ABL AVIATION OPERA STUDIO ARTISTS
Amanda
Composer
Amanda Feery
Amanda Feery is a composer working with acoustic, electronic and improvised music. She has written for orchestral, chamber and vocal ensembles, theatre, kinetic sculpture, and multimedia. Past collaborators include the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Choir Ireland, Alarm Will Sound, Third Coast Percussion, Crash Ensemble, This is How We Fly, RTÉ ConTempo Quartet, Amatis Trio, Ensemble Mise-en, Gallicantus, Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, Mivos Quartet, Bearthoven, Lina Andonovska, Paul Roe, and Lisa Moore.
Recent projects include the sonic opera This is the House of with Alarm Will Sound, exploring the discord between the church as an architectural space and an institution of abuse; Give Us The Night with Third Coast Percussion, an ode to the city’s rapidly disappearing clubs and night spaces; and Stray Sods, with cellist Amanda Gookin’s Forward Music Project, a project commissioning multimedia works that encourage social change and empowerment for womxn.
Future projects include new works for Chamber Choir Ireland and Ficino Ensemble, and a score for Tadhg O’Sullivan’s upcoming film, To the Moon.
Andrew
Tenor
Andrew Gavin
Andrew completed his Masters in Music Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2016, achieving First Class Honours under the tuition of Mary Brennan. A graduate of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Andrew attained First Class Honours in English Literature. He also holds an M. Phil in Children’s Literature from Trinity College, Dublin. In 2016 Andrew was awarded the PwC Wexford Festival Opera Emerging Young Artist bursary and is currently a member of the Irish National Opera studio.
Operatic highlights include Tamino and Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte); Arbace (Isomene); Acis and Damon I (Acis and Galatea); Don Curzio (The Marriage of Figaro); M. Vogelsang (Der Shauspieldirektor); Telemachus (The Return of Ulysses); Ormindo (L’Ormindo); Andres, Cochenille, Pitichinaccio and Franz (The Tales of Hoffman) and the roles of Bob Doran, Mr Alleyne and O’Halleran in the world premiere of Andrew Synnott’s Dubliners. Upcoming engagements include La Cenerentola, The Christmas Oratorio and La mort d’Orphée.
Bríd Ní
Mezzo Soprano
Bríd Ní Ghruagáin
In 2019, Bríd joined INO as Mother in Madama Butterfly and Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress for Opera in the Open. Her Irish opera début was with Opera Collective Ireland as Ericlea in The Return of Ulysses in 2018. She premiered new opera compositions Beneath Iseult’s Tower & The 24hr Opera in 2017, both for OTC’s Opera Hub. Bríd’s UK opera début was as Leah in Long Story Short: the Belfast Opera (NI Opera / Belfast Buildings Trust) in 2016. Roles include Mistress Quickly (Falstaff); Zita (Gianni Schicchi); La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica); Mrs. Grose (The Turn of the Screw); Mrs. Noye (Noye’s Fludde); Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte); Witch/Mother (Hänsel und Gretel), and 1st Secretary (cover) in Nixon in China.
Bríd is an M.Mus. (performance) graduate from TU Dublin Conservatory of Music & Drama and an ENO Opera Works alumnus. She regularly performs as a concert soloist. Bríd studies with Stephen Wallace & Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet.
Elaine
Conductor
Elaine Kelly
Elaine Kelly is a multi-award-winning choral and orchestral conductor based in Ireland. She has been appointed ABL Aviation Opera Studio Conductor for 2019/20 and will be assistant conductor and chorus director for INO productions this season. She is currently the Conductor of the University of Limerick Orchestra, and Musical Director to the highly successful choir, Cantate. She was Musical Director of the Dublin Symphony Orchestra from 2017-2019.
In 2014, Elaine won first prize in the inaugural ESB Feis Ceoil Orchestral Conducting Competition. In concert, she has conducted the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Cork Concert Orchestra, CSM Symphony Orchestra, Cork Fleischmann Orchestra and the Fleischmann Choir. Elaine was also assistant conductor for Opera Collective Ireland in their production of Handel’s Agrippina with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, in association with Northern Ireland Opera.
