Carolyn Watson
(Conductor, NSW)
Carolyn Watson is an energetic and dynamic young conductor rapidly developing an international profile. The recipient of the Nelly Apt Scholarship, Carolyn is currently inresidence at the Israeli National Opera undertaking advanced operatic studies.
The recipient of the 2009 Charles Mackerras Conducting Scholarship, she recently conducted the Bulgarian State Opera in The Marriage of Figaro.
This summer, Carolyn will compete in the 2009 Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition and will conduct the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania, the Savaria Symphony and Duna Sypmhony in Hungary, the Kammerphilharmonie Graz and the North Czech Philharmonic in festivals and masterclasses.
In 2008 she conducted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra as part of the Orkney Conducting Course and prepared the orchestra for World Youth Day where she performed for the Pope. In 2007, she attended the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and School where she studied with David Zinman. A doctoral student at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she holds a Henderson Scholarship for excellence in doctoral studies, Carolyn has studied conducting under Maestro Imre Palló.
An active music educator, Carolyn has held posts at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney Grammar School and Sydney Youth Orchestras. Carolyn’s recent freelance engagements have also included Sydney’s Willoughby Symphony, Kuringai Philharmonic and Penrith Symphony orchestras and a production of Faust for Rockdale Opera.
2008
Cameron Menzies
(Opera Director, NSW)
Cameron Menzies was born in Sydney, and currently resides in Melbourne. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Vocal Department) from the Victorian College of the Arts and is a graduate of the Ensemble Acting Studios in Sydney under the tulelage of the late Hayes Gordon OAM.
Thanks to winning the Bayreuth Scholarship Cameron is able to work as a ‘hospitant’ at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on their production of Wagner’s Tannhäuser working alongside director and ‘Intendantin’ Kirsten Harms. He is also completing ‘hospitant/observations’ with Köln Oper and Hamburg Oper.
Cameron’s credits include: Assistant
Director– Il Trovatore (Opera Australia); secondment to Matthew
Barclay on the Melbourne season of Julius Caesar, (Opera Australia).
Assistant Director – La Boheme (Melbourne Opera Company); Director –
Attila the Hun (Melbourne City Opera); Der Schauspieldirektor, Prima la
musica poi le parole, il Giustino, Sweeney Todd (Lyric Opera of
Melbourne); Hansel and Gretel, Die Fledermaus (In Good Company); Les
Arts Florissants, La Serva Padrona (Past Echoes); Cosi fan Tutte
(Melbourne New Orchestra). Assistant Director – il re pastore, Lyric
Opera of Melbourne; La Clemenza di Tito (VCA Opera Studio). Soloist –
Brother Heinrich’s Christmas, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Recordings/videos: Associate Director – “Opera Therapy” Documentary – SBS Television, Winner of the Silver Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival, 2006.
2007
Warwick Fyfe
(Baritone, NSW)
Warwick Fyfe completed music studies at the Canberra School of Music and the Victorian College of the Arts.
Warwick has sung many roles for the Australian Opera including:
The Dutchman The Flying Dutchman; Rigoletto Rigoletto; Dr Schoen/Jack the Ripper Lulu;
Germont La Traviata; Papageno The Magic Flute; The Father Hansel and Gretel;
Jupiter Orpheus in the Underworld; Schaunard La Boheme; The Herald Lohengrin;
Kothner The Mastersingers of Nuremberg; Bartolo The Marriage of Figaro; Frederic Lakme;
Capulet Romeo and Juliette; Ping Turandot; Frank Fledermaus; Pish Tush Mikado;
Sacristan Tosca; Ottokar Freischutz; Pantaloon The Love for Three Oranges;
Junius The Rape of Lucretia; Bartolo The Barber of Seville.
He will premier as Wolfram in Tannhauser in October later this year.
Awards include: Green Room Award (Schaunard), 2006
McDonald’s Aria, Winner, 1998
Moniusko Competition, aria prize,Warsaw 2001
Helpmann Award nominee (Papageno), 2006
Dame Mabel Brookes Memorial Fellowship, 1994
He has participated in ABC Radio Broadcasts, television perfomances and appearances and numerous concerts and recitals as a soloist with orchestras including:
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian
Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra,West Australian
Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, The Australian Opera
and Ballet Orchestra, State Orchestra of Victoria, Warsaw Symphony
Orchestra, Auckland Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
2006
Michal Imielski
(Opera Director, NSW)
Michal
Imielski has worked with a wide variety of performance art forms. His
interests lie in reviving opera from its conventional statues into the
realm of autonomous art form, so that young generations will appreciate
it.
In 2006 thanks to receiving Bayreuth scholarship he accepted Barrie Kosky’s invitation to be his ‘hospitant’ (unpaid assistant director) in Tristan and Isolde in Aalto Theatre in Essen conducted by Stefan Soltesz, as well as in kids opera Pinocchio at Komische Oper Berlin. In 2005 Michal took part in Philippe Genty’s La Fin des Terres. In 2002 Michal produced and took part in reviving Leszek Madzik’s of Scena Plastyczna KUL Wilgoc (Moisture), one of the most important European plastic theatre practitioners. In 2005 Michal enjoyed secondment on Benjamin Britten's Death in Venicedirected by Jim Sharman and his opera directing talents have been recognised by Elke Neidhardt at National Institute of Dramatic Arts, from which he graduated in 2005.
Michal is also a co-founder of Shh theatre company (www.shh.com.au), where he has directed and composed music/sound for all of the productions. The company specialises in modern sonic and visual compositions, a sort of modern operas without singing and major influence from the plastic theatre. Shh has been invited to many festivals nationally as well as Sydney Opera House with the self titled show in 2005. In 2007 Michal has undertaken a self devised multilayered plastic theatre series about blindness, his first show: Blind, as you see it deals with the loss of sight.
Michal has graduated from the Music Conservatorium in Poland Czestochowa in 1996; in classical guitar/piano and double bass. He has trained singing at the International Conservatorium of music in Harris Park for four years. Michal has composed and produced three theatre soundtracks. He has composed scores for a variety of radio projects (SBS – Polish radio), independent films in the last two years at the VCA, as well as theatre collaborating with small independent companys and NIDA productions.
Michal received Goethe’s 2007 scholarship for young artists, Nescafe Big Break in 2005, as well as 2 Post Graduate Research Funds for his Masters on research on non-verbal forms of communication.
Beside theatre and opera Michal has had professional experience in
the arts of magic, puppetry and mime having toured internationally.
2005
Kate Golla
(Repetiteur, NSW)
