Katusha Tsui-Fraser (Soprano)
Born in China, Tsui-Fraser began her vocal training in her early twenties. With such a wealth of musical talent, she has won many prizes and scholarships, including the Asia Cultural Council Scholarship to study in the United States of America (1990). In 1993, she was awarded a two-year fellowship by the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund for further studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, with one of the most renowned teachers of our time – Madame Vera Rosza, who has taught many successful singers, such as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Tsui-Fraser's versatile vocal technique as well as the intelligence and sensitivity shown in her interpretations have gained her wide acclaim. From baroque to contemporary music, her repertoire encompasses a wide spectrum of styles. She is equally at ease in genres that range from opera, oratorio, German lieder, French melodies, Chinese art and folk songs to Broadway musicals.
Tsui-Fraser's operatic roles include : Euridice in Monteverdi's Orfeo, Semele in Handel's Semele, Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Despina in Così fan tutte, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème, Pristess in Verdi's Aïda, Dama in Macbeth, Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen, Adele in Johann Strauss Jr's Die Fledermaus, Rusalka in Dvorák's Rusalka, Valencienne in Lehár's Die lustige Witwe, and Jenny in Kurt Weill's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny.
She is also a keen performer in choral music. She has taken part in Vivaldi's Gloria, Bach's Magnificat, Mass in B Minor, St. Matthew Passion and the Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Nelson Mass, Mozart's Mass in C Minor and Requiem, Beethoven's Missa solemnis and Symphony No. 9, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Fauré's Requiem, Schubert's Mass in A-flat, Rutter's Magnificat and Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Symphony No. 2 ‘Hymn of Praise', Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio and Mahler's Sy mphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection' & Symphony No. 4. Future engagements include Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Xian Xin-hai's Yellow River Cantata.
As one of the leading sopranos in Hong Kong, Tsui-Fraser has been working very closely with RTHK, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, major local orchestras and choral groups. In addition to her frequent appearances in Hong Kong, she has also performed in Singapore, the USA, the UK and Canada on a number of occasions.
Teaching has been an inseparable part of Katusha's career as a performing artist, and she has produced several outstanding students. She regularly gives master classes to choral groups and schools. While continuing her part-time commitment at the Hong Kong Chinese University 's music department, she is also a full-time faculty member of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Catherine Chan (Soprano)
Catherine Chan was born in Hong Kong. Her potential in singing was revealed during her years in high school, where she received choral training and served as a solo performer. She has participated in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festivals and has won various prizes in solo singing. She did not intend to do singing professionally until 2002, when she gave up her study in business at the university for music. She has been receiving her vocal training since then under the conscientious guidance of Ms Katusha Tsui-Fraser, one of the leading sopranos in Hong Kong.
Chan has appeared in various performances as guest soloist. In August 2004 she played the main cast in the original musical Boys and Girls by the Hong Kong Youth Choir. Other solo appearances include the annual concert of the Chung Chi Orchestra, CUHK, Bach's Cantata BWV 147 with the Chung Chi Choir, CUHK (understudy), Handel's Messiah with St. Paul 's Co-educational College Alumni Choir, Lunchtime Recital at the St. John's Cathedral, and campus lunchtime concerts at the Chinese University. She performed in Opera Hong Kong's La Traviata in December 2004. She has also sung in vocal master classes given by Alastair Thompson and Alexandra Sapan. Chan was awarded a full scholarship by the Japan Music Foundation JESC in July 2004 to participate in the 25th Kirishima International Music Festival, where she studied with the renowned German tenor Uwe Heilmann and Japanese soprano Tomoko Nakamura.
Chan is currently a final year student at the Department of Music of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her upcoming engagement with the Chung Chi Choir, CUHK, will premiere Prof. Daniel Law's new Chinese choral work.
Bethan Greaves (Soprano)
Bethan Greaves studied singing from a young age, starting with her school choirmaster and performing as a soloist in many of England’s most famous venues including Westminster Abbey, York Minster and Wells Cathedral. She also sang on the BBC World Service, Radio Four and Songs of Praise.
