Biopgraphies
La scala di seta / Il signor Bruschino
Chelsea Bonagura
Lucilla / Sofia Soprano
American soprano Chelsea Bonagura is a singing and teaching protégé of renowned Italian-American soprano Diana Soviero and has performed throughout North America and Europe in roles such as Cunegonde (Candide), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Mimi (La Bohème), Micaëla (Carmen) and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni).
Chelsea often collaborates with contemporary composers and she recently participated in the Opera Forward Festival with De Nationale Opera as soprano soloist. She performs regularly with the renowned New York City Opera and recently made her Carnegie Hall Debut in Lear Auerbach’s Symphony number 6 Vessels of Light. Concert highlights include Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat in D and Bruckner’s Psalm 150.
In addition to her singing career, Chelsea also works as a voice teacher. She currently works at the prestigious Mannes School of Music in New York City. Chelsea is also regularly invited to participate as a judge on panels for leading singing competitions, including most recently the Giulio Gari Foundation and the Career Bridges Foundation in New York City. In her most recent collaboration, Bonagura was guest voice coach for participants in ARIA, the wildly popular television series in the Netherlands in which classical singers compete live for a place in De Nederlandse Opera’s Young Artist Programme.
Alexia Macbeth
Giulia / Marianna Mezzosoprano
Alexia Macbeth is a French-British mezzo-soprano born in Paris. Her passion for classical singing led her to the prestigious Royal Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in classical singing. Not limiting herself to singing, she also obtained an acting diploma from the renowned Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
For three seasons, Alexia worked as a Young Artist with Opera Fuoco. Her versatile talent was evident in a variety of roles, including performing Cherubino in Nozze di Figaro, the title role in Lady in the Dark (Kurt Weill), and covering the title role in Serse (Handel). Macbeth played varying roles of which some highlights are; the title role in Le Garçon et le poisson magique (Leonard Evers) at the Philharmonie of Luxembourg, Chatte, Écureuil, Bergère, Pâtre in L’enfant et les sortilèges (Ravel) with the Winterreise company, and the lead role in Forge! (G. Philippot).
In the current season, she performs the role of Sœur Mathilde in Dialogue des Carmélites at Massy Opera, shines as Lavinia in A letter for Emily (Lockrem Johnson)and together with the Winterreise Company she plays the title role in the show called Les Années Folles at Luxembourg Philharmonie.
Edwin Fardini
Bruschino padre Bariton
Graduated from Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse (CNSMD) in Paris under Élène Golgevit, barition Edwin Fardini has quickly made his musical mark with performances at renowned venues such as Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Théâtre de l’Opéra Comique and Opéra national de Toulouse. Fardini is recognised as an outstanding performer in classical music, earning a nomination in the Revelation Lyric Artist category at the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2023 and winning the Prix Voix des Outre-mer 2021 and Classical Revelation in 2019 from ADAMI.
In the 2023/2024 season, Edwin Fardini can be seen in a series of intriguing roles. These include the role of Guillaume Tell at the Opéra de Fribourg and the role of Heerrufer in Lohengrin at the Opera National du Rhin. In addition, Fardini performs the Count in Le nozze di Figaro at Seine Musicale with the ensemble Appassionato. He has previously played at Opera Zuid as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette and this season he plays Bruschino senior in Il signor Bruschino. He performs solo in Mozart’s Requiem and Stravinsky’s Noces with the Radio-France choir, as well as the Mass in C with the Orchestre national de Montpellier.
Raoul Steffani
Germano / Tutore Gaudenzio Bariton
Bariton Raoul Steffani is de kersverse winnaar van de Nederlandse Muziekprijs 2023, de hoogste onderscheiding die door de Nederlandse Staat aan een musicus kan worden uitgereikt. Eerder won hij onder meer de Grachtenfestival Prijs 2018. Daarnaast is hij lid van Equilibrium, het young artists program van Barbara Hannigan.
Onlangs zong Raoul de rol van Ramiro in Ravels L’heure espagnole bij de Opéra National de Lyon, waarna hij werd uitgenodigd om Ned Keene te zingen in Brittens Peter Grimes en Ramiro bij de Opéra de Toulon. Andere recente hoogtepunten zijn Bachs Johannes Passion (Christus) met Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment onder leiding van Mark Padmore, Mahlers Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen met Ensemble Domestica, Frank Martins Ode à la musique met het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest o.l.v. Marcus Creed en diverse Matthäus Passion-concerten met Phion (Christus). Als solist werkte hij eerder samen met dirigenten als Sir Mark Elder, Vladimir Jurowsky, Sigiswald Kuijken, Ed Spanjaard en Otto Tausk.
