ABL AVIATION OPERA STUDIO ARTISTS
Amanda
Composer
Amanda Feery
Amanda Feery is an Irish composer working with acoustic, electronic, and improvised music. Much of her inspiration comes from literature, folk music, cultural criticism, and the natural world. She has written for chamber and vocal ensembles, film, theatre, and multimedia.
She has collaborated with leading ensembles and artists in Ireland and overseas, including the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Crash Ensemble, Chamber Choir Ireland, Alarm Will Sound, Third Coast Percussion, ensemble mise-en, Gallicantus, Quince Vocal Ensemble, Amatis Trio, RTÉ ConTempo Quartet, Dublin Guitar Quartet, Paul Roe, Michelle O’Rourke, and Lina Andonovska. Her work has featured at New Music Dublin, Cork International Choral Festival, First Fortnight Festival, and Dublin Fringe Festival.
Recent projects include The Scolds for flautist Lina Andonovska and Frame Story for pianist Fiachra Garvey. Amanda is currently working with writer Megan Nolan on A Thing I Cannot Name, an opera to be premiered by Irish National Opera in June 2021.
Aebh
Mezzo Soprano
Aebh Kelly
Aebh is a 23 year old mezzo soprano from Dublin. She has just completed her BA in Music Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, achieving First Class Honours. She is continuing her studies in RIAM this year on the Professional Mentorship Programme with Virginia Kerr and Dearbhla Collins.
In October 2019 Aebh went to Gutersloh, Germany to compete in the Final Round of the International Singing Competition Neue Stimmen. This autumn she is welcomed back to take part in the Neue Stimmen Masterclass which will now take place in a digital format. Here she will receive lessons and coaching from world-renowned artists such as, mezzo soprano Bernarda Fink and casting director Evamaria Wieser.
Aebh is a multiple prize winner here in Ireland. In March 2020 she won the prestigious Maura Dowdall Concerto Competition in RIAM singing Mahler’s ‘Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen’. She has won many ESB Feis Ceoil titles to date, including The Mrs. PJ Geoghegan Cup (2019), The Mezzo Soprano Cup (2016) and The Vincent O’Brien Cup (2016).
In early 2020 Aebh participated in Tara Erraught’s ‘A Celebration of the Voice’ series in Drogheda where she performed with the INO Orchestra and conductor Fergus Sheil. In the summer of 2019 Aebh performed as a soloist with the Glasthule Orchestra under maestro David Brophy at their annual Opera Gala Concert.
During her time in the RIAM Aebh has taken part in numerous operatic productions including, the role of Melissa in Alcina by Francesca Caccini (2019) and Endimione in La Calisto by Francesco Cavalli (2020). She is very much looking forward to beginning her musical journey with Irish National Opera.
David
Bass-baritone
David Howes
David Howes is a bass-baritone from Limerick where he studied with Olive Cowpar, before completing the B. Mus at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. David now studies with Robert Dean in London and is a graduate of the inaugural Wexford Factory at the Wexford Festival Opera and also, the Young Artist Programme with Northern Ireland Opera.
Oratorio performances include Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Co-Orch Dublin), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Requiems by Saint-Saens, Brahms (Dun Laoghaire Choral Society), Faure, and Mozart (Belfast Philharmonic Choir and Ulster Orchestra), Haydn’s The Creation and Handel’s Messiah (Dun Laoghaire Choral Society).
In opera, David has had the honour of creating the roles of Jack and Flynn in the world premiere of Andrew Synott’s opera, Dubliners. This was a co-production with Opera Theatre Company (now Irish National Opera) and Wexford Festival Opera. Other opera roles include, Falstaff in Verdi’s Falstaff (2020 Wexford Festival Opera), the title role in Hans Krasa’s Brundibar (Killaloe Chamber Music Festival), Count Ceprano in Rigoletto (OTC), Buff in Der Schauspieldirektor (Irish National Opera), Prince Yamadori in Madame Butterfly and Marchese d’Obigny in La Traviata (Lyric Opera, Dublin), Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro (Zerere Arts Festival), Sciarrone in Tosca (WFO), Noye in Noye’s Fludde, Father Treulove in The Rake’s Progress and Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
David has covered the roles of Figaro in Irish National Opera’s Inaugural production of le nozze di Figaro, the Title Role and Masetto in Don Giovanni (Northern Ireland Opera) and Henry Kissenger in Wide Open Opera’s production of Nixon in China.
In recital, David has performed at the Kilkenny Arts Festival in a new edition of Beethoven’s Irish Airs, and also Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzer at the National Concert Hall.
Future engagements include: Badger and Parson in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen at Longborough Festival Opera in August 2021.
Luke
Pianist
Luke Lally Maguire
Dublin-born pianist Luke Lally Maguire began playing piano at the age of thirteen. In September 2020, Luke completed his third level undergraduate studies in TUDublin Conservatoire (formerly DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama) studying piano under Dr. Mary Lennon, where he will graduate with First Class Honours in the Bachelor of Music performance degree. An experienced performer both in competitions and on the concert platform, Luke is a multiple prize-winner in major Irish national competitions and festivals for both solo and collaborative performance including Feis Ceoil and Sligo Feis Ceoil where in 2019, Luke was awarded the €1000 Piano Bursary sponsored by Eileen and Ray Monahan.
