David Butt Philip & Friends Gala night

British soprano Ellie Laugharne is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Birmingham University. She began her career as a Jerwood Young Artist at Glyndebourne Festival and more recently was an Associate Artist for Opera North and is a Company Artist for The Mozartists with whom she has recently performed a concert in Vienna and enjoyed performances of Le Nozze di Figaro with them at The Cadogan Hall and in Sicily.

Highlights: Adele Die Fledermaus, Elsie Maynard The Yeomen of the Guard, Susanna Le nozze di Figaro (The Grange Festival); Mabel Pirates of Penzance (Tarantara Productions, UK Tour); Phyllis Iolanthe, Frasquita Carmen, Cupid Orpheus in the Underworld, Barbarina The Marriage of Figaro (ENO); Mozart Requiem staged (Opera North, Phoenix Dance Theatre & Jazzart Dance Theatre); Servilia La clemenza di Tito (Chelsea Opera Group); Polissena Radamisto (Philharmonia Baroque, San Fransisco); Eliza Doolittle My Fair Lady (The Grange Festival and Gran Teatro del Liceu, Barcelona); Gianetta The Gondoliers, Princess Zara Utopia Ltd., Adina L’elisir d’amore, Frasquita Carmen, Mabel The Pirates of Penzance (Scottish Opera); Pamina The Magic Flute, Despina Cosí fan tutte, Gretel Hänsel und Gretel, Susanna Le nozze di Figaro (Opera North); Asteria Tamerlano, Polissena Radamisto (ETO); Susanna Le nozze di Figaro, Lucia The Rape of Lucretia (Glyndebourne on Tour); Governess The Turn of the Screw, Tina Flight, Zerlina Don Giovanni (Opera Holland Park); Bastienne Bastien&Bastienne, Zerlina Don Giovanni, Temperantia Applausus, Emirena Adriano in Siria (The Mozartists); Helene La Belle Helene (Blackheath Halls); Sandrina La Finta Giardiniera (Buxton Opera Festival).

Marta Fontanals-Simmons has emerged as a 'strong artistic personality and an unflinchingly direct communicator on the international stage' (Presto Music). Marta’s broad repertoire ranges from Handel, Mozart, Mahler & Berlioz to specialising in female composers and creating roles in world premieres.

Most recent successes are Linda Festen Mark-Anthony Turnage, Hel The Monstrous Child Gavin Higgins, Siébel Faust Gounod all at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Eurydice Woman The Mask of Orpheus Birtwistle at ENO; Marta Enemigo del Pueblo Francisco Coll at Les Arts Valencia; Vlasta Die Passagierin Weinberg Teatro Real, Madrid; Erste Magd Elektra Strauss at Grand Théâtre de Genève, Zweite Dame Die Zauberflöte Mozart & Jacquet Les Naufrageurs Ethel Smyth at Glyndebourne Festival and Cherubino Le Nozze di Figaro Mozart at Garsington Opera & Théâtre de Champs Elysées.

Marta regularly appears in concert with UK orchestras RPO, CBSO, Philharmonia, Aurora, BBCNOW, BBCSSO, at teh BBC Proms, live on Radio 3 with BBCSO and with orchestras abroad at prestigious venues including Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Die Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmonie and soon with Brussels Philharmonic. In recital, Marta has performed internationally with acclaimed pianists Graham Johnson, Roger Vignoles, Joanna McGregor, Bengt Forsberg and Sholto Kynoch. She has been a featured artist on 8 discs including her debut album with collaborator Lana Bode ‘I and Silence; Women’s Voices in American Song’ which received 5 star reviews. Marta is a founding member of The Erda Ensemble.

An alumna of the University of Birmingham and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Marta then joined the Jerwood Young Artists at Glyndebourne Festival and Jeune Ensemble at Grand Théâtre de Genève. Marta is proud to be a Trustee for the Jackdaws Educational Trust and a mentor for SingersResound Charity.

Bass-baritone Liam James Karai is acclaimed for his elegant, flexible voice and dark timbre. Born in Hong Kong and of Scottish, Irish and Indian heritage, he continues to make notable debuts across major European opera houses.

His 25/26 season includes appearances at Teatro di San Carlo as Marcello (La Bohème), Opera North as Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Teatro Municipal de Santiago as Jochanaan (Salome), Nederlandse Reisopera for the world premiere of HAGAR, WDR Orchestra as First Nazarene (Salome), and Glyndebourne as Truffaldino (Ariadne auf Naxos). Future seasons feature debuts with LA Opera, the Royal Ballet & Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and more.

Previous seasons saw debuts at Teatro di San Carlo, Salzburg Festspiele, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Semperoper Dresden, Oper Frankfurt, Oper Leipzig, Staatstheater Mainz, Polish National Opera, and Staatsoper Hamburg, where he was a member of the International Opera Studio from 2022–2024.

Karai has been a grand finalist in several major competitions, including Tenor Viñas, Operalia, the Riccardo Zandonai Competition, the Belvedere Singing Competition, and the Antonina Campi Singing Competition, earning significant prizes.

Concert highlights include appearances with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Hamburg Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra.

He completed both an MMus and PgDip at the RNCM, studying with Quentin Hayes.

Susanna Stranders is a British pianist, conductor, répétiteur, and Artistic Director of Opera Cameratina. She serves on the music staff of the Royal Opera and is a regular coach at leading UK conservatoires and international summer festivals. Her previous posts include Head of Music and Chorus Master at Garsington Opera.

A dedicated educator, Susanna leads masterclasses, sits on competition juries, and has been the official pianist for major international voice competitions including Neue Stimmen and the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition. She is a trustee for the Spectra Ensemble and the Harpenden Music Foundation.

Susanna lives in Chesham with her partner, Barney - a baritone who has sung for St Paul’s Opera - and their two young daughters, Josie and Clara, who bring plenty of drama of their own!

Eric Melear joined the National Opera Studio in July 2024 as Artistic Director, where he sets the artistic vision and oversees the planning, selection, and programming for their highly-acclaimed young artists. He also collaborates with NOS’ partner companies to lead a variety of work from the pinnacle of the artform through its introduction to the youngest of audiences. 

Mr. Melear has carved out a diverse career as a conductor and pianist, working regularly on multiple continents and with a wide variety of singers and companies. A member of the music staffs at both the Vienna State Opera and The Metropolitan Opera, he has guest conducted at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival and at numerous U.S. opera houses, including Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, among others. Mr. Melear has also long been a champion of young artists, having led Studios at both Houston Grand Opera and Wolf Trap Opera, as well as serving as a guest coach for programs and universities in the U.K., Italy, and the U.S.

During his tenure with the Vienna State Opera, Mr. Melear conducted performances of Das verfluchte Geisterschiff, Die Entführung ins Zauberreich, Wagner’s Nibelungen Ring for Children and Pünktchen und Anton and assisted Zubin Mehta, Peter Schneider, Simone Young, among many others. Sharing the duties of preparing the 45-50 operas a season, he conducted the full-time stage orchestra, regularly coached the ensemble of singers and the newly created Studio program, and was seen in recitals and featured on continuo.