In seizoen 2023/2024 zingt hij onder andere J.S. Bachs’ Weihnachtsoratorium (Eerste Cantate) met het Groot Omroepkoor en het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, John Adams The Wound Dresser bij festival Musica Sacra in Maastricht met Philzuid, Beethoven Symfonie nr. 9 met Phion, en Mozart aria’s met het Residentie Orkest o.l.v. Richard Egarr. Hij maakt zijn recitaldebuut bij de Schubertiade Wieden in de Ehrbar-Saal in Wenen, bij het LIFE Victoria Festival in Barcelona en zingt Die schöne Müllerin met meesterpianist Severin von Eckardstein op piano.
Manuel Nuñez Camelino
Dorvil / Florville Tenor
Manuel Nuñez Camelino was born in Corrientes, Argentina, and entered the Teatro Colón Higher Arts Institute in 2002. He made his debut at the Teatro Avenida in Buenos Aires in the role of Beppe (I Pagliacci) and was a finalist in the 1st Teatro Colón New Voices Competition. In 2005, he played in Don Quixote and Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Colón. In 2005 he was a semi-finalist in the Neue Stimmen International Competition in Gütersloh (Germany) and from 2006 to 2008 he was in residence at the CNIPAL. In 2008, he participated in the productions La Vida Breve and Samson et Dalila at the Opéra-Théâtre de Saint-Etienne and sang Phoebus in Louise Bertin’s La Esmeralda at the Festival de Radio France, Montpellier.
In October 2008, he joined the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra national de Paris, with which he performed in Bucharest, at the Auditorium du Louvre, at the Palais Garnier with the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris and at the Villa Medici in Rome. He sang Paolino in Le mariage secret and La Théière/Le Petit Vieillard in L’Enfant et les sortilèges. In September 2009, he sang the role of Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola) at the Opéra de Vichy.
Michael Wilmering
Blansac / Filiberto Bariton
Michael Wilmering obtained his bachelor cum laude and his master with distinction at the Utrecht Conservatory of Music. After his studies, he spent a year at the Opera Studio in Stuttgart. At the International Vocal Competition, he won the junior prize, the press prize and the IVC Prize in the category Song Duo with pianist Javier Rameix. In 2019, he received an Award from Operadagen Rotterdam for his creation Grenze(n)loos.
Michael Wilmering obtained his bachelor cum laude and his master with distinction at the Utrecht Conservatory of Music. After his studies, he spent a year at the Opera Studio in Stuttgart. At the International Vocal Competition, he won the junior prize, the press prize and the IVC Prize in the category Song Duo with pianist Javier Rameix. In 2019, he received an Award from Operadagen Rotterdam for his creation Grenze(n)loos.
At De Nederlandse Opera, he sang roles in titles such as: Alfredo Bracale (Caruso a Cuba), Caliban in Goethe, Conte Robinson in Il matrimonio segreto, Le Medecin (Pelleas et Melisande), Thierry (Dialogues de Carmelites) and Cappadocier (Salome). At Opera zuid, he sang Junior (A Quiet place) and in the current season can be heard as Blansac and Filiberto in La scala di seta and Il signor Bruschino. Michael has worked with directors such as Pierre Audi, Tatjana Gürbaca, Ivo van Hove, Olivier Py, Robert Carsen and Lotte de Beer and with conductors such as Daniele Gatti, Stéphane Denève, Patrick Fournillier, Ed Spanjaard and Edo de Waart. Last year, together with Daan Boertien, he released his first CD, Die Winterreise, which was well received. This year, Schumann’s Dichterliebe will be recorded with Nicolas van Poucke.
Jacques de Faber
Dormont / Un Delegato di Polizia Tenor
Despite his young age, Jacques de Faber has been in the business for a long time. He started with the Rotterdam Boys’ Choir, performed in several operas with Opera Ahoy and with Youth Theatre Hofplein. After graduating from The Hague Sports Academy, he decided to follow his second passion and studied singing at the Maastricht Conservatory, and later in Rome (as an Erasmus student) and Utrecht. The tenor has since sung with the Brussels Operette Theater, BarokOpera Amsterdam, De Nederlandse Reisopera and Opera Nijetrijne, among others. He also has several roles to his name at Opera Zuid, including in Janáček’s Káťa Kabanová, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Verdi’s Un ballo in Maschera and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.
