Angela Henckel - Isolde

Since leaving the Royal College of Music, Angela has enjoyed a varied career ranging from singing Gregorian Plainchant to Musical Theatre and from Baroque recitals to Contemporary Rock opera. She has recently returned from Lucerne where she performed in My Secret Heart, a major new music and film work, commissioned by Streetwise Opera, which had its world première at The Royal Festival Hall.

Other solo concert engagements include Dido and Aeneas in Japan with the Purcell Quartet and appearances at many of Britain's major concert venues and festivals, including the Wigmore Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. John's Smith Square, St. James' Piccadilly, St. Martin's-in-the Fields and the Symphony Hall Birmingham, most recently giving performances of Mahler's 4th Symphony and Mozart's C Minor Mass. Angela has toured Canada with Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge, Israel with the Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra and Germany and Spain singing Bach's St. Matthew and St John Passion with the English Concert, European Voices and Florilegium.

Opera performances include Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro; Despina, Cosi fan Tutte; Blonde, Die Entführung aus dem Serail; for Handmade Opera: Zerlina, Don Giovanni; the world première of Colin Hodgett's She-Fox of Shinoda Japan. British première singing the title role in Hindemith's Sancta Susanna and Thisbe in Boyce's Pyramus and Thisbe: Dirindina in Domenico Scarlatti's La Dirindina: Don Ettore in Haydn's La Canterina for Opera Restor'd at the Linbury Theatre, Covent Garden and She in Loves Labyrinth at the Wigmore Hall.

Angela has recorded Jubilee by Cole Porter for BBC Radio 4 and has appeared on BBC Radio 3, Capital Radio and Carlton Television. She is also soloist on a CD of Christmas carols from St Georges Hanover Square.

Angela is in great demand as a recitalist, and has performed at the Purcell Room and for many music societies and festivals throughout the UK. Her future plans include the title role in Handel's Esther and the world première of Revelations of Divine Love by Colin Hodgetts.

Greg Tassell - Tristan

Greg Tassell was born into a farming family in Kent and was a chorister at Durham Cathedral. He was awarded a choral scholarship at Exeter Cathedral under Andrew Millington and later trained at the Royal Academy of Music with Ryland Davies and Robert Aldwinckle.

At RAM he appeared in masterclasses with Robert Tear and Robert Kiesgen and performed in the RAM Opera Scenes most notably as Lenski Eugene Onegin and Wilhelm Mignon. Whilst at RAM Greg worked regularly with the guitar department and in 2007 premiered Richard Rodney-Bennett's Lost Songs at the Bolivar Hall. In 2008 he was a finalist at the London Handel Competition where the Times noted him as a 'personable and musically intelligent singer' and was awarded a finalists prize.

After leaving RAM Greg made his professional operatic debut as 2nd Priest in The Magic Flute (English Touring Opera under James Conway). Greg made his debut at the Wigmore Hall in November 2008 singing under Matthew Halls with The King's Consort.

Recent engagements include Albert in Albert Herring (Co-Opera Co.), Mercury in Orpheus and the Underworld (Kentish Opera), Acis in Acis & Galatea (Blackheath Choral), Tenor Soloist in Puccini's Messa di Gloria (Radlett Choral Soc.) and Handel's Messiah (Harrow Choral Soc.) and a tour of Israel with Retrospect Ensemble under Matthew Halls.

Greg is passionate about English song and during his time at RAM he received a post at Finchcocks Museum of Early Keyboard Instruments as the resident singer for open days demonstrating the pianos under Richard Burnett and Steven Devine. In 2006 he was Runner-Up at the John Kerr Award for Early English Song and starting at Finchcocks on December 20th 2009, Greg will perform a tour with pianist Gary Branch and poet Leon Conrad of Crystal Clear - a new work celebrating the life of Sir August Manns.