Luke is in demand as a vocal accompanist and has a keen interest in vocal performance, frequently performing in recitals and concerts. He has also performed in vocal masterclasses with Orla Boylan, Patricia Bardon and Julian Hubbard. In 2019, Luke acted as repetiteur and harpsichordist for TUDublin Conservatoire’s production of Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas.’
Luke is passionate about piano pedagogy and is currently teaching piano in the Newpark Academy of Music, Blackrock.
He has engaged in several piano masterclasses and lessons with Christopher Elton, Barry Douglas, Vanessa Latarche, Simon Trpčeski, Leon McCawley, Hilary Coates and Therese Fahy among others.
Luke is very much looking forward to working with Irish National Opera this season!
Kelli-Ann
Soprano
Kelli-Ann Masterson
Kelli-Ann Masterson hails from Co. Wexford and holds a B.Mus Ed. from Trinity College and Masters in Music performance (MMus) from DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. Kelli-Ann was a member of NI opera studio 2018/2019 and is a current member of the Irish National Opera studio 2020/21.
In 2019 Kelli-Ann was the winner of the Dramatic Cup and Margaret and Tony Quigley Awards at Feis Ceoil. She was also selected as a ‘Rising Star’ by UCH Limerick and was a company artist with Cork Opera House.
Kelli-Ann made her Wexford Festival Opera debut last Autumn singing the role of La Fée in Viardot’s Cendrillon and chorus in Don Quichotte. She received both the PwC bursary as an emerging Irish artist in the company and the Liam Healy bursary.
Kelli-Ann made her debut with OCI last year singing the role of Vespetta in the Irish premiere of Pimpinone at Killaloe Chamber music Festival and the role of Donal in the world premiere of Raymond Deane’s Vagabones. Other operatic roles include Chloé in Daphnis et Chloé (Northern Ireland Opera), Edith in Pirates of Penzance (Cork Opera House), Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte (Clyde Opera Group, Glasgow), Papagena in Die Zauberflöte (LOS Weimar) and Daniel in a staged portrayal of Handel’s Susanna (DIT opera ensemble).
Elaine
Conductor
Elaine Kelly
Elaine Kelly was appointed the ABL Aviation Opera Studio Conductor in association with Irish National Opera in 2019. During her first year, she was assistant conductor and chorus master on productions of La Cenerentola (Rossini), Carmen (Bizet) and The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart). As part of the studio, Elaine also conducted the premiere of Amanda Feery’s As Above, So below, with mezzo-soprano Bríd Ní Ghruagáin and Bangers and Crash Percussion Group at the 2020 First Fortnight Festival.
In 2014, Elaine won the inaugural ESB Feis Ceoil Orchestral Conducting Competition which led to engagements with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. She has also worked with the Dublin Symphony Orchestra (of which she was Musical Director from 2017-2019), Cork Concert Orchestra, CSM Symphony Orchestra, Cork Fleischmann Orchestra and the Fleischmann Choir. In 2015, Elaine was the assistant conductor for the Irish Youth Opera [now Opera Collective Ireland] production of Agrippina (Handel) with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, in association with Northern Ireland Opera. She is currently the conductor of the University of Limerick Orchestra and Musical Director to the award-winning Cork-based choir, Cantate.
Elaine is a BMus & MA graduate of the CIT Cork School of Music where she studied conducting with Alan Cutts and violin with Colette O’Brien and Adrian Petcu. She has participated in masterclasses with many distinguished conductors including John Farrer, Denise Ham, Robert Houlihan, George Hurst, John Longstaff, Toby Purser, Rodolfo Saglimbeni & Neil Thomson and has been assigned assistant conductor to Jonathon Cohen, Kenneth Montgomery, Fergus Sheil and Peter Whelan.
Davey
Director
Davey Kelleher
Davey is a freelance opera director, theatre director, producer and dramaturg.
Work with INO includes Aida and The Barber of Seville (assistant director) as well as directing outreach projects with Music Generation and Maynooth University.
He will direct Conor Mitchell’s A Message for Marty (or ‘The Ring’) for INO’s 20 Shots of Opera series 2020.
Theatre directing credits include A Short Cut To Happiness for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Nominated – Scotsman Mental Health Award 2019), comic drama Seahorse, multi-form music & puppetry works, Glowworm and Birdy, spoken-word sci-fi, These Lights, and the geopolitical allegory The Olive Tree, which has toured internationally.
He produced the revival and tour of TRYST with Sickle Moon Productions (Civic Theatre/Project Arts/Lyric Belfast/VAULT London), and has worked as an Associate Director with the Cork Opera House since 2016 (ProdiJig: The Revolution, The Wizard of Oz, and The Cork Proms).
Work in development includes Michelle Read’s Bang! for Dublin Theatre Festival 2020/21, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, for Cork Opera House.
Davey is a guest tutor and director at the Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art, an Associate Artist at the Civic Theatre, Dublin and a director and playwriting mentor for Tenderfoot Youth Arts Apprenticeship Programme. He holds an MFA (Distinction) in Theatre Directing from the Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art, and a BA (Hons) in Drama Studies & English Literature, from Trinity College Dublin.