Pim van Drunen
Bruschino figlio Tenor
Tenor Pim van Drunen has been on stage since childhood. At a young age, he performed in several professional musicals, including the title role in Ciske de Rat. At the Tilburg conservatory, he developed a great passion for classical music and obtained his bachelor and master degrees with voice teacher Harry Ruijl. Currently, Pim is coached by tenor Marcel Reijans.
During his studies, he already started singing various roles with various opera companies. A recent highlight was the role of Bolletje/Drolletje in the new children’s opera Het Lijflied (Opera Zuid/De Nationale Opera). Pim also regularly sings in the chorus with companies such as Opera Zuid, De Nationale Opera, Opera Vlaanderen and De Nederlandse Reisopera. As a tenor soloist, he can be heard at various concerts ranging from contemporary to early music.
At the end of 2022, Pim became known to the general public by reaching the final of the television programme ARIA (Omroep Max).
Roderik Povel
Il Cuoco
Roderik Povel is a celebrated home cook with many verbal accolades from friends and family to his name. For instance, he was recently crowned “King of Sambal Goreng” by his sister for making a successful shrimp version of the Indonesian dish. “Soup with hearts” and “chicken in stink sauce” have also become classics in the family kitchen.
Roderik is entirely self-taught, having learned by trial and error at a time when resources were scarce and a young family had to be fed. His culinary inventiveness is also reflected in his shadow career as a jazz musician. After his conservatory studies, he worked with ambitious young musicians on the ins and outs of improvised music and with theatre students on diction and presence. When his busy kitchen schedule allows it, he works on his own music productions within Jazz, modern classical and theatre music, and also as a piano restorer and tuner.
Sander Teepen
Musical direction
Conductor Sander Teepen began his career in Eastern Europe after winning the Budapest MAV Symphony Orchestra competition in 2012, the Blue Danube Competition in 2013 and the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra Prize at the International Conducting Competition Jeunesses Musicales in Bucharest in 2014.
Sander has worked at opera houses in Ostrava, Czech Republic (including on Shostakovich’s Lady MacBeth and Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame) and Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. Sander is a regular guest of the Residentie Orkest, the philharmonie zuidnederland, the Noord Nederlands Orkest, Phion, the Ballet Orchestra and the Metropole Orkest. Abroad, he works regularly with the Bangkok Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra in Lasi and the Banatul Philharmonic Orchestra in Timisoara, both in Romania, and the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra Kosice, Slovakia.
Sander was the assistant conducter of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra during three seasons. In that capacity, he worked with a wide range of conductors including principal conductor Karina Canellakis, Bernard Haitink, Pablo Heras-Cassado, Markus Stenz, JoAnn Faletta and Stanislav Kochanovsky. Conducting the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2021 at The Concertgebouw, including Dvorák’s Ninth Symphony, was the crown on his work.
In 2023-24, Sander will make his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic and Opera Zuid. In addition, he also returns with the North Netherlands Orchestra, philharmonie zuidnederland, Phion, the Residentie Orkest, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, the Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra in Iasi, the Banatul Philharmonic Orchestra in Timisoara and the Bangkok Philharmonic Orchestra.
Marcos Darbyshire
Direction
Marcos Darbyshire was born in Córdoba, Argentina, where he trained as a pianist, specialising in chamber music, and as a lieder accompanist. In 2008, he moved to Germany, did an internship at Frankfurt Opera and then became a student at the Hochschule fur Musik u. Theater Hamburg, studying ‘Opera Stage Direction’.From 2012 until 2016 he worked as an assistant stage director at Opera Vlaanderen (Belgium), where he assisted renowned directors including Peter Konwitschny, David Alden, David Hermann, Robert Carsen, Tatjana Gürbaca, Calixto Bieito, Mariame Clément, Kornel Mundruzco, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and others, and revived many of their shows.
As a freelance revival director he worked in Staatstheater Nürnberg, La Fenice (Venice), Teatro Real (Madrid), Palau Reina Sofia (Valencia), Teatro de la Maestranza (Sevilla) and Opera Vlaanderen (Belgium), Grand Théâtre de Genève, and next season also Liceu Barcelona.
He has staged three Donizetti operas, including L’elisir d’amore for Opera Zuid, for a livestream for Operavision in 2021 and Lucia di Lammermoor for Staatstheater Darmstadt. His latest productions include Nabucco (Staatstheater Mainz), María de Buenos Aires (Theater St. Gallen) and Denis & Katya (Theater an der Wien).
