PAST EVENTS
Tuesday 9, Thursday 11 & Saturday 13 April 2023
Mozart's Don Giovanni
Regent Centre Christchurch, Theatre Royal, Winchester and Coade Theatre, Blandford Forum
Click here for review
Through the arc of a single night, the opera tracks Don Giovanni as he seduces and manipulates without conscience, leaving rejected conquests and vengeful victims in his wake. Mozart’s sublime music and glorious arias, in contrast, capture the humanity and strength of those he harms.
Set in the early 21st-century film industry and with nods to the #metoo movement, this production addressed issues as relevant today as in Mozart’s time. A cast of emerging young opera stars with the Hurn Court Opera orchestra brought the multifaceted dark tale to life as the libertine Don charted his fatal course to destruction. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Cast
Don Giovanni Sam Young
Il Commendatore William Stevens
Donna Anna Lizzie Ryder
Don Ottavio Daniel Gray Bell
Donna Elvira Hannah O'Brien
Leporello Samuel Lom
Masetto Harrison Chéné-Gration
Zerlina Tilly Goodwin
Leporello cover Johannes Gerges
Chorus
Persha Darling (soprano)
Rachel McLean (soprano)
Katie Macdonald (mezzo soprano)
Will Diggle (tenor)
Luke Horner (tenor)
Yuki Okuyama (baritone)
Stephen Whitford (baritone)
Duncan Stenhouse (bass)
Creative team
Director Joy Robinson
Musical Director Lynton Atkinson
Design and set build Michael Hart
Costumes Peiyao Wang
Sunday 3 December 2023
Christmas Concert - the Box of Delights opens again!
Church House, Wimborne
Another wonderful concert of music from Hurn Court Opera young artists set the mood for the festive season. Performing before a packed and appreciative house were:
Isabelle Atkinson, soprano
Will Diggle, tenor
Armand Rabot, baritone
and
Chloe Bokmans, soprano
Maia Patel, soprano
with Chris Dowie and Lynton Atkinson, piano
Sunday 19 November 2023
HCO Singer of the Year Competition 2023
in collaboration with The Grange Festival
Kimmeridge Theatre, Bournemouth University
Semi-finals and finals of this national competition for singers aged between 20 and 29 years. The semi-finalists are pictured right. Click here for competition results.
Judges:
Michael Chance, CBE, CEO and Artistic Director of The Grange Festival (Chair)
Sue Spence, Director of Askonas Holt arts management
Scott Cooper, Director of Artistic Administration, The Grange Festival
Scott Cooper
From left: Chloe Bokmans, Lynton Atkinson, HCO Artistic Director, Maia Patel, Armand Rabot, baritone, Isabelle Atkinson, soprano and Will Diggle, tenor
Semi-finalists, clockwise from top left: Myrna Tennant, mezzo soprano; Armand Rabot, baritone; Stephanie Hershaw, soprano; Morgan Michel, countertenor; Holly Teague, soprano; Daniel Gray Bell, tenor; Bethan Terry, soprano; Duncan Stenhouse, bass
Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 September 2023
Prizewinners' Recital - From Salon to Stage
Medieval Hall, Salisbury
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
For this year's Prizewinners' Recital, the artists delivered a two-part programme spanning the poetry and intimacy of art song, and arias and duets of grand opera. The song repertoire encompassed cycles by Finzi, Debussy and Strauss, as well as songs by Schubert. From the operatic stage, they performed arias by Donizetti, Wagner, Handel and Giordano.
Marie Cayeux, soprano
winner of the the Rosalind Armstrong Prize and the Anthony Lowrey Audience Prize in 2022
James Atkinson, baritone
James, now a BBC Radio3 New Generation Artist and HCO alumnus, very kindly stood in for Michael Lafferty, winner of the Second Prize in our inaugural 2018 Competition, who was indisposed.
JongSun Woo, piano
We are indebted to Nigel Beale for his kind sponsorship of this recital.
Sunday 9 July 2023
The John Seldon Masterclass with
Michael Chance CBE
Merley House, Wimborne
World-renowned countertenor and Artistic Director and CEO of The Grange Festival, Michael Chance CBE, delivered an erudite and entertaining masterclass with three young singers: mezzo- soprano Ellen Pearson, a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music; Morgan Michel, countertenor and undergraduate student at Trinity Laban Conservatoire; and baritone Toki Hamano, a recent graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Alexander Gibson opera school, and a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Tokyo University of the Arts. The masterclass pianist was Francesca Lauri.