At Manchester University she studied under Diane West. After graduating, Greaves moved to Hong Kong where she started several vocal groups, including Heavenly Voices and the David S. Davies Foundation Community Choir for the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival. She was music director for the Festival’s Little Shop of Horrors and Bugsy.
Greaves is the director of the Cecilian Singers and through her company Katterwall she directs and runs the Kassia Women’s Choir, youth choirs Hullaballoo and Dawn Chorus, the YWCA Singing Circle and the HK Catch Club.
As a soloist, Greaves has recorded several English language educational albums, given duet recitals with Elizabeth Coupe, performed Bach Cantatas with the Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra and appeared on RTHK Radio 4. She sings with the St John’s College Chorale and the St John’s Cathedral Evensong Choir.
Greaves teaches singing and music theory to school students.
Yuki Po-ching Ip (Soprano)
An emerging artist in both concert and operatic scenes, Hong Kong soprano Ip Po-Ching's major credits include performances with José Carreras for the inaugural season of Beijing's National Centre of the Performing Arts (January 2008), her European debut at the Basilica di San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, singing Pergolesi's Stabat Mater (October 2007), Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette with Opera Hong Kong and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Paolo Olmi (June 2007), her debut in New York City as soprano soloist in An-Lun Huang's Revelation (September 2006), concert performance as Rose Maurrant in Kurt Weill's Street Scene with Singapore Lyric Opera (July 2005), and debut with Macau Orchestra in the 6 th Macau Handover Anniversary Concert (2005). Other significant engagements include her 2004 role debut as Gretel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel with the Singapore Lyric Opera, the role of Annina in Verdi's La traviata with Opera Hong Kong in December 2004, her appearance as soprano soloist in An-Lun Huang's Revelation with Hannaford Street Silver Band in Toronto (November 2004), Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Trancredi e Clorinda and Bach's Kaffee Cantata in the Hong Kong Arts Festival (2002), and her debut with the Singapore Lyric Opera and Singapore Symphony Orchestra performing Mercédès in Bizet's Carmen (2002).
On the concert stage her recent standout performances include Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate with Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra; John Adam's Grand Pianola Music with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; soprano solo in Haydn's Little Organ Mass with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Hong Kong Voices; soprano solo in Mendelssohn's Elijah and John Rutter's Requiem . Her oratorio repertoire includes Bach's Cantata BWV 80 & 140, Schubert's Mass in Eb, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Saint-Saen's Christmas Oratorio, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem, Rossini's Petite Messe solennelle, Mozart's Requiem, Mass in C Minor and Missa Brevis, Handel's Messiah and L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Verdi's Requiem, Vivaldi's Gloria and Beethoven's Choral Fantasy.
Ip entered the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with full scholarship in 1994. Under the tutelage of Derek Anthony and Michael Rippon, she graduated with Bachelor of Music (Honors) Degree in 1999. In the same year, Ip was awarded scholarship from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund to study for her Master of Music degree at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. While completing her studies, Ip performed performed Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Queen Isabella in Martín Y Soler's Una Cosa Rara, Suzel in Mascagni's L'amico Fritz, Laetita in Menotti's Old Maid and The Thief, Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Despina in Mozart's Così fan tutte, Giulietta in Bellini's Il Capuleti e i Montecchi, Miss Jessel in Britten's The Turn of the Screw, and Marenka in Smetana's The Bartered Bride.
Jessica Cheung (Soprano)
Born and raised in Ottawa, in a French and English environment, to parents who emigrated from Hong Kong, Jessica Cheung brings a distinct multicultural perspective to everything that she does. Her love of the French language along with her love of singing and performing, particularly in the homeland of her parents, represents a dream come true for Jessica.
From the age of 14, Jessica pursued an unconventional path towards her dream of becoming a respected singer and performer. Jessica has clearly demonstrated her dedication and commitment by earning multiple degrees in Biology and Psychology at the University of British Columbia and completing an honours research thesis at the University of California Irvine. At the same time, she strategically developed her singing skills with the help of highly respected music instructors, coaches and summer voice programs. Also during this hectic period in her life, she found time to win a total of eight scholarships from music festivals and competitions, three medals from the Royal Conservatory of Music and sang the role of Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas), and partial roles of Adele (Die Fledermaus), Lakmé, Giulette (I Capuleti ed I Montecchi), and Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor) at the University of California Irvine.
