Nodoka Okisawa

Conductor
Nodoka Okisawa was appointed chief conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra in 2023, a contract which has been extended until March 2029. She was also appointed by the founder of the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Seiji Ozawa, to become the festival’s first-ever principal guest conductor starting August 2024.
Upcoming debuts include the London Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Halle, Dortmund Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestras. She will also enjoy returns to Winnipeg Symphony and Melbourne Symphony. Upon returning to Australia, she will also work with Tasmania Symphony and go to New Zealand for the first time to work with the Auckland Philharmonia.
In Japan, she enjoys regular collaborations with such orchestras as NHK Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan, Yomiuri Nippon, Japan Philharmonic, and she also runs her own festival in Aomori.
In 2022, Ms. Okisawa conducted a production of Le nozze di Figaro at OMF, and opera remains close to her heart. In November 2020, she conducted a production of Lehár’s The Merry Widow at the Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theatre, where she returned in February 2025 with a production of Carmen.
The winner of the prestigious International Competition for Young Conductors in Besançon 2019, she was awarded the Grand Prix, Orchestra Prize, and Audience Prize, and in 2018, she won the Tokyo International Music Competition for Conducting.
Born in Aomori, Japan, she learned to play the piano, cello, and oboe from an early age. She studied conducting at the Tokyo University of the Arts with Ken Takaseki and Tadaaki Otaka. In 2019, she obtained her second master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin under Christian Ehwald and Hans-Dieter Baum.

Laurent Pelly

Stage Director / Set Designer / Costume Designer
French director and costume designer Laurent Pelly has directed on the world’s leading stages. With a natural affinity for Italian and French repertoire, his creative curiosity has in recent years led him towards other composers, e.g., Britten, Prokofiev, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov. He brings theatrical insight to his work with singers and his concepts often contain surreal invention and a dark sense of humour. A master of detail, he designs the costumes for all his productions, as well as occasionally the sets.
Recent productions include Gypsy (Philharmonie de Paris, Opéra national de Lorraine), Gassman’s L’opéra seria (Teatro alla Scala, Theater an der Wien), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Teatro Real, Royal Danish Opera, winner of the 2025 Premios Opera XXI Best New Production), Il turco in Italia (Teatro Real, Opéra de Lyon), La chauve-souris (Opéra de Lille), Eugene Onegin (La Monnaie, Royal Danish Opera), La Périchole (Théâtre des Champs Élysées), Lakmé (Opéra Comique, Opéra national du Rhin), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opéra de Lille, Teatro de la Maestranza Seville), La voix humaine / Les mamelles de Tiresias (Glyndebourne Festival), La Cenerentola (Amsterdam, Geneva, Valencia, Los Angeles), Falstaff (Madrid, Brussels, Tokyo Nikikai) and Le nozze di Figaro (Santa Fe Opera, Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival).
Formerly director of Théâtre national de Toulouse, theatre highlights include Les oiseaux, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Cantatrice chauve and L’Oiseau vert (also at Théâtre de la Porte St-Martin, Paris). His most recent work in theatre includes Goldoni’s L’Impresario de Smyrne (Scènes de la vie d’opéra), and the first French theatrical production of Mary Chase’s Harvey, with acclaimed French actor Jacques Gamblin. Plans in 2025/26 include The Bartered Bride (Madrid), Ariadne auf Naxos (Glyndebourne festival) and Stephen Sondheim’s Follies (Strasbourg, Geneva and Théâtre du Châtelet).

