Maria Wotherspoon
Originally from a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, soprano Maria Wotherspoon is currently a BMus4 Vocal Studies student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, under the tutelage of Mandy McCormack. Maria has been making music since she was young and has nurtured this through participating in several of the NYCoS National Youth Choirs of Scotland (2018-2021), as well as the Junior Conservatoire of Scotland (2019-21). Maria was a member of the Scottish Opera Young Company from 2021-2024, and through this performed in Rubble (2022), Maud (2023), and premiered the lead role in RED (2024). Throughout her time at the RCS, Maria has competed in numerous competitions, including the Norma Grieg French Song Prize and the Leonie Kayser Prize for Singing, performed in numerous masterclasses with professionals, including Nicky Spence and Malcolm Martineau, and in October 2024 she performed in the 10th Birthday Festival of The Cumnock Tryst, patroned by Sir James MacMillan. Maria has also performed with the Alexander Gibson Opera School in their opera scenes (including Carmen and Don Pasquale), and most recently performed in their production of Die Zauberflöte. Maria is very much looking forward to participating in the 2025 Waterperry Young Artist Programme this Summer, before commencing her Masters in Vocal Performance.
Maximilian Catalano
Maximilian Catalano is a British/Italian baritone studying a Master's at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with David Pollard.
Having completed a Politics degree at Cardiff University, he decided to pursue a career in classical singing, so joined GSMD.
Maximilian made his operatic debut in Aylesbury Opera's 'La Bohème' as Schaunard and has performed in Regent's Opera's 'Götterdämmerung" and Opera Holland Parks 'The Flying Dutchman' as chorus.
He has also had the honour of debuting Haydn's 'The Creation' in India as Raffael and Adam.
Maximilian is also part of the SongEasle Young Artist Program for 2024/25.
Clementine Thompson
Hailing from South London, soprano Clementine Thompson currently studies with Elizabeth Ritchie at the Royal Northern College of Music. She previously studied at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Jean-Claude Ohms. Last year, she originated the role of the ‘Philosopher’ in David Bicarregui’s opera ‘Capsule’, other roles include Bastienne, Alison The Wandering Scholar (Fenwold Opera), Belinda (RCMJD) and scenes as Aspasia, Titania and Ora 2 L’Egisto.
Clementine was awarded the Pamela Hart Third Prize in the Kathleen Ferrier Society Bursary Competition last October and has received the RNCM Elsie Thurston, James Martin Oncken and Alexander Young Prizes alongside the David Clover Festival of Singing German Lied prize. In concert she has appeared as part of the Wimbledon International Music Festival in Handel’s Jephtha, with the Manchester Bach Choir and in recital with Dame Emma Kirkby. She was in the chorus for Rimsky Korsakoff’s The Snow Maiden and Bernstein’s Mass (RNCM) and joined the Edvard Grieg Kor at the BBC Proms for Ligeti’s Requiem.
Recently, Clementine has been exploring folk music in Ventis Vocal Ensemble, introducing world folk music to Manchester audiences. She also sings with the Mancunium Consort and is a Scholar with the Diocese of Manchester.
Emyr Wyn Jones
Receiving widespread acclaim in 2024, he began 2025 reprising his role as Papageno
The Magic Flute (Opera North) before Dulcamara [cover] L’Elisir D’amore (Garsington Festival), Leporello Don Giovanni (Waterperry Festival) and Dulcamara The Elixir of Love, Collatinus The Rape of Lucretia (English Touring Opera). Previously: Basilio The Barber of Seville (Scottish Opera), Banquo Macbeth (Mid Wales Opera), Messenger Oedipus Rex (Scottish Opera/ Edinburgh International Festival), Zuniga [cover] Carmen (Glyndebourne Festival) and Jacopo Loredano I Due Foscari at Cadogan Hall (Chelsea Opera Group).
Due for release in 2026, he appears as both Wil and Dr Rees in an Opera-Film Un Nos Ola Leuad (One Moonlit Night) based on the popular Welsh novel. Produced and created by Channel 4 Films, Opra Cymru and Severn Screen, it will be the first ever Welsh Language feature broadcast on British Television.
From Aberdare in the South Wales Valleys, he is an alumnus of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and National Opera Studio. While training he was awarded the RWCMD Ian Stoutzker Prize, Dame Shirley Bassey Vocal Award, and HRH Prince of Wales Scholarship.