After graduation, Jessica divided her time between a full-time career in Psychology and her vocal pursuits. Performances of note included a scholarship-worthy performance as Fiametta in The Gondoliers and the role of Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro for which Jessica received good reviews by Opera Canada Magazine. Jessica put her career in Psychology on hold in order to make her professional debut with Vancouver Opera in their new opera, Naomi’s Road, in which she portrayed the title role for over 150 performances. Jessica had an amazing year with Vancouver Opera and, as a result, is committed to developing herself further as a professional singer.
Sandy Leung (Soprano)
Sandy Leung started her singing lessons in 1997 at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) with Katusha Tsui-Fraser and received repertoire coaching from Peter Lally, Michael Rippon and Nina Yip. During that time she sang Anna in Puccini's Le Villi, Lucy in Menotti's The Telephone, Marenka in Smetana's The Bartered Bride, Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and understudied Flora in Britten's The Turn of the Screw, all in HKAPA. From the Academy she was awarded a Bachelor of Music Degree and a Professional Diploma.
In 2002, she was awarded a scholarship from the Asian Cultural Council for the Aspen Music Festival. She was also the winner of a Royal Overseas League Scholarship which culminated in several performances in the ROSL Arts concert series at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and opera scenes at the Oxenfoord Summer School coached by James Lockhart and Malcolm Martineau.
With a scholarship from the Royal College of Music and the Hong Kong Jockey Club, she continued her post-graduate studies at the Royal College under the tutelage of soprano Elizabeth Robson and repertoire coaches Christopher Middleton and Stephen Wilder. She also sang the role of Tiny in Britten's Paul Bunyan in the Darlington Music Festival in 2005.
She has since completed her studies at the Flanders Opera Studio in Belgium and is continuing her vocal training with Gui-hua Fu as well as Elizabeth Robson.
Elisabeth Coupe (Soprano)
Born in England, Elizabeth read Law at Cambridge University and was awarded a choral exhibition by Queens’ College. Whilst pursuing a legal career, Elizabeth studied singing with Honor Sheppard and later with Emma Kirkby’s teacher, Jessica Cash. She sang in several leading chamber choirs in England including the Monteverdi Choir directed by John Eliot Gardiner, A Capella Portuguesa directed by Owen Rees and the Corydon Singers directed by Matthew Best.
Elizabeth’s legal career has taken her to Hong Kong and Japan where she has continued to sing both as a soloist and with chamber choirs. She was a finalist in the 1998 Hong Kong Pro Musicis Foundation Award and takes part regularly in the lunchtime recital series at St. John’s Cathedral. She has appeared as a soloist on a number of occasions with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and with the Hong Kong Bach Choir. She is also a member of St John’s College Chorale and St John’s Cathedral Evensong Choir.
Elizabeth enjoys a wide variety of musical styles but has a special interest and expertise in Renaissance and Baroque music. Her solo experience of major works includes Bach’s Mass in B minor, Magnificat, Matthew Passion, John Passion and Cantatas BWV 4, 51, 147, 198 and 202; Handel’s Messiah, Dixit Dominus, Saul and Israel in Egypt; Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C minor.
Jeanny Chou (Mezzo Soprano)
Jeanny Chou was born in Hong Kong, and revealed her gift for singing at an early age when she won the championship of the Open Singing Contest at high school. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music (voice)(Honours) degree at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2001, having taught by the renowned Chinese soprano Ms Katusha Tsui-Fraser. In the same year she undertook a concert tour to Thailand, Malaysia and Australia with the Vocal Department of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in the production of Fast-forward Figaro.
Chou has participated in many opera productions including Puccini's Turandot and Suor Angelica, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Verdi's Aïda, and Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. She sang Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte, the Tour Guide in Offenbach 's Orphée aux Enfers.