Oberon：Nils Wanderer

Countertenor
Winner of the 2022 Bundeswettbewerb Gesang and second prize winner of the world’s most prestigious opera competition “Operalia” in 2022, Nils Wanderer has been hailed for his “beautiful, dark, well developed, and ambercolored voice” (Ôlyrix). 2024/25 season highlights include a performance as Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Staatstheater Hannover, Tolomeo in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the Opéra National du Capitole, Sorceress/Spirit in Dido and Aeneas at Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin as part of his artist residency with the theatre, Athamas in Handel’s Semele at the Atlanta Opera, and Mary Sunshine in the musical Chicago at the Komische Oper Berlin. In 2025/26, Mr. Wanderer will make his Metropolitan Opera debut as Leonardo in El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, and his Glyndebourne debut as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Tytania：Sydney Mancasola

Soprano
American soprano Sydney Mancasola is quickly establishing herself as one of the most engaging singing actresses of her generation. Previously a member of Oper Frankfurt’s prestigious ensemble, she has appeared on the world’s major stages including the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Paris Opera, Frankfurt Opera, and English National Opera. This season, she makes house debuts at Lyric Opera of Chicago as Marzelline Fidelio, Dutch National Opera as Adele Die Fledermaus, and Opera Nice Côte d’Azur as Pamina Die Zauberflöte. She performed Tytania A Midsummer Night’s Dream last season at the Fondazione Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa and at the Royal Opera House Muscat. Highlights of her 2025/26 season include Lisa La sonnambula for the Metropolitan Opera, Susanna Le nozze di Figaro for Atlanta Opera and Pamina Die Zauberflöte for Los Angeles Opera.

Puck：Faith Prendergast

Faith Prendergast began dancing at the age of three at a local dance school in Colorado, USA. As a teenager, she took an interest in contemporary dance and improvisation and went on to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Summer Lee Rhatigan. From there, she went on to study at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London. She has gone on to freelance in dance, theatre, and opera in the UK and Europe, working with directors and choreographers including Laurent Pelly, Simon McBurney, Oona Doherty, Damiano Bigi/Alessandra Paoletti (Fritz Company), Ballo Arthur Pita, Protein Dance (Luca Silvestrini), Jodie Cole, Sarah Shorten (Stacked Wonky), Sally Marie (Sweetshop Revolution), Joel O’Donoghue, Leila McMillan, and Viv Wood. Additionally, she has helped to found Margate Movement Artists: a group of movers in Margate, Kent dedicated to bring dance to the region.

Theseus：Dingle Yandell

Bass-Baritone
British bass-baritone Dingle Yandell studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio. He was one of the inaugural “Rising Stars” of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and a founder member of the award-winning British vocal ensemble Voces8, with whom he toured internationally for ten years. In the 2024/25 season he makes his English National Opera debut as Colline in La bohème and Japanese debut as Commendatore in Don Giovanni with the prestigious Bach Collegium Japan. A regular guest at Glyndebourne, he returns there this summer in a new production of Parsifal. On the concert platform, he sings Handel’s Messiah with Ulster Consort, Schütz and Praetorius selections with Arcangelo, and Bach’s St. John Passion with the Academy of Ancient Music. He is a recipient of a Sybil Tutton Opera Award administered by Help Musicians UK.

Hippolyta：Clare Presland

Mezzo-Soprano
Current & future engagements for Clare Presland include Pia in the world premiere of Turnage’s Festen Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mrs. Sedley Peter Grimes Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Page Salome, Aksinya/Convict Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk, Auntie Peter Grimes Staatsoper Hamburg, Ligeti’s Requiem London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Proms, Dani Howard’s one-woman show Yellow Wallpaper (world premiere) Copenhagen Festival & Opera Nova Festival, Prague. Recent performances include Queen of Hearts in Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, a co-production with Royal Opera House Covent Garden & Irish National Opera, Aksinya Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Opera de Lyon, Hermia A Midsummer Night’s Dream, English National Opera, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Japan, Hippolyta Opéra de Lille and concerts at the Wigmore Hall, London. She trained at Guildhall School of Music & Drama and is a Chilcott Award winner.

