L’Étoile – Biographies
Erik Slik
Ouf I
Tenor
The Dutch tenor Erik Slik studied at the Utrecht Conservatory (NL). His work as a soloist led him to work in Riga, St. Petersburg and Moscow, Grand Canaria, South Africa, the UK, Belgium and Germany. Erik has been engaged as a soloist by The Dutch National Opera and Ballet, the National Touring Opera of the Netherlands, Opera Zuid and the Matinee Series of the Concertgebouw. He starred in the world premiere of Jonathan Dove’s The Day After and Calliope Tsoupaki’s Fortress Europe. He worked with conductors like Hartmut Haenchen, Richard Egarr, Otto Tausk, Bruno Weil, Antony Hermus, Kenneth Montgommery, Charles Dutoit, Joanna Malwitz, Lorenzo Viotti en Carlo Rizzi. He was a member of the ensemble of Theater und Philharmonie Thüringen and made his debut in South Africa as Tamino in Mozart’s Zauberflöte at the Brooklyn Theater (SA). Erik is currently a member of the Close Harmony group FROMMERMANN and has been appointed as classical voice teacher at the Utrecht Conservatory HKU.
Brenda Poupard
Lazuli
Mezzo-soprano
A graduate of the CNSM de Paris and a former member of the Opéra National du Rhin Opera Studio (2021–2023), Brenda Poupard is recognized for her stage presence and technical agility. Her career was launched by early successes, including winning the Toulouse French Melody Competition (2017) and being named ADAMI’s “Classical Revelation” (2021). She has also earned prizes at the Froville Baroque Competition and the Cesti Baroque Opera Competition in Innsbruck (2024). Equally at home in opera and recital, her notable roles include the title role in L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), and Angelina (La Cenerentola). A frequent collaborator with Le Poème Harmonique, she has appeared on several recordings, including Durón’s Coronis. Her discography also includes her debut recital album, Ivresse de l’Aube. Highlights of her 2025–2026 season include Cherubino at Staatstheater Kassel, Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle) at Opéra de Lille, and Lazuli (L’Étoile) with Opera Zuid. In concert, she performs a series of recitals in London and Edinburgh with pianist Anne-Louise Bourion and tours with the ensemble La Tempête.
Anna Emelianova
La Princesse Laoula
Soprano
Soprano Anna Emelianova performs opera and art song, collaborating with various ensembles and orchestras. She has also appeared in a number of oratorios. Her clear, crystalline voice, strong technique, and natural stage presence are consistently warmly received by audiences.
She began her musical training at a very young age at the Gnessins State Music School in Moscow. Her passion for opera was sparked at the Stanislavsky Opera Theatre, where she sang in the children’s chorus and performed alongside renowned opera stars. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at the Gnessins Music Academy, specialising in concert and opera singing, chamber music, and vocal pedagogy.
In the Netherlands, she graduated with distinction from a Master’s programme in Solo and Opera Singing. During her studies, she received a scholarship to join the Mediterranean Opera Studio in Italy, where she also performed at the Ravenna Opera Festival.
Following her studies, Anna was invited to perform with Opera Zuid, where she has since taken on numerous roles. She has performed in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Russia, and Luxembourg. Her repertoire includes roles such as Gilda (Rigoletto), Musetta (La bohème), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Juliette in Romeo et Juliette (Gounod), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), and Tatiana (Eugene Onegin).
Martijn Sanders
Siroco
Bas-baritone
Martijn Sanders studied at the Utrecht Conservatory and later specialised in opera in Vienna and Amsterdam. After winning first prize at the Nico Dostal Singing Competition in Austria, he debuted as Papageno during the Vienna Mozart Week and as Dandini at the Rheinsberg Festival.
Sanders has been a member of the soloistensembles of the Vienna Chamber Opera, Opera Zuid Maastricht and Theater Aachen and performed as a guest on numorous stages in Europe and Asia. His large repertoire includes roles such as Figaro, Tonio, Alfio, Escamillo, Germont, Falke, Don Giovanni and Nabucco.
He also established himself as an in-demand concertsinger and is a regulary guest at the famous NTR Saturday Matinee Concerts at the Amsterdam concertgebouw where he was heard in Die Gezeichneten (Schreker), A Village Romeo and Juliet (Delius), Fedora ( Giordano) and Protesilaos and Laodamia (Escher). His performances as Figaro with the Orchestra of the 18th Century under Kenneth Montgomery and Angelotti (Tosca) at the Dutch National Opera received great acclaim with audience and press.
Some of his latest projects involved productions with more dramatic roles such as Der Musiklehrer in Ariadne auf Naxos (Nationale Reisopera Enschede), Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde (Wuppertal) and the titlerole in Der Fliegende Holländer (Gelsenkirchen, Cluj-Napoca and Istanbul).