Chou has appeared as soloists with the Hong Kong Bach Choir Bel Canto Singers, Hong Kong Chamber Choir and the Opera Society of Hong Kong. She has sung alto solos in Bach's Mass in B Minor, Handel's Messiah, Israel in Egypt and Semele.
Cynthia Luff (Mezzo Soprano)
Cynthia Luff studied in the Royal Academy of Music, where she was awarded LRAM in singing, and graduated from the University of Kingston. She is also a holder of LTCL and FTCL in singing, LRSM in instrument teaching and a certificate of keyboard pedagogy awarded by the Universty of Hong Kong. After returning to Hong Kong, she furthered her studies under the tutelage of Ella Kiang and then Michael Rippon. They both often shared the concert stage with her.
Luff has performed in over thirty oratorios and operas in Hong Kong as well as concerts in Taiwan and Korea. She has recently sung the contralto solo part s in Mahler's Symphony No. 2, 3 and 8 with the SAR Philharmonic Orchestra. She has collaborated with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the SAR Philharmonic, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra, Taipei City Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Municipal Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, etc.
Cynthia made her debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra performing Mendelssohn's Elijah. She was the guest soloist in the Hong Kong City Hall 40th Anniversary Concert, singing Handel's Messiah with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Samuel Wong. In 2005 s he was invited by the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong to sing de Falla's El amor brujo. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra also invited her the same year to sing in John Adams' Grand Pianola Music. Her operatic roles includes Grandma in Barab's Little Red Riding Hood, Azucena in Verdi's Il Trovatore, Sorceress in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Anna in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, Lola in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Emilia in Verdi's Otello, Prince Orlovsky in Johann Strauss Jr's Die Fledermaus and Mrs Herring in Britten's Albert Herring.
Marcus Choy (Countertenor)
Marcus Choy graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he received the Diploma, the Advanced Diploma as well as the Professional Diploma under the tutelage of Michael Rippon and Katusha Tsui-Fraser, majoring in vocal performance. After his studies in Hong Kong he attended the postgraduate Early Music singing studies programme at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in the Netherlands under the tutelage of Michael Chance, Jill Feldman and Manon Heijne, whilst taking the harpsichord as his second studies.
Initially trained as a tenor, Choy went on to become a countertenor in the second year of his Diploma programme at the HKAPA. In 2006 Marcus began his vocal studies with Ashley Stafford, a renowned British countertenor with whom he continues to work. Marcus has been awarded the Associateship of the Trinity College of Music in Vocal Recital and Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music in Piano Performance. He has also received numerous scholarships from the Academy, including the ‘Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir Scholarship’ and ‘Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation Scholarship.’
Choy has established himself as one of the foremost countertenors of his age, appearing extensively as a soloist in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain and France. He made his operatic debut at the HKAPA with the role of Colin in Le Devin du Village by Rousseau. He had been invited to give performances at the Royal Opera in the Netherlands, the Britten Theatre at the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music in London, as well as vocal recitals at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, St John’s Cathedral in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. At the invitation of Radio Television Hong Kong, he sang in Handel’s Messiah as the countertenor soloist. He also appeared as a countertenor soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria and numerous Bach cantatas. He has appeared in many opera productions, including as a countertenor soloist in Soirée and Opera Retrospective at HKAPA, as a tenor in Weber’s Oberon as Oberon, Elvino in Bellini’s La Sonnambula, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, Donizetti’s L’elsir d’Amore and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.
His repertoire ranges from Dowland and Monteverdi, Schumann and Gounod to Britten and Tippett. Highlights include high countertenor roles such as Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Sesto and Cesare in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Ruggero in Handel’s Alcina, Rinaldo in Handel’s Rinaldo, Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Farnace in Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto and Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito in his operatic repertoire; Soprano and alto parts from Handel’s Messiah and Micha in Samson, Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater, Salva Regina and Nisi Dominus, Bach’s cantatas BWV35, BWV53 and BWV170 for alto solo, St Matthew Passion and Mass in B minor, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater; as well as soprano castrati pieces – most notably Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate in the sacred music solo repertoire. Marcus is currently adding the major castrato pieces which were written for the legendary castrato Farinelli to his repertoire this year.
