Opera Holland Park (OHP) has introduced the emerging artists who will join the company’s Young Artists Scheme this year and present OHP’s 2023 Young Artists production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. The performance forms part of OHP’s summer season.
OHP’s Young Artists Scheme was launched in 2011 in order to support emerging directors, conductors and singers as they make their way into the opera industry, with the generous financial support of the late Christine Collins.
The Young Artists rehearse alongside the main cast in the lead up to OHP’s summer season. For a four-week period before their performances, they enjoy a dedicated rehearsal space of their own. They are also given individual mentoring, language coaching and a dedicated sitzprobe with the City of London Sinfonia.
This year, the Young Artists will present a staging of OHP’s new production of Hansel and Gretel (1893), Humperdinck’s fairytale opera based on the Grimm brothers’ story of the same name. It will take place on 16 June at 7.30pm. The Young Artists will also be performing in the Schools Matinee on 14 June at 12pm and the Mini Schools Matinee on 21 June at 12pm.
The 10 Young Artists, and their roles in the production, are Charlotte Corderoy (conductor), Bence Kalo (director), Avishka Edirisinghe (répétiteur), mezzo-soprano Shakira Tsindos (Hansel), soprano Emily Christina Loftus (Gretel), soprano Ella de Jongh (The Gingerbread Witch), baritone Edward Kim (Peter), soprano Madeline Boreham (Gertrud), soprano Eleanor Broomfield (The Dew Fairy), and soprano Claudia Haussmann (The Sandman).
Conductor Corderoy commented: “The prospect of approaching a score of this scale in its entirety is something hugely exciting – and daunting too, but in all the best ways!”
Director Kalo added: “This is the first production of Hansel and Gretel I will be working on, so I look forward to exploring this fantastic piece in-depth and inhabiting the world that John and Neil will create, along with Charlotte Corderoy, the YA conductor and the YA cast.”
Each of the Young Artists gave a short interview where you can read about everything from their preparation for their roles to what they are most looking forward to this season.
Tickets for the Young Artists’ staging of Hansel and Gretel are available now; they cost from £35.
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Meet Opera Holland Park’s Young Artists for 2023 (clockwise from top left): Charlotte Corderoy, Avishka Edirisinghe, Madeline Boreham, Edward Kim, Emily Christina Loftus, Shakira Tsindos, Claudia Haussmann, Ella de Jongh, Eleanor Broomfield, Madeline Boreham and Bence Kalo.