Agnes Hasun
Set- and costume design
Agnes Hasun is a set and costume designer based in Vienna and works internationally for both opera and theatre productions. She studied set design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in Erich Wonder’s master class and Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna. Her work has appeared in renowned opera houses and theatres such as the Vienna State Opera, Opera Zurich, Volksoper Vienna, Theater an der Wien, Theater Lübeck, Tiroler Landestheater and Salzburger Landestheater.
Her most recent productions include the set design for Tschaikovsky`s Eugen Onegin at Theater Lübeck and the set and costume design for Tick, tick…BOOM! at Volksopera Vienna. Her production Der Konsul, directed by René Zisterer at Tiroler Landestheater, was nominated for the 2019 Austrian Music Theatre Award as Best Opera Production. As artistic collaborator and assistant to well-known set designers such as Christof Hetzer and Johannes Leiacker, she has worked internationally at theatres such as Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Real in Madrid, Nationale Opera Amsterdam, Staatsopera Vienna, Bregenz Festival, Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen/Gent, Opera Malmö, Opera Cologne, Tokyo Opera Nomori, Wiener Festwochen and Salzburger Festspiele.
MartinJan Gaasbeek
Light design
A graduate of the Utrecht School of the Arts in Image and Media, MartinJan Gaasbeek has a career in theatre that has grown steadily since 1993. His professional path is diverse, with work experiences at various institutions and projects attesting to his versatility and craftsmanship.
MartinJan has applied his technical and creative talent at leading cultural organisations such as TivoliVredenburg, Holland Opera and ReisOpera. His work at these organisations included everything from complex lighting designs to supporting video designs that enhanced the artistic intentions of the productions.
His key role in lighting and video also brought him to smaller companies such as BovenWater, Le Nuove Musiche, Baroque Opera and Opera Compact. He likes that variety, between large-scale opera productions and intimate performances.
Since 2004, he has also been a regular at Opera Zuid, where he works as a technician and first lighting technician. His long-term commitment to the company shows his love for the profession and his dedication to contributing to special performances.
Stan Geurts
Direction assistent
Stan Geurts has been involved with theatre since childhood. After finishing HAVO, he started the pre-training programme Music Theatre at ArtEZ in 2013. The following year, he started the Bachelor of Music Theatre, from which he graduated in 2017. He was taught by a.o: Elena Vink, Caroline Almekinders, Marielle Vester, Casper vandePutte, Richard van der Hart, Jan-Pieter Koch, Benno van Leer and Bouwe Bruins. He also attended workshops with Michel van der Aa, Marlyn Coetsier, Simone de Jong, Aike Dirkzwager, Arend Niks and Dorine Niezing.
After graduating, Stan started working as a theatre maker, composer and (assistant) director. His performances are on the cutting edge of opera, musical and music theatre. Music is the starting point for everything he creates. With that music, he creates a world in which he and the audience can get lost. Stan writes theatre music rooted in impressionism, romanticism and postmodernism. He uses both classical traditions, and modern inventions. The music follows his own dramaturgy, and can both blend and contrast with the actions on stage.
Stan has worked for the Reisopera, Nationale Opera, Café Theater Festival, Holland Opera, Karavaan and PIT Productions, among others. He is also part of Collective Ludvik.
Ceyda Ayanoğlu
Assistent musical direction (internship)
Turkish orchestra/choir conductor-pianist, Ceyda Ayanoglu graduated with honors from piano department at MSFAU Istanbul State Conservatory. She worked on piano in various masterclasses with Catherine Vickers, Marta Gulyas, Fedele Antonicelli, Fernando Viani, Hüseyin Sermet, İris Şentürker,İnci Birol and İdil Biret.
She was the Orphe Polyphonic Choir’s founding conductor and general art director between 2020 and 2022 in Istanbul. During those same years, she also reorganized the Mimar Sinan Polyphonic Choir at the State Conservatory and took over as its conductor. She founded Su Polyphonic Choir in 2023 and she continues to work with this choir in Maastricht. She conducted Donizetti’s opera L’elisir D’amore on the special request of the State Conservatory in 2022. She was the assistant conductor of Mozart’s opera Le Nozze di Figaro at the Conservatorium Maastricht in 2023 under the guidance of conductor Federico Santi. Moreover, she has been accepted by Opera Zuid to be an assistant conductor of the operas Il signor Bruschino and La scala di seta in May 2024, and also by the Berlin Opera Academy to conduct Humperdinck’s opera Hansel und Gretel.