Talia Stern
Talia is a French-American opera director, joining the Jette Parker Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House in the 2025/26 season. She is interested in creating bold and physical theatre that challenges the boundaries of the operatic form. She has a Master’s with Distinction in Opera Directing from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and a Bachelor's in English with Film from King’s College London. She also has a diploma in Opera Directing from the Accademia Europea di Firenze. Recent productions include the award-nominated The Rape of Lucretia (British Youth Opera), for which she was selected as BYO’s first trainee director, Der Schauspieldirektor (David Seligman Opera School), Opera Scenes (Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama), and the short film Palimpsest (co-production with Opera Fuoco and American Embassy of Paris). As assistant director, Stern has worked on Il turco in Italia at Glyndebourne and will assist on Le nozze di Figaro in Summer 2025. She has also assisted on The Makropulos Affair at Scottish Opera and Death in Venice at Welsh National Opera. She will be making her Royal House Debut directing the Jette Parker Artists’ Three Chamber Operas in Spring 2026.
Phil Wilcox
Phil Wilcox has never been one for musical monogamy. A baritone with a passion for versatility, he is equally at home on the opera stage and in concert halls, shaping a career that weaves together opera, oratorio, choral conducting, and education leadership.
He has performed with English Touring Opera, Grange Park Opera, Opera Holland Park Inspire, Waterperry Opera, Devon Opera, and Buxton International Festival, bringing characters to life in roles ranging from Alcindoro (La Bohème) and Gianni Schicchi to Sir Thomas Bertram (Mansfield Park, Dove) and Major General Stanley (The Pirates of Penzance).
A seasoned concert soloist, Phil has lent his expressive voice to Verdi’s Requiem, Bach’s Passions, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, performing with ensembles including Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, Manchester Bach Choir, and St Martin-in-the-Fields.
He has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and New York, given recitals for Oxford Lieder and Wigmore Hall, and sung as a chorister with Opera North, the BBC Singers, and the Philharmonia Chorus.
Phil conducts several choirs and as Learning and Participation Manager for Leeds Song, he champions art song in schools and community settings, a role he takes great pride in. As an animateur and performer in education, he has collaborated with English National Opera and The Royal Opera on a range of projects.
Edmund Danon
Edmund studied at the Royal Academy of Music and National Opera Studio supported by the Glyndebourne New Generation Programme and Peter and Helen Blumer.
He has performed roles for the Royal Opera, LA Philharmonic, Glyndebourne, Northern Ireland Opera, English Touring Opera and Southbank Centre including two world premieres.
2025 sees him returning to the Royal Opera, English Touring Opera, Waterperry Opera Festival, and his debut with Longborough Festival Opera.
Michael Lafferty
British Tenor, Michael Lafferty, is a dynamic artist, praised for the “melting warmth” of his voice, and “demonstrable affection and involvement” of his performances. (Opera Today - Hurn Court Opera recital, Salisbury Arts Centre, Nov ‘19). Michael studied at the Opera School at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the tutelage of David Pollard where he was generously supported by The Behrens Foundation, The Drake Calleja Trust and Countess of Munster Musical Trust. Prior to his studies at Guildhall, Michael studied at Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin under the tutelage of Thomas Quasthoff.
He has had success in numerous competitions, with highlights including First prizes at the AESS Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition 2021, the Guildhall English Song Prize 2021, and the Freda Parry Foundation Competition 2017. Other successes include finalist for the 2021 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, finalist for the GSMD Gold Medal 2023 at the Barbican, and winner of the ‘Prix Andre-Bacand Prize’ for ‘Best Canadian work’ at the CMIM Competition 2022 in Montreal. Concert and recital performance highlights include Schumann’s ‘Requiem für Mignon’ as a soloist under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner for Salzurger Festpiele 2021, Handel’s Messiah for Academy of St.Martin in the Fields, and a recital for the Oxford Lieder 2023 festival.
Michael’s operatic stage debut was in 2018 as Tarquinius for Trinity Laban’s The Rape of Lucretia. Since then, Michael has made his debut in the role of Officer in Glyndebourne Festival Opera's 2023 production of Dialogues des Carmélites (Poulenc), working with Barrie Kosky and Robin Ticciati. He has also performed the roles of Joseph de Rocher (Dead Man Walking, J.Heggie) for GSMD Opera and Black (Black el Payaso, Sorozábal) for Grimeborn festival 2022, a role for which he was nominated as a finalist for the OffWestEnd Awards.
John Wilkie
John Wilkie’s productions have been staged internationally. He is the Artistic Director at New Zealand Festival Opera, is a founding member of Opera Bohemia in his native Scotland, and is a stagecraft tutor at The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio.