Prior to working with the young artists, Michael performed Purcell's Music for a While, accompanied by Lynton Atkinson.
Michael Chance CBE Photo: Leela Bennett
Tuesday 11, Thursday 13 & Saturday 15 April 2023
Puccini's La Bohème
Regent Centre Christchurch, Blackledge Theatre Salisbury and Theatre Royal, Winchester
Puccini's opera about friendship, love and passion within the Parisian young artists' community never fails to touch audiences the world over. With a cast of emerging vocal stars, poignantly close in age to the characters they portrayed, the production featured the Hurn Court Opera Orchestra under Lynton Atkinson.
Cast
Mimi Oksana Lepska
Rodolfo Robert Forrest
Musetta Isabelle Atkinson
Marcello Jacob Phillips
Schaunard Thomas Chenhall
Colline Ross Fettes
Alcindoro Lawrence Gillians
Benoit Toki Hamano
Parpignol Luke Horner
Other characters and understudies
Sopranos Montserrat Castro Barrón, Rachel Speirs
Mezzo soprano Olivia Carstairs
Tenors Daniel Gray Bell, Luke Horner
Baritones Lawrence Gillians, Peter Norris, Yuki Okuyama
Children's Chorus
Eloisa Adams, Madeleine Hall, Millie Hiscocks, Maya Patel, Eleanor Walker, Emily Williamson
Creative team
Director Joy Robinson
Musical Director Lynton Atkinson
Set designer Michael Hart
Costumes Sue Grove
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Photos: Patrick Frost, BlackStar Pictures
Sunday 4 December 2022
More from the Christmas Box of Delights
Church House, Wimborne
Our ever-popular concert of Christmas music from Hurn Court Opera young artists set the mood for the festive season with:
Isabelle Atkinson, soprano
Caroline Taylor, soprano
James Atkinson, baritone
Francesca Lauri, piano
and friends
From left: Lionel Handy (cello), Chloe Bokmans (soprano), Francesca Lauri (piano), Isabelle Atkinson (soprano), James Atkinson (baritone), Caroline Taylor (soprano), Montserrat Castro (soprano) and Lynton Atkinson (Artistic Director)
Sunday 20 November 2022
HCO Singer of the Year Competition 2022
in collaboration with The Grange Festival
Kimmeridge Theatre, Bournemouth University
Semi-finals and finals of this national competition for singers aged between 20 and 29 years.
Judges:
Joan Rodgers, CBE, international soprano (Chair)
Michael Chance, CBE, CEO and Artistic Director of The Grange Festival
Scott Cooper, Director of Artistic Administration, The Grange Festival
Click here for competition results.
Scott Cooper
Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 September 2022
Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness
St Thomas's Church, Salisbury
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
Prizewinners in the 2021 HCO Singer of the Year Competition delivered an atmospheric recital inspired by Keats' To Autumn, tracing through song the poem’s themes of fruitfulness, love and labour, and dusk. The programme included songs by Hahn, Berg, Strauss, Armstrong Gibbs, Vaughan Williams, Ireland, Fauré, Muriel Herbert, Brahms, Schubert, Britten, Debussy, Dring and Mendelssohn, and arias by Douglas Moore and Barber.
Annabel Kennedy, mezzo-soprano
winner of the John Harding Second Prize and the Wendy Blamire Award
Johannes Moore, baritone
winner of the Rosalind Armstrong Prize and the Anthony Lowrey
Audience Prize
Ana Manastireanu, piano
We are indebted to Nigel Beale for his kind sponsorship of this recital.
Annabel Kennedy Photo: Helen Lisk
Johannes Moore
Kate Royal Photo: Jason Joyce
Sunday 12 June 2022
The John Seldon Masterclass with
Kate Royal
Merley House, Wimborne
International soprano Kate Royal performed songs by Richard Strauss and generously worked with three emerging young singers: Anika-France Forget mezzo-soprano, and postgraduate student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama; Isabelle Atkinson soprano, graduate of the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, and old girl of Kate's alma mater Talbot Heath School; and Robert Forrest, tenor, graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy Opera School.