She was invited to conduct the all-female symphony orchestra at the 10th International ClarinetFestival, with Ecesu Sertesen and Merve Nuvasil as soloists. She became the guest conductor of the Monster Soundtrack Orchestra in January 2022. She was given the opportunity to conduct the concert by the Balkan Symphony Orchestra, on March 8 International Women’s Day, established within the Trakya Conservatory, 12 different female musicians such as violinist Sevil Ulucan and cellist Nil Kocamangil were invited to play the concert. For a special event on 8th March, she was invited to conduct Cukurova State Symphony Orchestra, with award winning violinist Veriko Tchumburidze.
Daniel Ros Hernández
Assistent musical direction (internship)
Daniel Ros is considered one of the future promises of conducting and is one of the most active young conductors on the national scene. He has learned from great maestros such as José Miguel Rodilla, Cristóbal Soler, Miguel Ángel Gómez-Martínez, Atso Almila, Antony Hermus, Jurjen Hempel, Karel Deseure, Karel Mark Chichon and Johannes Wildner. He wertke with, among others, the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia, ADDA-Simfònica, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta de Córdoba, Berliner Symphoniker, Berlin Sinfonietta, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica CullerArts, Orquesta de Jóvenes de la Región de Murcia and the Joven Orquesta Sinfónica de la FSMCV.
He currently lives in Rotterdam, where he is completing the Master of Music in Orchestra Conducting at Codarts, Rotterdam School of the Arts, under the guidance of Hans Leenders and Sander Teepen. He also has his own project in the Netherlands with the Harmonix Foundation, where he combines his position as chairman with that of artistic director and chief conductor of the Harmonix Orchestra (HXO). At the same time, he fulfils national and international engagements.
Philzuid
Orchestra
We make everyone experience unforgettable moments of happiness
That is our mission, that is what we aim for and what we want to do for you. Philzuid is an orchestra of and for everyone. We constantly push our boundaries by seeking new challenges to touch the hearts, minds and souls of people of all ages. From Eindhoven and Maastricht, we are connected to all inhabitants of North Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland, but also far beyond, at home and abroad. Led by intendant Stefan Rosu and with chief conductor Duncan Ward, we let everyone experience unforgettable moments of happiness. We are the symphony orchestra of the South.
Continuous innovation is in our blood: we are happiness-makers
An important core value for Philzuid is ‘renew’. We are a versatile orchestra that is constantly innovating. We are known for our great symphonic concerts with well-known musical works in all concert halls in the South of the Netherlands and beyond, but we are also creators. We are constantly pushing our boundaries. We invent and create new concert formulas in unexpected locations. We research changes in the world of classical music within the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music (MCICM). The MCICM is an interdisciplinary research centre in which the orchestra, Maastricht University and Zuyd University work together. In it, the orchestra fulfils a laboratory function, putting new ideas directly into practice.
We are also proud of our extensive educational programs. Small ensembles with musicians from the orchestra travel to primary schools to let pupils experience live classical music up close and involved. In theatres or concert halls, pupils meet the entire symphony orchestra and participate in performances. For secondary schools, we create programs where pupils experience live classical music and come into contact with our musicians.
We are happiness-sharers by connecting
We are connectors on all fronts. A second core value in our organisation. We respond to social issues and events. We have a lively connection with southern Dutch society. We are there first and foremost for the inhabitants of North Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland. In this region, the largest part of the Netherlands, we have become indispensable with major public events such as Opera op de Parade and Opera Sing Along in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. How about the Liberation Concert in Margraten or our high-profile performances at festival Cultura Nova in Heerlen and, of course, the popular Vastelaovend and Carnival concerts in Limburg and Brabant. Of great significance are also the various collaborations, such as with contemporary music festival November Music in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, with amateur musicians and with up-and-coming talent from the Maastricht and Tilburg conservatoires in the Orchestra Academy. We also connect with the business community, such as during inspiring business events like our Philinspired and various custom-made arrangements.
We are happiness-bringers and we want to surprise
That’s what we are all about. With every concert, every performance, every project, we want to surprise and let people experience a bit of happiness. Surprise is ónly our third core value. Everyone who visits a concert, experiences emotive moments. They are moments of surprise and amazement, from inner peace to inspiration and from reflection to getting extra energy. Our goal is for everyone to start feeling these moments of happiness with our music. And how beautiful it is that the first word of our old naming philharmonic has the same sound as the English word Feel. The word ‘Phil’ is pronounced ‘Feel’. By putting all kinds of feelings behind the word ‘Phil’, everyone can fill in how a happy moment is experienced and felt: From Phil Good, Phil Amazing, Phil Nice, Phil Wonderfull, to Phil Relaxed, Phil Special. In short, an endless use of words that describe people’s happy moments when they experience our music. This ambition has led to changing our naming from philharmonie zuidnederland to Philzuid!