Sander de Jong
Hérisson de Porc-Épic
Tenor
Dutch tenor Sander de Jong makes his house debut at Opera Zuid as Hérisson de Porc-Épic in Chabrier’s L’Étoile.
In the 2026–2027 season, he returns to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where he will make his role debut as Don Basilio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. He will also reprise Erich A. Collin in Comedian Harmonists in Concert, appear as the Geharnischter in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and sing the Kuli in Zemlinsky’s Der Kreidekreis. With the Nederlandse Reisopera, he will perform Guard/Soldier in Glass’s Waiting for the Barbarians. On the concert stage, he will appear as tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem on tour with Phion.
In recent seasons, Sander has appeared with Hamburg State Opera, Nederlandse Reisopera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and Oper Wuppertal. His repertoire includes Remendado (Carmen), Oronte (Alcina), Gastone (La Traviata), and Normanno (Lucia di Lammermoor).
As a concert soloist, he has performed Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion, Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s Requiem.
From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the Opera Studio of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and studied with Pierre Mak at Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Jörn Dopfer at the HfMT Hamburg.
Nienke Nasserian
Aloès
Soprano
Nienke Nasserian is a versatile soprano and classical music theater artist. She has previously performed with Opera Zuid in Lady in the Dark and in the co-production with De Nationale Opera, Goud! by Leonard Evers. With De Nationale Opera, she also sang in the newly created children’s operas De Theorie van Alles and Lennox. She has also worked on classical crossover productions by Silbersee, Theater Rotterdam, Wunderbaum, De Warme Winkel, and Toneelgroep Maastricht. In addition, she is a frequent guest at the OFF, O. Festival, and Terug naar het Begin. This year, she also reached the semifinals of the Lotte Lenya Competition (New York).
In addition to her work as a singer, Nienke Nasserian is a theater maker. Her autobiographical trilogy—consisting of MASAI, MZUNGU, and MTOTO—was received with acclaim. For MASAI, she won the Entree Prize at the Boulevard Theater Festival, and for MTOTO, she received the Keep an Eye Production Prize. In 2023, her latest work, the self-help opera RISE, premiered during the Wonderfeel Festival.
In the coming months, Nienke will appear in the revival of Lennox, and this winter she will perform in the production Kersthaas by De Grote Haay. This summer, she will perform in the production Koelinie by BUOG and sing in various concerts, including Bijlmer Klassiek alongside the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Jeroen de Vaal
Tapioca
Tenor
Jeroen de Vaal studied at the Utrecht Conservatory with Eugénie Ditewig; he is currently coached by Tamar Niamut, with whom he collaborates as a Vocal Coach within Vox Building.
The tenor has performed on the stages of renowned opera houses in Amsterdam, Antwerp/Ghent, Brussels, Luxembourg, and Lyon, and has sung in Vienna at both the Wiener Kammeroper and the Theater an der Wien.
He has worked with conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Hartmut Haenchen, William Christie and Ivor Bolton. He has also worked with directors such as Pierre Audi, David Boesch, Klaus Guth, and Laurent Pelly.
Jeroen de Vaal is a highly sought-after concert singer and can regularly be heard in J.S. Bach’s major oratorio works. Oratorio compositions by Haydn, Mozart, Gounod, Rossini, and many others are also on his repertoire list.
He is also a member of the Chorus of Dutch National Opera. Jeroen previously sang at Opera Zuid, including in Bernstein’s A Quiet Place and Offenbach’s Fantasio.
Theaterkoor Opera Zuid
Choir
Theaterkoor Opera Zuid is a project-based choir comprising a versatile group of singers, ranging from recently graduated talents to experienced chorus members who have already contributed to several Opera Zuid productions. This core group ranks among the finest opera chorus singers in the south of the Netherlands and is supplemented by young, talented vocal students and emerging professionals. Particular emphasis is placed on talent development and continued artistic growth.
Philzuid
Orchestra
An orchestra of and for everyone. We constantly push our boundaries by seeking new challenges that touch people of all ages in heart, mind, and soul. From Eindhoven and Maastricht, we are connected to all residents of North Brabant, Limburg, and Zeeland, but also far beyond, both at home and abroad. We let everyone experience unforgettable moments of happiness. We are the symphony orchestra of the South.
Those who attend our concerts and activities enjoy music and experience emotional moments. Visitors tell us they experience joy and wonder, moments of inner peace or inspiration, happiness or comfort. The word ‘happiness’ as a comprehensive concept inspires us. Happiness has a positive influence on well-being and life satisfaction. Everyone experiences happiness in their own way. Music has the power to evoke emotion, to connect, and to stimulate positive emotions. We offer these moments of happiness.