Pianist - Francesca Lauri
Tuesday 12 & Thursday 14 April 2022
Donizetti's Don Pasquale 5***** Opera Now
Regent Centre, Christchurch and Blackledge Theatre, Salisbury
Set in the 1950s, and full of fun, intrigue and the joy of youthful love, this sizzling production featured an international cast of rising young operatic stars and the Hurn Court Opera orchestra, directed by Lynton Atkinson.
Cast
Don Pasquale Louis Hurst
Ernesto Chris Mosz
Norina Miku Yasukawa
Dr Malatesta Thomas Chenhall
Maid and Chorus Madeline Robinson
Notary and Chorus Adam Brown
Chorus Olivia Carstairs
Chorus Daniel Gray Bell
Creative team
Director Joy Robinson
Musical Director Lynton Atkinson
Set designer Michael Hart
Costumes Sue Grove
'Dazzling coloratura...some fine singing...the musical style and excellent Italian pronunciation were admirable...the production brought out so much humour as well as romance...a most enjoyable evening at the opera.'
5-star review in Opera Now, August 2022, by Philip Blake-Jones, Artistic Director of London Festival Opera and Opera Interludes. For full review, click here.
Sunday 5 December 2021
The Christmas Box of Delights
Church House, Wimborne
The Hurn Court Opera Box of Christmas Delights this year showcased a stellar range of talent including:
Caroline Taylor, soprano
Shakira Tsindos, mezzo soprano, winner of the Nigel Beale First Prize in our 2021 Singer of the Year Competition
Chris Mosz, tenor
James Atkinson, baritone
Francesca Lauri, piano
Lynton Atkinson, piano
Programme included operatic arias and ensembles by Bizet (Carmen and The Pearl Fishers), Donizetti (L'Elisir d'amore and La Fille du Régiment), Verdi (Rigoletto), Offenbach (La Périchole), Gounod (Roméo et Juliette), Delibes (Lakmé), gems from My Fair Lady and The Merry Widow, and Christmas favourites.
Sunday 14 November 2021
Hurn Court Opera Singing Competition 2021
Kimmeridge Theatre, Bournemouth University
Semi-finals and finals of this national competition, in 2021 for singers aged between 20 and 29 years.
Judges:
Sholto Kynoch, Artistic Director of the Oxford Lieder Festival (Chair)
Mark Milhofer, international tenor
Lynton Atkinson, Artistic Director of Hurn Court Opera, standing in for Dr Claire Rutter who was indisposed
Click here for competition results.
Saturday 16 October & Sunday 17 October 2021
Calm before the Storm
St Thomas's Church, Salisbury
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
A recital of art song and operatic arias given by three previous finalists in the HCO Singer of the Year Competition: Natasha Page, soprano, Angharad Rowlands, mezzo soprano, and Konrad Jaromin, bass baritone with pianist Siobhain O'Higgins.
Encompassing both extremes of its title theme, the programme included English song, lieder from both Robert and Clara Schumann and arias by Handel (Alceste), Mozart (Così fan tutte), Borodin (Prince Igor), Bellini (La Sonnambula), Massenet (Werther) and Wagner (Die Fliegende Holländer). For HCO, Angharad previously sang Dido and Natasha Belinda in the 2021 production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.
Konrad Jaromin
Thursday 2 & Friday 3 September 2021
Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
St Andrew's URC Church, Bournemouth
Wilton Parish Church, Wilton, Salisbury
Featuring a cast of rising young vocal stars, this new production melded choreographed movement with Purcell's exquisite music. Zenaida Yanowsky, former star principal of the Royal Ballet, joined us as Movement Director and baroque strings were led from the harpsichord by Lynton Atkinson.
Cast included:
Dido - Angharad Rowlands
Aeneas - Theo Perry
Belinda - Natasha Page
Sorcerer - Hamish McLaren
1st Witch - Olivia Bell
2nd Witch - Lily Mo Browne
2nd Woman - Eleanor Rosser-Smyth
Spirit - Cassandra Dalby
'A mesmerising Dido...Rowlands and her counterpart, Theo Perry as Aeneas were hugely impressive, expressing power and tenderness, never losing clarity.' Will Frampton, Bournemouth Echo. To read the whole review, click here.
Sunday 27 June & Saturday 25 September 2021
Where the Light Seeps in
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
St Thomas's Church, Salisbury
Our first live event following the Covid-19 pandemic, this memorable recital was given by Olivia Boen, soprano, finalist in the 2019 HCO Singer of the Year competition, and Ted Black, tenor, finalist in the 2020 HCO Singer of the Year competition, with pianist Dylan Perez. The programme was reprised in Salisbury in September.