His production of Il segreto di Susanna at Opera Holland Park earned a nomination in the ‘Best Production’ category at the 2021 International Opera Awards.
Other directing and revival director credits include: Gianni Schicchi / Dido and Aeneas, Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci, The Cunning Little Vixen, Die Zauberflöte, La traviata (New Zealand Festival Opera), The Bear, Hansel and Gretel (Opera Holland Park), Polifemo (Opéra de Lille), Fedora (If Opera), The Barber of Seville (Waterperry Opera Festival), La Cenerentola (Danish National Opera), Trouble in Tahiti (Den Fynske Opera), Orfeo (Classical Opera), La tragédie de Carmen (Popup Opera), Die Fledermaus (Wilton’s Music Hall), La bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, Madama Butterfly, Eugene Onegin, and The Merry Widow (Opera Bohemia).
Jonathan Dove
HONORARY PATRON
Since 2019, British composer Jonathan Dove has been Honorary Patron of Waterperry Opera Festival. In that time, the Festival has produced several of Dove’s works, most notably its acclaimed production of Mansfield Park. Jonathan Dove is one of the most performed living opera composers, with a career spanning over 30 operatic works. His breakthrough opera Flight (1998), commissioned by Glyndebourne, has had over 30 productions worldwide, while The Monster in the Maze and Tobias and the Angel demonstrate his commitment to community music-making, involving both professional and amateur performers. Dove’s understanding of the voice is evident in his choral and orchestral works, including A Song of Joys and Gaia Theory, which reflect his accessible, optimistic style. A 2008 Ivor Novello Award recipient and a CBE in 2019, Dove’s music continues to inspire audiences globally, with works such as In Exile (2021) and Gaspard’s Foxtrot engaging new generations of listeners.
Vivian Stolt
GENERAL MANAGER
Vivian is the General Manager of Waterperry Opera Festival. With a strong dedication to the business of classical music and opera, and a proven track record in managing the strategic, financial, and operational dimensions of classical music and arts festivals, Vivian is deeply driven by strategic growth, financial sustainability, and operational excellence as they pertain to arts organisations.
Vivian holds a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Columbia University, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar, as well as Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music from the Sibelius Academy in Finland and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
Vivian has built an accomplished and versatile career working with arts organizations across Finland and internationally, most recently acting as the Managing Director of the Finnish Kamarikesä Chamber Music Festival, leading the 20-year-old festival to record-breaking growth in operations, audience engagement, fundraising, and revenue while fostering partnerships with companies including Lexus Luxury Vehicles, the Finnish National Museum, and the Helsinki and Stockholm Houses of Nobility. Previously, she has also held operational leadership roles at the Mänttä Music Festival and KesäVirrat Soi Festival.
Past experiences internationally include positions at the Metropolitan Opera’s Executive Office, as well as at the Development Departments of New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater. She has also contributed to the 2024 International Performing Arts Society Conference and volunteered with the Metropolitan Opera’s Youth Engagement programs, supporting initiatives such as the Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition and Access Opera: Guild Open Rehearsals for Students.
In Finland, she remains actively involved with the Finnish String Academy, which provides extracurricular education for exceptionally gifted young musicians, and serves on the Board of the Helsinki-based Lauttasaari Music Festival.
As a professional violinist, Vivian has performed with nearly all of Finland’s leading symphony orchestras, including the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.
Driven by a strong vision and committed to support Waterperry Opera Festival in achieving its strategic and operational goals, Vivian firmly believes in the next generation's ability to reshape and redefine the world of opera and classical music, driving a more dynamic, business driven and globally connected industry while expanding its reach to broader and more diverse audiences than ever before. Agility, ambition, innovation, and a commitment to opera and classical music on the highest level are values that define her leadership and career so far.
Outside of work, Vivian enjoys her newfound love for boxing and dreams of one day running the London Marathon. She loves a good book, great food and, of course, opera. Her favorite opera is Strauss’s masterpiece “Salome”.