Elaine is a graduate of the CIT Cork School of Music (CSM) completing her BMus Degree in 2011 and continued her studies in CSM achieving a First-Class Honours Master’s Degree in Conducting.
Kelli-Ann
Soprano
Kelli-Ann Masterson
Kelli-Ann Masterson hails from Co. Wexford and holds a B.Mus Ed. from Trinity College and MMus from TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama. Kelli-Ann was a member of Northern Ireland’s Opera studio 2018/19.
In Spring 2019, Kelli-Ann won the Dramatic Cup and Margaret and Tony Quigley Awards at Feis Ceoil and was also selected as a ‘Rising Star’ by UCH Limerick.
Recent operatic roles include Donal in the world premiere of Raymond Deane’s Vagabones and Vespetta in the Irish premiere of Pimpinone at Killaloe Chamber music Festival both with Opera Collective Ireland. Other operatic roles include Chloé (Daphnis et Chloé) with NI Opera, Edith (Pirates of Penzance) with Cork Opera House, Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte) ) with Clyde Opera Glasgow, Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) with LOS Weimar and Adele (Die Fledermaus), Amour (Pygmalion), Amour (Orphée et Eurydice) and The Sandman/Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel) with Opera In The Open.
Kelli-Ann makes her Wexford Festival Opera debut with the role of La Fée in Viardot’s Cendrillon this Autumn.
Rory
Bass Baritone
Rory Dunne
Rory Dunne began his training in The Bull Alley Theatre Training Company, where he studied as an actor. He then went on to complete a degree in the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama (BMus Hons), completing his studies in 2017.
His career has led him to work with Irish National Opera, Opera Collective Ireland, Cork Opera, Northern Ireland Opera, Wide Open Opera, Opera Theatre Company, Lyric Opera Productions, Opera in the Open and the RTE Concert Orchestra Chorus, performing roles in venues including The Wexford Opera House, The National Concert Hall, Cork Opera House, The Bord Gais Energy Theatre and The Buxton Opera House.
Performed roles include The Mikado (The Mikado); Pimpimone (Pimpimone); Leporello (Don Giovanni); Colline (La Bohéme); Monterone (Rogoletto); Haly (L’Italiana in Algeri); Seargant of the Police (Pirates of Penzance); Buck Mulligan (Eric Sweeney’s Ulysses); Dottore Grenvil (La Traviata); Sciarrone (Tosca); Antonio (Le Nozze di Figaro); David (A Hand of Bridge); Talpa (Il Tabarro); Fiorello (Il Barbieri di Siviglia) and Dancaire (Carmen).
Sarah
Director
Sarah Baxter
Sarah is a freelance director. She was a member of INO Studio 2018/2019 and directed and co-wrote INO’s The Deadly World of Opera, part of Musictown Festival. She was assistant director for INO’s productions of The Magic Flute, Madama Butterfly, Aida and The Marriage of Figaro.
Sarah recently directed The Roaring Banshees (Devious Theatre) and These Stupid Things (White Label). Her work as director/co-creator includes with Alice Malseed, it’s getting harder and harder for me (Dublin Fringe 2017/MAC, Belfast 2018) and Jellyfish (Dublin Fringe 2015/UK tour 2016) and with Niamh Shaw, Diary of a Martian Beekeeper (Cork, 2017/ Dublin, 2018). Further director credits include: Personal Space Vol II (Smock Alley); 24HourPlaysDublin 2018 (Dublin YouthTheatre/Abbey Theatre); Dubliners Women (Irish National Tour); Taboo (White Label); The Hellfire Squad and Vehicle (Devious Theatre) and To Space (Niamh Shaw) which toured to Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringe Festivals. Sarah trained in LeCoq-based devised and physical theatre at London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA).