L'Ormindo cast and artistic staff Cast
Ormindo, Prince of Tunis – David Walker
Amida, Prince of Tremisene – Trevor Pichanick
Nerillo, his page – Jane Sheldon
Sicle, princess of Susio – Taryn Fiebig
Melide, her lady in waiting – Anna Fraser
Erice, her elderly nurse – Kanen Breen
Erisbe, queen of Morocco and Fez – Fiona Campbell
Mirinda, her confidant - Anna Fraser
Ariadeno, king of Morocco and Fez – Richard Anderson
Osmano, captain of Ariadeno’s forces – Andrei Laptev
Artistic staff
Conductor - Erin Helyard
Director - Talya Masel
Designer - Adam Gardnir
Lighting Designer - Bernie Tan Hayes
Biographies
Erin Helyard – Conductor & Co-Artistic Director
Erin
Helyard graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with first
class honours and the University Medal and was awarded the inaugural
Lenore Buckle Scholarship for Music. He was awarded numerous
postgraduate scholarships and completed his Masters degree in
fortepiano performance at McGill University, Montréal where he is
currently undertaking a PhD in Musicology under the supervision of Tom
Beghin.
Talya Masel – Director
Talya Masel has worked as an actor, director, writer and teacher of theatre, music theatre and opera. This has taken her to Australia, Russia and Great Britain. Her unique ability to understand and interpret various theatre and musical forms has created a career path that has seen her work with artists across the spectrum from students to the world’s top professionals. Her recent work includes three projects with Victorian Opera: a collaboration with Stephen Page on Orphée et EurydiceCosi fan tutte (September 2007), and Andrew Ford’s new opera Rembrandt’s Wife (April 2009).
Adam Gardnir - Designer
Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2003, Adam Gardnir has designed for The Australian Ballet, OzOpera, Victorian Opera, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Company B and B-Sharp at Belvoir St, Malthouse Theatre to name a few. Internationally, Adam’s work has been performed in New York, Kuala Lumpur and Ljubljana; his costume designs for Walking with Dinosaurs are currently touring both North America and Europe. He designed the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival, which won a Helpmann Award for Best Special Event. Adam has designed for a number of files including The Tragedy of Hamlet (MIFF Premier) and The Hollow Men. Adam has been nominated for three Green Room Awards for Best Design and has been awarded a Besen Family Scholarship and a VCA Graduate Travel Scholarship.
Lighting Director Bernie Tan-Hayes has worked on many major projects here and overseas, including the 2004 Adelaide Ring cycle, productions for the Sydney and Melbourne Theatre Companies, and numerous overseas tours with travelling productions.
Production Manager Andrew Johnston continues his work in the arts community at the Sydney Theatre Company and as a writer. Originally trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Andrew has since worked in the arts in many capacities: acting, continuity for television, admin for a theatre company, and rehearsal management and crowd control for a choir. Andrew was production assistant on Pinchgut’s first two productions and has been production manager for every one since.
Principals
David Walker, countertenor (Ormindo, Prince of Tunis)
David Walker is one of the foremost countertenors of his generation. He enjoys an international career, and sings leading roles at the most prestigious opera companies in the world including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, English National Opera and Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg. He is especially well known in the US, with engagements including St Louis Opera Theater, Boston Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera and Glimmerglass Opera. David appeared as Holofernes in Pinchgut’s Juditha Triumphans to great acclaim.
Fiona Campbell, mezzo-soprano (Erisbe, Queen of Morocco and Fez)
After winning the vocal division of the ABC Young Performer Awards in 1994, Fiona Campbell worked extensively in the UK. Since her return to Australia Fiona lectures in voice at the University of Western Australia and performs around the country including engagements with the Perth Festival, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Opera Australia, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Huntington Festival, the Australia Ensemble, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Opera and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, as well as two previous productions for Pinchgut Opera.
Richard Anderson, bass (Ariadeno, King of Morocco and Fez)
Richard Anderson studied at the Sydney Conservatorium and the Canberra School of Music. He joined the Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artists’ Development Program at Opera Australia in 2003 and has since joined the company as a principal artist. He made his Pinchgut Opera debut in 2008 as Achis in Charpentier’s David + Jonathan. Richard has also sung for Sydney University Musical Society, Sydney Alpha Ensemble and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; his solo engagements have included Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Requiem, and Bach’s St John Passion and Mass in B minor. During 2009 Richard will perform for Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, State Opera of South Australia and with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Trevor Pichanick, tenor (Amida, Prince of Tremisene)
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Trevor Pichanick took to the stage at an early age with the Harare City Orchestra. He left Zimbabwe as a medical student, aged 17, to study in Australia; and rediscovered his passion for music and enrolled at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where he was the recipient of Conservatorium International Merit Scholarships and the Ethel Osborne Prize for Singing. Trevor went on to focus on the performance of Early Music at the Sydney Conservatorium, and made his title role debut in Monteverdi’s Orfeo with the Queensland Music Festival to critical acclaim; his performance earned him the Sir Mostyn Hanger Award. Trevor has been a member of the Opera Australia Chorus since 2007.
Taryn Fiebig, soprano (Sicle, princess of Susio)
Taryn Fiebig graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1993 with a Bachelor of Music in cello performance, after which she commenced vocal training. She won scholarships to the Dartington International Summer School in 1995 and 1996, studying with Emma Kirkby, Evelyn Tubb and Anthony Rooley. Taryn is now a principal artist with Opera Australia, and has worked with many organisations Australia wide.
Kanen Breen, tenor (Erice, Sicle’s elderly nurse)
Kanen Breen graduated in drama and dance from Deakin University as their top-ranking student in 1994. His roles have included Rodolfo in Baz Luhrmann's Broadway La bohème, and Nadir (The Pearl Fishers), Monostatos (The Magic Flute), The Duke (Rigoletto) and Anthony (Sweeney Todd) for Opera Queensland. Kanen is currently a principal artist with Opera Australia; his roles for the company have included Cassio (Otello) and Count Elemer (Arabella), which won him a Green Room Award this year.
Jane Sheldon, soprano (Nerillo, Prince of Tremisene’s page)
After training with the Sydney Children’s Choir and Gondwana Voices, Jane Sheldon has gone on to work with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Choir, Sydney Symphony, Halcyon, Synergy Percussion, Tapiola Choir (Finland) and ACO Voices, to name a few. As an ensemble singer, Jane works with Cantillation and has appeared in most of Pinchgut Opera’s productions. Her discography includes the ARIA-nominated Wild Swans and the solo album Song of the Angel, both on ABC Classics. Jane has recently returned from studies at the Royal Northern College in Manchester.
Anna Fraser, mezzo-soprano (Mirinda, Erisbe’s maid & Melide, Erisbe confidant)
Anna Fraser studied at New England Conservatory in Boston after completing a Bachelor of Music from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has received numerous awards including an Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Scholarship, which facilitated her study in the United States. In 2002, Anna attended the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program in the United Kingdom and was a soloist at the Aldeburgh Festival. Performance highlights have included roles in Pinchgut Opera’s productions of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and Rameau’s Dardanus. Anna is a member of The Song Company and also performs extensively with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Cantillation, Sydney Symphony, The Tall Poppeas and Salut! Baroque.
Andrei Laptev, baritone (Osmano, captain of Ariadeno’s forces)
Andrei Laptev began singing at the age of nine under the direction of his grandfather at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Strathfield where he subsequently became soloist and assistant Choirmaster. He is currently Precentor and Choirmaster at the Hold Protection Russian Orthodox Church in Cabramatta, and in 2007 formed the Chesnokov Chorale, dedicated to the performance of Russian choral works. Andrei is a regular performer with Cantillation and the Australian Brandenburg Choir, and sings in Opera Australia’s extra chorus. Solo engagements have included CPE Bach’s Magnificat, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, Messiah and Coronation Anthems, and cantatas by JS Bach. Andrei has sung in two Pinchgut Opera productions - Juditha Triumphans and David + Jonathan.
Orchestra of the Antipodes
Initially formed as the Baroque arm of Sinfonia Australis, Orchestra of the Antipodes has rapidly developed a thriving life of its own. Its members have played in many acclaimed and admired ensembles in Australia and world wide including Les Arts Florissants, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, Pinchgut Opera, Florilegium, Concerto Copenhagen, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, English Concert, the Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Il Giardino Armonico, Les Talens Lyriques and the Venice Baroque Orchestra. Its CD releases include Handel’s Messiah (also on DVD), the ARIA-nominated Bach Arias and Duets with Sara Macliver and Sally-Anne Russell, Baroque Duets featuring the Pergolesi Stabat mater (ABC Classic FM Listener’s Choice, 2005), Magnificat with Emma Kirkby, Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans (Pinchgut Opera), and a disc of Baroque choruses performed with Cantillation, Hallelujah!.
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