The Marriage of Figaro : about the cast

Tanuja Doss
Leila Fetter
Tony Fortey
Rosella Herbert
Stephen Hines
Alison Knight
Andrew Koll
 Peter Laurence
Robert Orr
Ron Preswell
Madeleine Rowland
Sheena Smith
Odette Upstill


Peter Laurence
Figaro

Peter Laurence (BA. Hons, LLB. Hons), began singing as a treble in the Chapel Choir of Trinity Grammar School, Sydney. Since that time, he has performed as the bass baritone soloist in a wide range of choral and operatic works, highlights of which readfile Handel's Messiah (CAMRA), Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb (Llewellyn Choir), Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem (University of Canberra Chorale), Mozart's Magic Flute (Pacific Opera) and Taverner's Lament for Jerusalem (Sydney Philharmonia Choir). When not singing, Peter likes drinking exotic beers, fishing and collecting antique military equipment

Sheena Smith
Susanna

Sheena is well known to Canberra audiences for her performances as a soloist in Old Time Music Hall (Canberra Repertory), Mrs Truckle in Sly Fox (Canberra Repertory), Lalume in Kismet (Queanbeyan Players), and Mad Margaret in Ruddigore (Queanbeyan Players) for which she received a CAT Award nomination. Most recently, she sang Schubert Lieder as one of the Four Canberra Songsters for Art Song Canberra. Sheena has studied singing with Patricia Whitbread, and received coaching from Colin Forbes. She appeared as Aline in CAMRA's return season of The Sorcerer. Sheena has also spent some time in Berlin studying with Juliette Lee. She is really delighted to have this chance to play one of her dream roles: Susanna.

Stephen Hines
Count Almaviva

Stephen commenced a love affair with the local theatre scene in 2000, appearing in Canberra Philharmonic's One Enchanted Evening. Since then he has appeared in shows with a variety of companies, including most recently Queanbeyan Players' production of Camelot in which he played Sir Sagramore. He has enjoyed appearances in several CAMRA productions, and was last seen with them as John Wellington Wells in The Sorcerer. He is delighted to have been given this opportunity to appear in a real opera, and very grateful to Pat and Colin for the coaching he has received during this production. He also owes a debt to his singing teacher, Andrea Orwin, for such wonderful work with limited resources.

Tanuja Doss
Rosina, Countess Almaviva

Tanuja is one of the students who performed in the concert version of The Marriage of Figaro for CAMRA in 2006, in the role of the Countess Rosina. She has studied voice since she was fourteen. Upon leaving high school, she continued to study music and voice by taking private lessons from Jean Schofield in Melbourne. Since moving to Canberra, she has studied under Patricia Whitbread, and completed her AMusA in 2003. She has performed in several CAMRA productions, including the virtue, Victory, in Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum (Order of the Virtues), as one of the soprano soloists in Handel's Messiah, and as the soprano soloist in Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. More recently, she was the soprano soloist for the Llewellyn Choir's performance of Bingen's Rejoice in the Lamb and Rutter's Requiem. In 2006, she performed Britten's song cycle "On This Island" at Art Song Canberra's Four Canberra Songsters recital.

Alison Knight
Cherubino

Alison has appeared in several CAMRA productions over the years (The Sorcerer, Mikado, Patience) in a variety of roles, but she is looking forward to her greatest challenge yet playing a lovesick teenage boy. After an extensive study of the opposite sex, she has concluded that it is definitely easier to play a woman, but there are far less opportunities to come on to every female character. She has enjoyed getting in touch with her masculine side and her only regret is that she is yet to develop a deep, rolling bass voice. Alison wishes to thank all the female members of the cast who have been so kind and good humoured in the "love making" scenes, and all the male members of the cast for their advice on "how to be a man".

Leila Fetter
Marcellina

Leila Fetter has the honour of having been in a CAMRA production every year since they started. Previous roles readfile Iolanthe in 2000, Lady Jane in 2001's Patience, and her acclaimed performance as Katisha in 2002's Mikado. Leila also sang as a soloist in Handel's Messiah in 2005 and 2006, and has recently performed as a soloist with The Llewellyn Choir and Haydn Bande, presenting Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Haydn's Missa in Augustis. In The Marriage of Figaro, Leila reprises the role she played in 2006's concert presentation of the opera. Known allergies readfile, cigarettes, coriander, pointless office relocations and counter tenors.