Programme included songs from the US by Previn and Barber, and from Europe by Schubert, Wolf, Alma Mahler, Marx, Ponce, Villa-Lobos, Frumerie, Messaien plus Poulenc's song cycle Tel jour tel nuit.
Olivia Boen
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Ted Black
Dylan Perez
Tuesday 30 June 2020
The John Seldon Masterclass
with
Kate Royal
International soprano Kate Royal generously conducted an in-depth zoom masterclass, working with three emerging young singers: Olivia Boen, soprano, finalist in HCO's 2019 Singing Competition and cast as Despina in our postponed Cosi fan Tutte; Theo Perry, baritone, cast as Guglielmo in Cosi; and Isabelle Atkinson, soprano, postgraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music and old girl of Kate's alma mater Talbot Heath School.
Photo: Jason Joyce
Sunday 1 March 2020
Come and Sing Opera Choruses
Richmond Hill St Andrew's Church, Bournemouth
The second of our fundraising workshop afternoons, open to all. Covering some gorgeous opera choruses and showcasing participants' solo skills, the day culminated in a free informal concert with a retiring collection for music therapy at the Child Development Centre of Poole Hospital.
Lynton Atkinson, musical director
Chris Dowie, piano
Sunday 1 December 2019
More Delights from the Box
Church House, Wimborne Minster, Dorset
Seasonal favourites from the worlds of opera, art song and music theatre to capture the joys of Christmas, with Miku Yasukawa, soprano, Daniel Gray Bell, tenor, Marc Verter, piano, and surprise guests.
Thursday 21 November 2019
A Shropshire Lad and a Wiltshire Lass
Salisbury Arts Centre, Salisbury
Recital by Wiltshire-born Siân Dicker, soprano, winner of the Nigel Beale First Prize in the 2018 Hurn Court Opera Singing Competition, and Michael Lafferty, baritone, Second Prizewinner in the 2018 Competition, accompanied by Ashley Beauchamp, piano.
Programme included Rossini’s Largo al Factotum from The Barber of Seville, Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad, plus arias and duets by Mozart and Nicolai, songs by Richard Strauss, Duparc, Meyerbeer, Brahms and Mendelssohn, and English songs by Head, Parry, Larsen and Lehmann.
Siân Dicker
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Michael Lafferty
Ashley Beauchamp
Sunday 6 October 2019
Prizewinners' Recital
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
Featuring winners of the 2019 Hurn Court Opera Singing Competition in a programme of Handel, Monteverdi and Purcell, through Grieg and Rangström, Smetana and Dvorak, and Johann Strauss, to Cecilia McDowall and Britten:
Milly Forrest - soprano
winner of the Nigel Beale First Prize and the Wendy Blamire Award
Alexander Simpson - countertenor
winner of the Rosalind Armstrong Second Prize and the Tony Lowrey Audience Prize
with Hamish Brown, piano
Sunday 7 July 2019
Hurn Court Opera Singing Competition 2019
Kimmeridge Theatre, Bournemouth University
Semi-finals and finals of this national competition for singers aged between 20 and 28 years.
Judges:
Dr Claire Rutter, international soprano (Chair)
Roderick Kennedy, Artistic Director, Dorset Opera Festival
Sir Simon Keenlyside, international baritone
Click here for competition results.
Sunday 9 June 2019
The John Seldon Masterclass
with
Dr Claire Rutter
International soprano Claire Rutter generously worked with a selected group of emerging young singers: Eleanor Penfold, soprano, Emma Roberts, mezzo-soprano and Andrew Woodmansey, tenor and performed Richard Strauss's sublime Four Last Songs, accompanied by Lynton Atkinson. Masterclass accompanist: Chad Vindin.
Wednesday 17 April 2019
Mozart's The Magic Flute
Regent Theatre, Christchurch
Fully staged; featuring some of the UK's finest young opera singers,
with a professional orchestra. Cast included:
Pamina - Joanna Songi
Tamino - James Hutchings
Papageno - James Atkinson
Queen of the Night - Eleanor Penfold
First Lady - Siân Dicker
Sarastro - Rhys Chard
'An unexpected feast of top drawer opera....one of the most enjoyable nights at the opera I have ever experienced... Some of these singers were not just already fit for performance with an established company, they were among the better singers I have seen in their role.' Will Frampton, Bournemouth Echo
For full review, click here
Sunday 17 February 2019
A beautiful programme presenting one of our country's most special young countertenors Tim Morgan (right) in concert with HCO favourite, tenor Guy Elliott. Programme included Benjamin Britten's powerful duet setting of Abraham and Isaac, as well as songs by Howells and Quilter and arias by Handel and Britten.