Marcus returned to Hong Kong and focused on the field of music education. He gave lectures at several tertiary institutions and international schools such as the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong International Institute of Music. He has also held seminars and was an adjudicator of several music competitions. In addition, he established “Marcus Music Channel” and ‘Jovial Choir” in 2007, which contribute to the music culture of Hong Kong.
David Quah (Tenor)
Born in Penang, David Quah obtained an Advanced Diploma in Vocal Performance at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, a Bachelor of Music degree at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Australia and completed the Postgraduate Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. While in Queensland he won the coveted Marianne Mathy Australian Singing Competition and made his professional debut singing Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Opera Queensland.
Coming back to Hong Kong in 2000, David started teaching singing and coaching at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He regularly performs in South East Asia and is very active on the local music scenes. He was invited to perform for President Jiang Zemin during his visit to Hong Kong for the 5th Anniversary of Reunification. Last May he was the “Artist in Residence” for RTHK and recorded 3 successful sessions with them.
David has premiered in many roles both locally and overseas. In Hong Kong, he was Pei Yu in Law Wing Fai's Dreaming Plum Blossoms Away, commissioned by the Leisure and Cutlural Services Department for the Millenneium Festival; Liu in So Ting-cheong's The Shopkeeper's Daughter; Li Yu in Guo Wenjing's Night Banquet and Chibi and King of Chu in Brian Chatpo Koo's The Tomb of Three Kings for various Hong Kong Arts Festivals. In Singapore, he sang 3 different roles in Stefania de Kenessey's children opera, The Other Wise Man with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He was also Aspern in Dominick Argento's The Aspern Paper for it's British premiere, and Satyavan in Holst's Savitri for it's Australian premiere.
Other performances included Prince Karl Franz in The Student Prince, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Alfredo in La Traviata and Le Remendado in Carmen with the Singapore Lyric Opera; Camille de Rosillon in Lehár's Die lustige Witwe, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Goro in Madama Butterfly and Spoletta in Tosca for Lo King Man's Hong Kong productions. Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte with Garden Opera, London ; Ecclitico in Haydn's Il Mondo della Luna at Royaumont, France and Don Ramiro in Rossini's La Cenerentola at Clonter Opera, Cheshire. He also made his debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra singing in two Christmas concerts at the Cultural Centre Concert Hall.
David has also appeared on concert platforms in various countries, from Australia to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, Great Britain and the USA. He has sung the tenor solos in Handel's Messiah and Israel in Egypt, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, the Requiems of Mozart, Verdi and Bruckner; a number of masses by Haydn, Mozart and Schubert; Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Vaughan Williams' Hodie, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Bizet's Te Deum. He has given many recitals with repertoire ranging from Baroque music to Contemporary Works, from Chinese folk songs to Broadway musical numbers, and even a little bit of Jazz.
Oliver Lo (Tenor)
Tenor Oliver Lo is currently on leave from his tenured position of Associate Professor of Voice and Director of Opera Theatre at East Tennessee State University, and is teaching for the Center for Cultural Studies at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Dr. Lo began his teaching career by being offered a position of voice teaching assistant at the Eastman School of Music in 1996. While still being a doctoral student, he was hired to teach voice majors at the State University of New York at Fredonia for three years. His students have won numerous national and regional awards in US, and were admitted to major US university and conservatory with scholarships. Also, Dr. Lo was one of the 12 outstanding voice teachers selected from Canada and US to participate in the 2001 National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program. As an active researcher in vocal pedagogy, he has presented paper at the Voice Foundation Annual National Symposium.
Apart from being an active recitalist, Lo has sung a diverse concert repertoire spanning from tenor solo in Bach’s cantata “Wir danken dir” and Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus to Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Orff’s Carmina Burana. His operatic roles include Basilio and Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro, Jacquino in Fidelio, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Mayor in Albert Herring, and Sam in Susannah. He was National Finalist for the 1999 Rehfuss Singing Actor Awards at Orlando Opera.