Lysander：David Portillo

Tenor
American tenor David Portillo, winner of the 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and praised by Opera News for “high notes with ease, singing with a luxuriant warm glow that seduced the ear as he bounded about the stage with abandon,” has established himself as a leading classical singer of his generation. In the 2024/25 season, Mr. Portillo will sing Tamino in Die Zauberflöte holiday presentation at the Metropolitan Opera, the roles of Natura, Pane, and Furia in La Calisto at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Dr. Richardson in Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves at Houston Grand Opera, Bénédict in Béatrice et Bénédict with Irish National Opera, Bajazet in Handel’s Tamerlano with Haymarket Opera in Chicago, and in concert, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Antonio Symphony and Septimius in Handel’s Theodora with Dame Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque.

Demetrius：Samuel Dale Johnson

Baritone
Australian baritone Samuel Dale Johnson has established a reputation as one of the leading young baritones of today. This season, he will return to his native country to make debuts with Opera Australia and State Opera of South Australia. In addition, he will return to the Melbourne Symphony and make his debut with the Kymi Sinfonietta in Finland. From 2017–23, he was a member of the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin where his recent roles included Escamillo in Carmen, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the title role in Don Giovanni, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Marcello in La bohème. Other recent highlights include house debuts with Opéra de Rouen Normandie and the Glyndebourne Festival, and a concert debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.

Hermia：Nina van Essen

Mezzo-Soprano
Dutch mezzo-soprano Nina van Essen is making a rapid career on both international opera stages and concert halls. Previously a member of Staatsoper Hannover’s acclaimed ensemble, some of her many roles in Hannover included: Ruggiero from Alcina, Rosina from Il barbiere di Siviglia, Hänsel from Hänsel und Gretel, Dorabella from Così fan tutte, Romeo from I Capuleti e I Montecchi, Cherubino from Le nozze di Figaro, Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice, kitchen boy in Rusalka, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
In May 2025, she made her debut at Theatre des Champs-Elysées and Teatro alla Scala with Les Talens Lyrique, conducted by Christophe Rousset singing the role of Arbate in Mitridate, re di Ponto and in November 2025, she will make her Teatro alla Scala debut as Dorabella in a new production directed by Robert Carsen.

Helena：Louise Kemény

Soprano
A graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, British-Austrian singer Louise Kemény has been praised for her “warm timbred” (FAZ) lyric soprano with “brilliant coloraturas” (Das Opernglas). Most recent opera engagements include house debuts at Vlaamse Opera and Theater Basel as Agathe/Der Freischütz, at Garsington Opera as Sifare/Mitridate, at Theater an der Wien in a Purcell pastiche, at Opernhaus Zürich in a staged production of Monteverdi Madrigals, at Opéra de Lille as Helena/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as Seleuce/Tolomeo at Händelfestspiele Karlsruhe and the title role of Agrippina at Theater Bonn. In concert, she has performed works ranging from the Bach Passions to music of the 20th century with ensembles including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Concerto Köln and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.

Bottom：David Ireland

Bass-Baritone
Bass-baritone David Ireland is an alumnus of the Guildhall School of Music and the National Opera Studio (London) and was a Harewood Artist at English National Opera. Now much in demand across Europe, recent appearances include Bottom A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opéra de Lausanne), Figaro Le nozze di Figaro (English National Opera; Garsington Opera), Quince A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opéra de Lille; Opera Carlo Felice Genoa), Kecal The Bartered Bride (Garsington Opera), Melot Tristan und Isolde (Opéra de Lille) and Gessler Guillaume Tell (Irish National Opera). Current and future plans include Baron Douphol La traviata (Grand Théâtre de Genève), Bottom A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville), Alidoro La Cenerentola (English National Opera), plus debuts at both the Opéra de Dijon and Opera national du Rhin, Strasbourg.

