Metropolitan Opera debut as Pat Nixon. Recently she appeared at the ROH in Gianni Schicchi and returns in the autumn in Adrianna Lecouvreur. She has appeared in films directed by Alan Parker and Woody Allen, sung the award winning sound tracks to Inspector Morse and Lewis, directed at Grange Park Opera and recorded a solo album as well as music of Sondheim, Tchaikovsky, G&S and much more.She now includes teaching and directing in her passion for all things theatrical and presently is a vocal professor at the RCM London. A recent RCM  project has been the production of a DVD researching into her vocal lineage.       

“I would like to encourage the singers to delve into the unknown and surprise themselves by expanding their own goalposts. 
Breaking through the barrier of fear, they will find that their physical and mental courage benefits their technique and emotional  repertoire . The work I will do will bring characterization to life.

Sally Burgess August 25^th, 26^th, 27^th

Sally Burgess has made some of the most exciting operatic roles her own, and has been invited to the most prestigious opera houses in the world. The Sunday Times describing her as “The greatest exponent of Carmen I have ever seen”. She went on to sing this role to world wide acclaim. Her operatic debut was Zerlina Don Giovanni with ENO with whom she was given a solo contract aged 23.She has since been a regular guest artist singing over 40 roles with the company.                                                                                                              

She made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Siebel Faust with Alfredo Kraus, at The Metropolitan Opera, the Bayerisches Staatsoper in Munich and the Opera de Bastille, Paris as Carmen, at the Opera de Geneve, Switzerland as Fricka The Ring, and at Houston Grand Opera as Polinesso Ariodante.   She has also sung semi staged performances of Judith Bluebeard’s Castle with the Symphony Orchestra’s of Bordeaux, Opera North, Houston, Seattle and Porto, Portugal.  Sally starred as Julie Laverne in the Opera North/RSC production of Showboat at the London Palladium for which she was nominated for “Best Actress in a Musical” at the Olivier Award.     She has sung a wide variety of music over a long and successful career, and has numerous recordings to her credit, for Chandos (Judith  Bluebeard’sCastle,   Herodias  Salome, Florence Pike Albert Herring, and Sorceress Dido and Aeneas), Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio, and three jazz albums  (Sally Burgess Sings Jazz, The Other Me, and Happy Talk). For TER she has recorded Show Boat, The King and I, and West Side Story. Sally is sought after by students at home and abroad, with a thriving private studio, giving master classes and workshops throughout the country. Sally adjudicates and examines for all UK conservatoires. She is a member of the British Voice Association and Co-Opera Company, and runs annual workshops and master classes in Nice each August for Les Azuriales Opera Festival.  She works with singers at the Royal Opera House on the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, and with British Youth Opera.
Sally is known for her committed and detailed performances, and is both vocally and dramatically  mesmorising and compelling as a communicator and feels strongly that the high standards which contemporary opera places on performers requires them to possess both musicality and curiosity.