As an opera educator, he has brought opera to thousands of public school students, who received it enthusiastically. He has produced and directed various styles of operas, including Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Mozart’s Impresario and Le Nozze di Figaro, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury and The Pirates of Penzance, Puccini’s La Bohème, Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Menotti’s Medium, and Pasatieri's La Divina.
A native of Hong Kong, he graduated from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts with distinction. He then received his Doctoral and Master Degrees in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, where he was a full-scholarship recipient. His principal teachers include Michael Rippon, Gordon Kember, Dale Moore, John Greer, and Joyce Lowe.
Dominique Moralez (Tenor)
Moralez recently made debuts at the Grand Theatre de Reims and Opera de Vichy as Cavaliere Belfiore in Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims, in Beijing as Tenor Soloist in Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha's Wedding Feast at the Forbidden City Concert Hall with the International Festival Chorus, and as guest soloist with the Umberto Giordano Quintet at the Korea Foundation Concert Hall in Seoul, Korea in a concert including arias of Donizetti and Rossini. Moralez made his Japanese stage debut in 2006 with Fujiwara Opera as Cavaliere Belfiore in Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims with Maestro Alberto Zedda at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, and his Singapore Lyric Opera debut as Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Esplanade Theater in 2007. Moralez made his Opera Hong Kong debut as Roméo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette with Maestro Paolo Olmi and stage director Paul-Emile Fourny. Moralez returned to Fujiwara Opera to appear as Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and as Alfredo Germont in Verdi's La Traviata with Maestro Shuya Okatsu at Teatro Giglio Showa Kanagawa, and during the Kanagawa Arts Festival at Kenmin Hall Yokohama. Moralez made his Japanese television debut as Tamino in 11 nationwide broadcast performances of the 2001 France 3 production of Mozart's Die Zauberflote on Sky TV Network affiliate Theater TV, broadcast in December 2006 and 2007.
Upcoming performances in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons include debuts at Opéra National de Montpellier, Opéra National de Lorraine, Opéra de Nice, Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Étienne, Opéra Toulouse, Opéra de Marseille, and Opéra National de Bordeaux as Cavaliere Belfiore in Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims. Moralez also makes his Opéra de Nice debut as Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia in 2009, and returns to Emerald City Opera as Nemorino in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore. In December 2008 Moralez appears with Maestro Henry Shek in a concert of Bernstein and Big Band repertoire to benefit the Hong Kong Anti Cancer Society, and returns to the Hong Kong Bach Choir as soloist in Ramirez's Misa Criolla. Also in December 2008, Moralez makes his Manila debut at the Phil Am Auditorium in a concert to benefit the SOS Children's Village of the Phillipines. Moralez appears with Opera Lirica Italiana in Toronto and New York City in March 2008 debuting his rock opera single BLAME from his upcoming opera ETHRA.
Alex Tam (Tenor)
Alex Tam was born in Hong Kong. He began his music studies at an early age under Chiang Wai-man, and continued under the tutelage of Rosaline Pi. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in voice under the instruction of Derek Anthony and Michael Rippon. While at APA he worked with such renowned artists as Georg Tintner, Michael Rippon and Enza Ferrari. Later Tam completed the postgraduate opera course at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with Joy Mammen and Audrey Hyland, and also sang in masterclasses by Dennis O'Neill and Robert Tear. In 1999, he received the Lady Fung Memorial Music Fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council, and participated in the Aspen Music Festival in the United States that summer.
Tam has taken leading roles in many concerts, operas, and other productions in Hong Kong, London as well as those by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He performed his first major role at the age of 19 as Rinuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. This success was followed by his performance of other lead characters which include Almaviva in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte, Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'Amore, Mozart in Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart und Salieri, Pong in Puccini's Turandot, Testo in Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, Jeník in Smetana's The Bartered Bride, Goro in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Ramendado in Bizet's Carmen, Ricardo in Wolf-Ferrari's School for Fathers, Spoletta in Puccini's Tosca, Malcolm in Verdi's Macbeth, the Prologue in Britten's The Turn of the Screw, Ruiz in Verdi's Il Trovatore, Parpignol in Puccini's La Boh è me and Messenger in Verdi's Aïda.