Robert Orr
Dr Bartolo

Robert has studied singing for a number of years with Patricia Whitbread. He has sung in many of the CAMRA productions, including the part of the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe (where his patter nightmare song featured Sigourney weaver, Leonard Cohen and Shane Warne), Colonel Calverley in Patience, and Pooh Bah, the Lord High Almost Everything in Mikado. In the production of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera he played the avuncular, but often drunk and deceitful, Lockit

Ron Preswell
Don Basilio

Ron has been studying singing with David Reedy since 2005. His stage credits readfile chorus member for Queanbeyan Players' Rudigore in 2005, John Hollingworth in Tarantara, Tarantara with Canberra Philharmonic in 2006, and in the chorus of Kiss Me Kate for Phoenix Players in 2006. Ron is enjoying the challenge of a character role in his first opportunity to perform opera. He is looking forward to the after show party!!

Madeleine Rowland
Barbarina

Madeleine has been studying singing as a hobby since the age of ten. She has appeared in various CAMRA productions in recent years, having made her solo stage debut with the lead in Canberra High's production of Bye Bye Birdie in 2001. Madeleine is amused that she has been type-cast as a ditsy teenage girl in her first "serious" opera role. In her other life, Madeleine studies Arts/Law at ANU, and organises conferences.

Andrew Koll
Don Curzio

Andrew is the director of the Real Bach Society, whose foremost purpose is to encourage all who are receptive, to a rigorous musical, intellectual and emotional engagement with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Through his educational multimedia productions, Andrew encourages students to form a relationship directly to Bach's works, through a dynamic audiovisual approach that reveals the fascinating and complex interconnectedness of this extraordinary repertoire. Andrew's lifelong study of Bach entire musical output continues to inform and shape his worldview. This central repertory spawns his wider interests in music of other Church composers, and the complex relationship of sacred music to church history and liturgy. It also engenders Andrew's keen interest in "the musical sciences"'. He is currently working on a long-term composition project to investigate the properties of polyrythmic counterpoint, combining his studies of Bach's late contrapuntal works with the music theory and aural teachings of Bengt-Olov Palmqvist of the ANU. Andrew is the editor of Palmqvist's Refinement of rhythm, part of a longer term project to develop quality teaching materials that improve musical literacy standards, aural oral skills and theoretical understanding.


Tony Fortey
Antonio

Tony comes from Wales, and a few years ago decided to follow the Welsh tradition and sing in the choir with Patricia Whitbread. This led taking singing more seriously, and he began lessons with Patricia Whitbread. Tony has greatly enjoyed appearing in many CAMRA productions, including singing the role of Private Willis in Iolanthe, and as the Mikado in The Mikado. This is Tony's first appearance in a full-scale opera.


Rosella Herbert
Village girl
Rosella has been performing at weddings for the past five years in Sydney. She was the music coordinator at St Gertrude's Parish Church, Smithfield and was responsible for conducting both the children's and adults' church choirs. She organised and performed Carols by Candlelight at the Smithfield RSL and in major liturgical celebrations. In 2006 she co-conducting the Rembrandt Choir, at venues in Sydney. Rosella was a finalist in Open Mike Idol at the Seymour Centre in 2006, has been a finalist in talent quests. She played lead role as Myrrhine in the Sydney University Classics Society production of Lysistrata. Rosella toured America as a member of the Green Valley Young People's choir and has been invited to sing at functions conducted by Holroyd City Council's, the Dunrossil Challenge Foundation and other civic organisations.


Odette Upstill
Village Girl

Odette has loved singing from an early age but concentrated on violin for 15 years before recently re discovering her passion for singing. Currently she is taking voice lessons with Patricia Whitbread, whilst at the same time studying Arts/Law at ANU. Since her involvement in Narrabundah College's drama productions, she has performed in CAMRA's Ordo Virtutum and the 2006 concert performance of The Marriage of Figaro. Odette has proved her versatility as a performer with some fine dancing in this production, and she is enjoying the experience of being involved in an opera written by one of her favourite composers.