A Night At The Opera

With Joanne Boag (Soprano) & Thomas Walker (Tenor) 25th January 8pm at Starlight Theatre, 16 Wellmeadow Street, Paisley.

Biographies: Scottish Soprano Joanne Boag trained at The National Opera Studio and the RSAMD (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). She graduated from the RSAMD with a B.Mus (Hons), a Masters in Concert Singing and a Masters in Opera (both with distinction) under the tuition of Patricia Hay.

Joanne is an experienced oratorio soloist and recitalist, performing throughout UK. Notable performances include Haydn’s Harmoniemesse under conductor Nicholas Kraemer, the Scottish premier of Liszt’s oratorio Christus, soprano soloist in Haydn’s Nelson Mass in the Edinburgh Festival and Poulenc’s Gloria in St David’s Hall (Cardiff) with the chorus and orchestra of Welsh National Opera. She has also appeared as a guest artiste with the RSNO in an Opera Gala in the Barony Hall (Glasgow), concerts for Raymond Gubbay with the orchestra of Scottish Opera and as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the Usher Hall (Edinburgh).

Joanne is also a keen recitalist, highlights including a recital tour of The Trossachs National Park for Scottish Opera, recitals with the pianist Michael Pollock in St David’s Hall and Banbury, a recital of French song and Schubert’s Shepherd On The Rock with pianist James Southall and clarinetist Leslie Craven (principal clarinetist of the WNO orchestra) as part of the Llandaff Festival.

Her operatic experience includes the roles of La Bergere (L’enfant et les Sortileges), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Nannetta (Falstaff) and Melisande (Pelleas et Melisande) all for the Alexander Gibson Opera School. Other operatic experience includes the roles of Alinda/Cupid (Giasone), Drusilla (Poppea) both for the Early Opera Company under Christian Curnyn and the title role Katya Kabanova for Scottish Opera on Tour.

During 2007 and 2008, Joanne was an Associate Artist with Welsh National Opera, where she performed the roles of Clorinda (La Cenrentola) under Carlo Rizzi, Nannetta (Falstaff), Sandman/Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel) and Giunone (Le Nozze de Teti e Peleo). Subsequent roles for WNO have included Arbate (Mitridate) under the late Sir Charles Mackerras, Frasquita (Carmen), Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Adele (Die Fledermaus).

Recent engagements include Bach’s St John Passion with The Derby Bach Choir and Skolia Choir (London), Barbarina/Cover Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Despina (Cosi fan Tutte) and cover Vixen (The Cunning Little Vixen) all for WNO.

Born in Glasgow, Thomas Walker studied in the brass department of The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before studying singing with Ryland Davies at the Royal College of Music. Plans this season and beyond include further performances of the title role Rameau Platée for Stuttgart Opera; Bach St Matthew Passion (arias) with the Gabrieli Consort and Players in Poland; Basilio The Marriage of Figaro, on tour, with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and René Jacobs; Bach cantatas with the Hamburg Symphoniker; Haydn Nelson Mass and Britten Cantata Academica with the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, both concerts with Jeffrey Tate; Mendelssohn Elijah with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Paul McCreesh and Zadok in Handel Solomon for the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, again with McCreesh; Evangelist in Bach St John Passion on a European tour with the Dunedin Consort; Mozart Requiem with Cappella Amsterdam and Daniel Reuss and with the City of London Sinfonia and Stephan Layton and Messiah with Orquestra Barroca Catalan, again with Daniel Reuss. Thomas has sung Platée for Stuttgart Opera and also for Staatstheater Nürnberg; Count Almaviva; Eurimaco The Return of Ulysses; Janek Makropulos Case; Alessandro Il Re Pastore; Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw; Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Italian Tenor Der Rosenkavalier; Lindoro L’Italiana in Algeri; Pélleas; Linfea Calisto; Lenia in Cavalli Eliogabalo; Ferrando; Don Ottavio and Letchmere Owen Wingrave for companies including the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Innsbruck Early Music Festival, Ensemble Matheus, La Monnaie, Brussels, Grange Park Opera and Holland Park Opera.

Thomas’ debut at the 2002 Proms in Mendelssohn Elijah at the Royal Albert Hall, with Kurt Masur and the LPO resulted in return invitations to sing Janácek Otcenas and Beethoven Mass in C, and after his debut with the Northern Sinfonia (Bach Magnificat) with Thomas Zehetmair, he was subsequently asked to sing Haydn Creation in the opening concert at the Sage, Gateshead and more recently Mozart Requiem.Other recent concert appearances have included Britten Les Illuminations with The Scottish Ensemble; Stravinsky Pulcinella with the BBC SSO and Matthias Pintscher; Bach Cantatas at the Vienna Konzerthaus with Ensemble Claudiana; Meyerbeer Emma di Resburgo with Andreas Stoehr at the same venue; Bach Mass in F and Easter Oratorio with the Orchestra of the 18th Century and Frans Brüggen; Britten War Requiem in Moscow; Schumann Paradies und die Peri with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and Daniel Reuss; Messiah with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and the Academy of Ancient Music, Orquestra Metroplitana de Lisboa, for Welsh National Opera and Harry Bicket and at the Wigmore Hall with Christian Curnyn; Evangelist in Bach St Matthew Passion and St John Passion and Giuliano in Handel Rodrigo with Al Ayre Espagnol; St John Passion with the OAE and Mark Padmore; St Matthew Passion (Evangelist) with the Israel Camerata; St Matthew Passion (arias) with the Choir of King’s College Cambrige; Bach B Minor Mass, Handel Jephtha, Schubert Mass in E flat and a concert of music by Janácek with Cappella Amsterdam and Daniel Reuss; Chevalier in Poulenc Les Dialogues des Carmélites at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Tippett A Child of our Time with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir

Andrew Davis and Haydn Creation with Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa.

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Founder of Paisley.org.uk in 1998 and constantly strives to change peoples attitudes to the town, Brian is a self described Paisley Digital Champion who promotes Paisley via any means necessary. You can also follow me on X