In addition, Tam has also appeared as a soloist in a number of oratorios, masses and concerts. These include Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Symphony No. 9, Mozart's Requiem and Mass in C minor, Handel's Judas Maccabaeus and Messiah and Orff's Catulli Carmina. Tam appeared in J.S. Bach's Kaffee Cantata in the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2002. In Le French May 2000, Tam was invited to give a duo concert with the outstanding French soprano Elisabeth Vidal, and was also one of the soloists in ‘ The Voices of Light ' concert. He gave the Asian première of two contemporary pieces by the American composer David del Tredici in 2001.
Albert Chun Lim (Bass)
Lim attained his Postgraduate Diploma in Performance and Postgraduate Certificate in Performance with Distinction at the Royal Collage of Music after completing his Bachelor of Degree of Music (Honours) at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Throughout his studies, Albert has attained a number of scholarships including Royal College of Music (Hong Kong) Scholarships, Welsh Male Choir Scholarships, the Society of APA Scholarships, Guinness Flight's Music Prizes, Exxon Energy Limited Scholarships.
Lim has appeared as guest soloist in concerts with the Hong Kong Bach Choir, the Hong Kong Oratorio Society and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in works including Bach's Magnificat, Handel's Israel in Egypt, Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem, Rossini's Petite Messe solennelle, etc.
Lim has also performed numerous operatic roles including Barone in Verdi 's La Traviata (Opera Hong Kong's production), Dancairo in Bizet's Carmen (Opera Hong Kong), Gugliemo in Puccini's Le Villi (HKAPA), Yakuside in Puccini's Madama Butterfly (Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra), Marcello in Puccini 's La Bohème (HKAPA), Ben in Menotti 's The Telephone (HKAPA), etc.
In April 2007, he was invited by the Shanghai Opera House to sing the role of Dancairo in Bizet's Carmen by the Shanghai Opera House under the baton of Michel Plasson. He has just appeared on stage as Gregorio in Gounod's Rom è o et Juliette with Opera Hong Kong in late May this year.
Brian Montgomery (Baritone)
Brian Montgomery is currently the Head of Voal Studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He has performed to critical acclaim with important opera companies throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera (Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and Posa in Don Carlo, most notably), Lyric Opera of Chicago (Posa in Don Carlo, Germont in La Traviata, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette, Marcello and Schaunard in La Bohème, and Malatesta in Don Pasquale ), Arena di Verona (Iago in Otello ), Bavarian State Opera (Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Marcello in La Bohème, Silvio in I Pagliacci, Ottokar in Der Freischütz, and Leander in The Love for Three Oranges most notably), Hamburg State Opera and Stuttgart Opera (Marcello in La Bohème ), Hungarian State Opera (di Luna in Il Trovatore ), Basel Opera (Iago in Otello, Sharpless, Malatesta, and Junius in The Rape of Lucretia ), Atlanta Opera (title role of Verdi's Macbeth ), Dallas Opera (de Bretigny in Massenet's Manon ), Manitoba Opera (Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera ), Palm Beach Opera (Enrico and Germont), Tulsa Opera (Zurga in Les Pêcheurs des Perles ), Opera Omaha (Sharpless), Utah Festival Opera (Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West ), Arizona Opera (Renato), New Orleans Opera (Sharpless), and Madison Opera (the four villains in Les Contes d'Hoffman and the title role in Rigoletto ). He created the role of Sloan in the world première of Dreamkeepers by David Carlson for the Utah Festival Opera.
More recently, Montgomery sang Marcello at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and in Hannover, Germany, Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana for the Glimmerglass Opera, Germont at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the title role in Rigoletto for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. In Hong Kong he has performed Strauss' Salome and Elektra, Puccini's Madama Butterfly with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and appears frequently with Opera Hong Kong and the SAR Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
Edmund Kwan (Bass)
Edmund Kwan has had extensive experience in solo roles in both oratorio and opera. With the Hong Kong Oratorio Society he was bass soloist in Haydn's Seasons on the choir's 1992 Canadian tour and also in Hong Kong. With the same choir he has sung the bass solos in the Pergolesi's Magnificat and Bruckner's Requiem. With the Hong Kong Chamber Choir he sang the role of Jesus in Bach's St. John Passion in 2000.