Nicolas Krüger
Conductor
For over twenty years, conductor Nicolas Krüger has appeared at leading opera houses across France – including Lille, Dijon, Nantes, Rennes, Nice, Toulon, Limoges, and Avignon – as well as in Germany, Canada, and several Asian countries. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Music Director of the Leipziger Symphonieorchester, leading numerous concert tours throughout Germany.
Recently, Krüger was musical director and pianist for Philip Glass’s Les Enfants Terribles with the Dutch National Opera Studio in Amsterdam, in collaboration with Opera Zuid and de Reisopera. This season, he conducts Ravel’s L’Heure espagnole at the CNSM in Lyon and Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias in a production by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser.
In 2022, he founded Libertalia with violist Loan Cazal, a string ensemble bringing together generations and repertoires through innovative concert formats.
Recognized as a specialist in Mozart’s music, Krüger regularly conducts his operas and taught Mozart interpretation for ten years at the prestigious Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
Alongside his conducting career, he is a highly regarded pianist, performing recitals in France and abroad with artists including Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Stéphane Degout, and Jodie Devos. His recordings have received several awards.
Since 2020, Krüger has been Professor of Conducting and Music Director at the École supérieure des Arts de Mons in Belgium.
Matthew Eberhardt
Director
Matthew Eberhardt’s directing credits include Weill’s Street Scene (nominated for a South Bank Award) and Love Life (nominated for an International Opera Award), Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti (broadcast on Sky Arts), as well as concert stagings of Fidelio (live streamed from Leeds Town Hall), Billy Budd (Aldeburgh Festival), and Wonderland Restored, all for Opera North. Additional directing credits include Orpheus In The Underworld, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Die Fledermaus (all Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama); Cendrillon and The Cunning Little Vixen (both Royal Birmingham Conservatoire); Three Decembers/The Medium (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). He was associate director on Will Todd’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Opera Holland Park and Linbury Theatre).
Zahra Mansouri
Set- & costume design
Zahra Mansouri graduated in Theatre Design for Performance at Central Saint Martins. Her recent production of Love Life was nominated by the International Opera Awards in the Musical category, she has been nominated twice by the Off-West End Awards and was the in-house designer at Fourth Monkey TC creating 75 shows over 10 years in rep seasons.
Zahra was also a ballroom and latin dance competitor where she started her costume design journey making and designing for private clients and at leading dance couture company Chrisanne Clover, this has continued to inform her work as she is inspired by the movement of costume on performers.
Up next: Costume designing La Traviata & set and costume design La Liberazione Di Ruggiero (Buxton Opera Festival). Recent Work includes: The Humbug Christmas Dive Bar Immersive Experience (The Waterloo Vaults), Susanna/ The Secret of The Black Spider/ Love Life (Opera North), When it Happens to You/ Whodunit/ On The Ropes (Park Theatre), Opera Makers (Guildhall, Milton Court Studio). As costume Designer: The Elixir of Love (ENO London Coliseum), La Sonnambula (Buxton Opera Festival), Semele (Blackheath Halls).
Danny Vavrečka
Light design
Danny is a lighting designer for theatre, opera, and dance.
Theatre includes: work.txt (Noorderzon Festival & International Tour); The Watsons (Jermyn Street Theatre); Without (Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Compositor E (VAULTS Festival); Zombiegate (Theatre503); Period Dramas (Other Palace); Noson yn y Glwys (Neuadd Dewi Sant); Jigsaw, The Abductions (Rose Theatre, Kingston); The Moors (Richard Burton Theatre); Fires Our Shoes Have Made (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Dogfight (Warwick Arts Centre Studio); Guys and Dolls (Warwick Arts Centre Theatre); X (Warwick Arts Centre Studio); Blood Wedding (Mumford Theatre).
Opera includes: A Visit to Friends (Aldeburgh Festival); Uprising (Glyndebourne); Beauty and the Seven Beasts (Brixton Jamm); Don Giovanni / Il barbiere di Siviglia / Le nozze di Figaro (Sherman Theatre). Dance includes: Slant of the Earth (BalletMAR); English National Ballet Emerging Dancer (Sadler’s Wells Theatre); Re-Play (Mulryan Centre for Dance); Empower in Motion (Sadler’s Wells Theatre); Terra Nova (Theatre Royal, Winchester); 1001 (Omnibus Theatre). Danny trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, following a degree in Theatre at the University of Warwick. He was selected as the 2023 Design Lumière by the Association for Lighting Production and Design.
Pilo Pilkes
Hair & make-up design
After studying window display and decoration at Nimeto in Utrecht and graphic design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Pilo Pilkes found his way into theatre. Initially, he worked on designing and creating costumes, sets, and graphic work. After training with wig maker Sjoerd Didden, he also began designing and producing wigs and makeup.