Quince：Barnaby Rea

Bass
Recent and future engagements for Barnaby Rea include Hobson Peter Grimes, Erster Handwerksbursche Wozzeck and Grenvil La traviata Royal Opera House Covent Garden, David Riccio Mary, Queen of Scots English National Opera, Don Iñigo Gomez L’heure espagnole Enescu Festival, Bottom A Midsummer Night’s Dream Oper Frankfurt and Des Moines Metro Opera, Konrad Nachtigall Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Teatro Real Madrid and Oper Frankfurt, Quince A Midsummer Night’s Dream Opéra de Lausanne and Opéra de Rouen, Baron Zeta Die lustige Witwe Oper Frankfurt, Ratzekahl Irrelohe Opéra de Lyon, Sparafucile Rigoletto Oper Frankfurt and ENO, Truffaldin Ariadne auf Naxos Edinburgh Festival and Oper Frankfurt, Poseidon Die Odyssee Oper Zürich, Hobson Teatro Real and Oper Frankfurt, Snug A Midsummer Night’s Dream Deutsche Oper Berlin, Colline Opera North, Opera de Guatemala and ENO, Lodovico Otello ENO, Mityukha Boris Godunov Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

Flute：Glen Cunningham

Tenor
This season, Scottish tenor Glen Cunningham performed the title role of Albert Herring at Scottish Opera with performances at the Lammermuir Festival, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. He reprised Nick The Handmaid’s Tale (Theater Freiburg), debuted in Switzerland as Snout A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opéra de Lausanne), and returned to Opéra national du Rhin as Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd. He joined Orchestre National de Mulhouse as the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Mass in C minor and performed recitals alongside Stéphane Degout in Strasbourg, London, and Paris. His debut album My Heart’s in the Highlands accompanied by Anna Tilbrook was also released worldwide on Delphian Records. Projects for season 25/26 include Gabriel in the world premiere of Hagar with Nederlandse Reisopera, First Judge Das Wunder der Heliane and Don Basilio Le nozze di Figaro, both at Opéra national du Rhin.
Website: https://www.glencunningham.com

Snug：Patrick Guetti

Bass
Bass Patrick Guetti, praised by The Washington Post as a “standout whose sound was warm and rich,” is a featured ensemble member at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where his performances in the 2024/25 season include debuts as Il Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlo), Daland (Der fliegende Holländer), and Geisterbote (Die Frau ohne Schatten), as well as Sarastro, Sparafucile, and the Commendatore.
He has appeared with opera companies worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Glyndebourne Festival, among others. In concert, he has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and National Symphony Orchestra.
A graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts, Guetti was a grand prize winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and represented the US in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

Snout：Alasdair Elliott

Tenor
One of Europe’s leading character tenors, Alasdair Elliott’s acclaimed portrayals include such roles as Mime (Der Ring); Pong (Turandot); Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte); Red Whiskers (Billy Budd); Gamekeeper (Rusalka); Bardolpho and Dr. Caius (Falstaff); Goro (Madama Butterfly) Innkeeper (Der Rosenkavalier); and Beppe (Pagliacci) for opera houses worldwide including the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Teatro Real, De Nederlandse Opera, La Monnaie, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Seattle Opera, and Israeli Opera. He performs regularly in concert with the London Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchestre des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Munich), Radio Filharmonisch Orkest (Amsterdam), Hallé Orchestra, and at the BBC London Promenade Concerts. His recording of Falstaff (Dr. Caius) for LSO Live under Sir Colin Davis won a Grammy in 2005.

Starveling：Alex Otterburn

Baritone
Alex Otterburn’s recent engagements include Ned Keene Peter Grimes (Teatro la Fenice, English National Opera), Count Danilo The Merry Widow (Scottish Opera), James Stewart Mary, Queen of Scots, Schaunard La bohème, Pluto Orpheus in the Underworld (ENO), Morales Carmen, Cascada The Merry Widow (Glyndebourne Festival Opera), Starveling A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opéra de Lausanne, Glyndebourne), and Zweiter Handwerksbursche Wozzeck (Royal Ballet and Opera). Previous highlights include Eddy Greek for Scottish Opera, which toured to Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Chip On The Town (Hyogo Performing Arts Centre, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Japan) under artistic director Yutaka Sado. He trained as an Emerging Artist for Scottish Opera and was a Harewood Artist for English National Opera.