Kwan sang Oroveso in the University of Hong Kong production of Bellini's Norma in 1993, Johann in the Royal Northern College of Music production of Massenet's Werther in 1997, Neptune and high priest in Cesti's Il pomo doro in Italy Batignano Opera Festival 1998, Don Bassilio in the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts production of Il barbiere di Siviglia in 1999, Maestro in Salieri's Prima la musica e poi le parole in the Academy European tour 2000, Schlendrian in Bach's Kaffee Cantata and Tancredi in Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda in Hong Kong Arts Festival 2002. He has also appeared as soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus, The Hong Kong Bach Choir, the Hong Kong Baptist University Choir and Chamber Choir and Hong Kong Chinese University Choir.
Kwan‘s recordings include broadcast and recording of Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes for Radio Television Hong Kong, Bruckner‘s Requiem for the Hong Kong Oratorio Society, Beethoven's Choral Symphony for the Hong Kong Medical Association and 1999 Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts CD release.
Jonathan Douglas (Narrator)
Jonathan Douglas is known to radio listeners in Hong Kong as the host of RTHK Radio 4’s ‘Morning Call’ and other arts and classical music programmes. His book, 'Noteworthy', which was written to celebrate Radio 4's 30th anniversary, is based on thirty of his broadcast interviews with international artists. During his time with RTHK Jonathan has been involved in a range of programmes, including the ‘Worldplay’ radio drama series which he directed for the annual ‘Worldplay’ International Festival.
His acting credits in Hong Kong include Hamlet and Richard 2nd in Shakespeare’s plays, Mick in Pinter’s ‘The Caretaker’, Trofimov in Chekhov’s ‘The Cherry Orchard’, and, most recently, Clov, in Beckett's 'Endgame'. His portrayal of the first world war poet/composer, Ivor Gurney, in the play by Pier Gray, found favor with critics and audiences in both Hong Kong and Edinburgh.
Jonathan was narrator in the 1995 Arts Festival performance of Mozart's Requiem, and was recently one of the presenters of Radio 4's televised 'Mad About Mozart' Birthday Concert at St John's Cathedral.
His other passions are playing the piano and writing songs, and he is occasionally to be found around town singing the blues.
Tang Shu-wing (Actor)
A renowned stage director and actor in Hong Kong, Tang has studied acting in l’Ecole de la Belle de Mai and the Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris where he obtained a Maîtrise Diplôme on Theatrical Studies. He has also worked as an assistant director and actor in Théâtre de la Main d’Or.
He founded his own company, No Man’s Land, in 1997. He joined the School of Drama of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts as lecturer in acting in 2004.
His works have been presented in many different cities in the world including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, New York, San Francisco and Singapore. His recent directorial credits include Between Life and Death, Deathwatch, Guan-yin: she who sees the cries of the universe, The two or three ways of making love around sunset, The Man, The Chair and the Turtle, Phaedra and Hamlet. His stage acting credits include Miss Margarida’s Way, Two Men on a No Man’s Land, Millennium Autopsy, Deathwatch and Sunshine Station.
He has also acted in the main role in a Hong Kong film From the Queen to the Chief Executive which opened the Panorama, Berlin Film Festival 2001.
He has published Analysis and reflections on Meyerhold’s acting theories in Chinese and Life and death trilogy: a theatrical research (Chinese and English). In 2004, The International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong) published The Theatre World of Tang Shu-wing, a special study on him.
Tang’s international and local awards include Distinguished Interpretative Performance in 1993 Tashkent International Theatre Festival; Distinguished Alternative Performance in 1994 Hong Kong Drama Awards; Best Actor in the Main Role in the 2003 Hong Kong Drama Awards; Puppetry Research Grant of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 1996 and the Jebsen fellowship of the Asian Cultural Council in 1998.
He is also a Yoga Acharya of the Sivananda International Yoga and Vedanta Centre, an advisor of the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Hong Kong Dance Company.