Other future engagements include a rare performance of Frank Martin's Le Vin Herbe, Lysander (cover) and Don Basilio (cover) with English Touring Opera in their 2010 Spring tour, Monteverdi's Vespers at the Exmouth Festival, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle at St Martin-in-the-Fields with the Estherhay Singers and a performance of Purcell's The Fairy Queen at the Wigmore Hall with Retrospect Ensemble.

Greg continues to study singing with tenor Justin Lavender.

Julian Black - Musical Director

Julian Black recently completed his BA in Music from Christ's College and is currently studying in Cambridge for the MusB. He attended the Royal College of Music Junior Department and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain on the French horn.

On coming to Cambridge, Julian received an Instrumental Award on the French Horn, and took up conducting at the end of his first year. He has since conducte d orchestral repertoire including Ravel's Ma Mère L'Oye Suite, Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony and Rachmaninov's Second Symphony. He is currently privileged to receive occasional conducting lessons from Sir Colin Davis as well as learning more regularly with Peter Stark. Julian has also participated in conducting masterclasses with Colin Metters and Martyn Brabbins.

In February 2007, Julian's conducted a fully staged production of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel in West Road Concert Hall, which ran for four performances and has also conducted the world première of an opera by Ed Nesbit, The Burning of Rome. Other projects have included performances of Handel's Messiah, a semi-staged production of Poulenc's comic opera, Les Mamelles de Tirésias, as well as preparing half of Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony with CUMS I.

More recently, Julian music-directed a run of The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Cambridge Arts Theatre, a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and two semi-staged performances of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. Julian also works closely with Christ's College Chapel Choir, whom he conducts on a regular basis in Evensong, public concerts and on international tours.

Aside from the Hindemith, his other current projects include conducting Brahms' second symphony with Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra.

Rosie Parker - Director

Rosalind is the co-founder and Director of Rough Magicke Productions which was formed with the principle aim of exploiting the musical element of theatre to engage the audience more directly with the visual narrative. We seek to create intimate and highly involving theatre which hopes to break down some of the elements of the 'musical theatre' genre which force the connection between actor and audience to be one of spectacle and spectator.

With Rough Magicke Rosalind has Directed and Accompanied; Into the Woods- Stephen Sondheim (Jan 06), Company- Stephen Sondheim (Jul 06), Threepenny Opera- Brecht (Jan 07), A New Brain- William Finn (Jul 07) which toured Cambridge, Harlow, Stowmarket and Bedford, and The Crucible- Arther Miller (May 08) for which she composed an original score.
Rosalind is currently touring Rough Magicke’s latest project Songs for a New World- Brown, Harlow, Bishops Stortford, Cambridge, Newport, (Sept 08), Birmingham, Loughborough, Warwick, Coventry (Oct 08) before bringing back to Cambridge for a Christmas run.

In Cambridge, Rosalind was Assistant Director to Annie Castledine and Clive Mendus (from Theatre du Complicite) on the trienial Cambridge Greek Play The Medea - Euripedes, Cambridge Arts Theatre (Oct 07).

A choral scholar in Clare choir, Rosalind made her opera directing debut with Clare College Music Society's Dido and Aeneas- Purcell (May 07). The following year she was invited back by the CCMS to direct Gianni Schicci-Puccini (May 08).

Rosalind has recently been appointed Director for the newly founded Ardente Opera Company, with whom she will direct Morder, Hoffnung der Frauen- Hindemith, and Sancta Susanna-Hindemith in Cambridge, (Dec 08) and St. James’s, Piccadilly (Jan 09).

Other directing credits within the university include Sweet Charity with FitzTheatre (April 08) and Shakespeare Shorts for the Clare Alumni Literary Festival (June 08).

Rosalind has explored various dynamics of the relationship between music and theatre, as the Musical Consultant to Gomito Productions on Little Red Things - Gomito Productions (an ensemble company which employ physical theatre, mime, puppetry and live music to tell their stories) which recieved ***** from Three Weeks in Edinburgh Fringe 06, and was long listed for a Total Theatre Award. The sequel- The Sundragon is currently on a National tour, (venues including the Lyric Hammersmith, London).