In theatre, he has worked for companies such as De Trust/Theatercompagnie, Tryater, HNT, NNT, Het Toneel Speelt, De Appel, the Venlo Revue, the Passion Plays in Tegelen, and for productions such as Anne and De Stormruiter.
Pilo also works in television. He contributed to Wilhelmina and Ramses, to the film Nachtrit, Simon, and to work by Peter Greenaway.
Earlier, he directed baroque music theatre for I Piccoli Hollandesi, and for his own company Plamour he wrote and directed Naaiatelier de Dekmantel and Het Einde der Meiden.
In addition, he worked on musicals such as Sweeney Todd, De Tweeling, and Moeder ik wil bij de Revue. Together with the entire creative team of Soldaat van Oranje, Pilo was nominated for the Wijnberg Scenography Award in 2011.
He also teaches wig-making and hair work at the Mask program in Amsterdam.
Opera is also a familiar genre for Pilo. He previously worked with Opera2day and Opera Zuid, including on the productions Un ballo in maschera (2018), Orphée aux Enfers (2023), and Le Villi & Silenzio (2025), for which he designed hair and makeup.
Bianca Chillemi
Assistant musical direction & choir leader
Bianca Chillemi is a conductor, eclectic pianist, and recitalist passionate about voice, opera, musical theater, and contemporary repertoire. Founder of Ensemble Maja, dedicated to 20th and 21st-century music for voice and ensemble, she explores this rich repertoire alongside instrumentalists and singers. She has collaborated on prestigious opera productions: Voyage à Reims (Rossini) at Royaumont, Iliade l’amour (Betsy Jolas) at Cité de la Musique, Trois Contes (Gérard Pesson) at the operas of Lille and Rennes, and Like Flesh (Sivan Eldar) in Lille, as well as Sonntag aus Licht and Montag aus Licht (Karl-Heinz Stockhausen) at the Philharmonie de Paris with Le Balcon. She also participated in Jungle (J.C. Feldhandler) at the operas of Limoges and Bordeaux. Recently, she worked with TM+ in Massy and performed Gougalon (Unsuk Chin) with the Ensemble Intercontemporain. Recognized for her commitment to contemporary music, she is among the three artists supported by Georges Aperghis as laureate of the Grand Prix of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 2024. With Ensemble Maja, she won the 1st prize of the Jean-Claude Malgoire competition at the Tourcoing Lyric Workshop in 2023 for her show Birds, a musical theater piece bringing together Aventures & Nouvelles Aventures by György Ligeti and Eight Songs for a Mad King by Peter Maxwell Davies. Bianca Chillemi is the musical director of Pauline Viardot’s opera Cendrillon, directed by David Lescot, which received critical and public acclaim and toured throughout France: at the operas of Rennes, Compiègne, Tourcoing, Clermont-Ferrand, and numerous national stages. Last season, she was the musical director of Le Décaméron by Matteo Franceschini, premiered at Opéra Grand Avignon.
Nicole Morel
Movementcoach & Assistant director
Nicole Morel is a Swiss choreographer, dancer and artistic director of Antipode. She expresses herself through various artistic languages bringing moving bodies in different contexts. She combines poetry, critical thinking, and artistic transversality to address contemporary social and environmental issues. A graduate of the Hamburg Ballet School in 2003, she danced at the Compañia Nacional de Danza 2 in Madrid, under the direction of Nacho Duato, before joining as a soloist the Ballettmainz, and the Ballett am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg under the direction of Martin Schläpfer. In 2014, she founded the company Antipode in Fribourg. With Antipode, she maintains a strong international presence, creating networks that unite local creation with global dissemination. In parallel she is active in the field of opera and has recently worked with the Santa Fe Opera, the Irish National Opera and the Theater Magdeburg.
Geofrey Boissy
Assistant direction & language coach
Geoffrey Boissy works as a performer, assistant director, and French language coach in opera and spoken theatre. His practice spans performance, dramaturgy, and training, with projects in Belgium, Nederland, France, and Spain.
He is active in a range of theatrical and operatic productions, collaborating with international artistic teams in multilingual contexts. Alongside his work on stage, he regularly coaches singers and actors in French, focusing on diction, rhythmic precision, and the integration of text into performance. His work places particular emphasis on the relationship between language, musicality, and dramatic intention.
As an assistant director, he contributes to the rehearsal process through dramaturgical support and the coordination between staging and performance. His approach is grounded in close work with performers, with attention to timing, interaction, and clarity of expression.
Based in Belgium, Geoffrey Boissy is engaged in cross-disciplinary practices at the intersection of theatre and opera, working across different repertoires and production formats.