Rebecca Meltzer
CO- DIRECTOR OF YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAMME
Rebecca Meltzer is one of the founding directors of the Waterperry Opera Festival and now runs their acclaimed Young Artist Programme alongside Ashley Beauchamp (Head of Music). As an Opera Director, Movement Director and Choreographer her work is celebrated for its honest storytelling and physically driven agenda. She has worked with companies across the UK and internationally including the Royal Opera, Scottish Opera, Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park, Buxton International Festival, Wexford Festival and New Zealand Opera. Notable credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (BBC Proms/Garsington), Andrea Chénier (Theatre St Galen), Vanessa (Spoletto Festival) and Mala Vita & L’oracollo (Wexford Festival). For WOF she has directed The Turn of the Screw, Svadba, Ariel, Hansel and Gretel and Mansfield Park. Alongside her work as an opera creative, Rebecca is a passionate educator having taught in conservatoires across the UK. She is also an avid landscape painter and recently exhibited work with the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Galleries in London.
Sue Wilkinson OBE
TRUSTEE
Sue has held a number of prominent roles within arts and education. She was Chief Executive of The Reading Agency from January 2014-19. Prior to that she was Director of UK, Academic and Government Alliances at Elsevier and Director of Policy at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. Sue read History at Clare College Cambridge, trained as a teacher and did a post-graduate certificate course in museum education. She was awarded an MBE for services to education and museums and an OBE for services to literature and libraries.
Sebastian Munden
TRUSTEE
Sebastian Munden is Chair of environmental NGO WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme), which partners businesses and governments globally, promoting the circular economy, and tackling the causes of climate change, waste and pollution in the food, consumer products and textile systems. He is also Chair of Ad Net Zero, the advertising industry’s global programme to deliver net zero ways of working and promote more sustainable behaviours, products, and services. Sebastian was chief executive of Unilever UK & Ireland until 2022. With 32 years’ experience in FMCG, he held senior roles in Unilever across Europe and North America, was leader of the Laundry Category for Europe & ANZ, and head of Global Marketing Operations. He is a passionate supporter of classical music, Harlequins rugby club and vegetarian cooking.
Roger Dix
TREASURER/TRUSTEE
Roger joined the board of trustees as Treasurer in late 2021. Professionally, he worked in Life Insurance, most recently as a Chief Risk Officer of a small life office, and is an actuary by profession. He is also is active in progressing the Inclusion and Diversity agenda, acting as mentor, adviser and lecturer, playing his part in delivering better outcomes to all. In addition to a love of Opera and Lieder he is a keen skier and baker, being the proud recipient of several local horticultural show trophies for his endeavours.
John Meltzer
TRUSTEE
John is a lawyer with many years of experience acting for companies and trade associations in international litigation and the management of corporate legal risk. He was a partner in the law firm Hogan Lovells International for over 25 years. He is a student and teacher in the School of Philosophy and Economic Science, which owns Waterperry House and Gardens, and has an interest in promoting the value of philosophy in improving our day to day lives and addressing the challenges of modern society. John serves on the board of several charities in the education and arts sectors.
Jeremy Young
TRUSTEE
Jeremy qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand. His career has focused on Finance and IT, and he has extensive project, programme and change management experience. He was Finance Director for DHL’s Global IT Division, Chief Operating Officer at Bibendum Wine Ltd, and worked as a consultant for Price Waterhouse and as an independent. He is now following his passion for opera and music both as a documentary film producer, and as a supporter of the arts.
Howard Gatiss
TRUSTEE
Howard Gatiss grew up in York and graduated in Economics from Trinity College, Cambridge. His career in the energy industry has given him the opportunity to live in countries as diverse as Colombia, Vietnam, China and Ireland. He was for fifteen years a Trustee of Saigon Children’s Charity (SCC), the last seven years as Chairman. SCC is a small charity which works to alleviate poverty in Vietnam by trying to ensure that all children have access to full-time education. His interest in opera was kindled by seeing Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea whilst still at school. He is a strong supporter of the festivals in Sarasota and Glimmerglass, a Champion of Irish National Opera, and on the Board of Opera North. Travel to these houses contributes to the 90 or so operas he sees each year.
Giles Bethule
TRUSTEE
Giles joined our Board of Trustees in May 2023. His enthusiasm for opera was sparked by seeing a performance of Pelléas et Mélisande in 2018. He first came to Waterperry in 2021 and was bowled over by its mission and vision. A PR specialist by profession, Giles is an Associate Director at FGS Global – a premier strategic communications firm – where he advises public and private companies on M&A, IPOs, crises, litigation, internal communications, and corporate positioning. He founded Cast & Lane, a fashion company focused on elegant casual wear for men, in 2021 and has built a strong and engaged community of customers spanning some 20 countries globally. Giles holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the London School of Economics, where he graduated as a Simon Morris Scholar and winner of several mooting competitions.