'Abraham and Isaac' Recital
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
Tim Morgan - countertenor
Guy Elliott- tenor
Jo Ramadan - piano
Sunday 2 December 2018
More Delights from the Box
Church House, Wimborne Minster, Dorset
Seasonal favourites - from opera to art song and jazz - to light the Christmas flame with Isabelle Atkinson, soprano, Sam Jewison, tenor and piano, Rhys Chard, bass, and surprise guests.
Sunday 4 November 2018
Come and Sing Opera Choruses
Richmond Hill St Andrew's Church, Bournemouth
Come and Sing Opera Choruses
Richmond Hill St Andrew's Church, Bournemouth
An fundraising afternoon’s workshop on some of the best-loved choruses in the repertoire. Covering aspects of vocal technique and culminating in a free informal concert.
Lynton Atkinson, musical director
Chris Dowie, piano
Retiring collection for music therapy at the Child Development Centre, Poole Hospital
An fundraising afternoon’s workshop on some of the best-loved choruses in the repertoire. Covering aspects of vocal technique and culminating in a free informal concert.
Lynton Atkinson, musical director
Chris Dowie, piano
Retiring collection for music therapy at the Child Development Centre, Poole Hospital
Sunday 30 September 2018
Lieder Recital
featuring HCO competition prizewinners
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
Siân Dicker, soprano (winner of Nigel Beale First Prize)
Florian Panzieri, tenor (winner of Rosalind Armstrong
Song Prize)
An elegant programme of Schubert, Wolf, Brahms and Wagner to kindle the last embers of summer.
Sunday 3 June 2018
Mark Milhofer - Masterclass and Concert
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
Mark Milhofer is one of the most versatile tenors of his generation. With an international reputation as a masterful interpreter of the most demanding repertoire, he shared unique experience with three young singers and performed a selection of his favourite arias.
Sunday 20 May 2018
English Song Recital
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
The fourth in our fundraising series. A summer’s evening of melodies capturing the beauty and variety of English song through the ages, featuring two outstanding young singers from Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Rebecca Leggett, mezzo-soprano and Michael Lafferty, baritone, accompanied by Ashley Beauchamp.
Sunday 15 April 2018
Handel's Acis and Galatea
Shelley Theatre, Bournemouth
Featuring a cast of talented young singers, all students at or graduates of the London conservatoires and an orchestra of professional players, this new production integrated dance with music to tell the tale of Arcadian shepherd Acis’s love for nymph Galatea, and the fatal interference of monster Polyphemus.
Acis: William Branston, tenor
Galatea: Isabelle Atkinson, soprano
Damon: Guy Elliott, tenor
Polyphemus: Adam Maxey, bass
Musical director: Lynton Atkinson
Director: Joy Robinson
Sunday 4 March 2018
Le Papillon et la Fleur
French Song Recital
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
The third in our series of fundraising recitals, this programme included songs by Fauré, Debussy, Poulenc and Duparc performed by two talented artists from the Royal College of Music, Isabelle Atkinson, soprano, and Stephen Mills, tenor, accompanied by award-winning pianist Lucy Colquhoun.
Sunday 10 December 2017
A Box of Delights
Church House, Wimborne, Dorset
Isabelle Atkinson, soprano
Laura Hocking, mezzo-soprano
William Branston, tenor
James Atkinson, baritone
An concert of seasonal arias and songs.
Fundraising for Music Therapy and Broadstone Music Series.
Sunday 8 October 2017
Lieder Recital
Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
Joel Williams, tenor
James Atkinson, baritone
João Pontes de Araújo, piano
The inaugural HCO fundraising event, featuring three
talented artists from the Royal College of Music who later
in October appeared at the Oxford Lieder Festival. Joel
and James, accompanied by João, performed songs by Schumann, Schubert and Brahms.
Sunday 7 July 2017
Bach's Kaffekantate
Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
St John the Baptist Church, Broadstone, Dorset
Sunday 11 April 2015
Mozart's Die Zauberflöte
St Nicholas Church, Corfe Mullen, Dorset
