Harewood Artists
Each Harewood Artist undertakes a programme of vocal and language training, is coached by experts in their repertoire and is fully supported through auditions for career-building performance opportunities with ENO, around the UK and abroad.
Current and past Harewood Artists will be either singing or covering in all of our 2019/20 productions.
The programme is led by members of the ENO Casting and Music team who oversee the programme and ensure that its members receive a variety of training, including coaching sessions with ENO’s Head of Vocal Coaching & Development, Jane Robinson, consultant coach Michael Pollock, and ENO music staff.
In addition, Harewood Artists may receive dramatic, movement, performance psychology and language coaching, as well as opportunities to learn from distinguished artists and leading figures from the operatic world, including Ann Murray DBE, Harry Bicket, Sir John Tomlinson, Sir Thomas Allen, John Fisher, Julia Faulkner and Anne Evans.
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The Harewood Artists for 2019/20 are:
- Claire Barnett-Jones (The Mask of Orpheus)
- Nadine Benjamin (Luisa Miller, Rusalka)
- Katie Coventry (The Mask of Orpheus, Rusalka)
- Matthew Durkan (Carmen)
- John Findon (Carmen, Rusalka)
- David Ireland (The Mask of Orpheus)
- Elgan Llŷr Thomas (The Mikado, Carmen)
- Soraya Mafi (Orpheus and Eurydice, The Mikado)
- William Morgan (The Mask of Orpheus, Orphée)
- Idunnu Münch (Orpheus in the Underworld, Rusalka)
- Alex Otterburn (Orpheus in the Underworld, Carmen)
- Rowan Pierce (The Marriage of Figaro)
- Samantha Price (Carmen)
- Božidar Smiljanic (The Marriage of Figaro)
- Katie Stevenson (The Mask of Orpheus, Madam Butterfly, Rusalka)
- Nardus Williams (Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro)
History of the programme
The programme was established in 1998 as a means of providing a full-time training and performance scheme for talented singers at the beginning of their careers. This allowed them to continue their technical development within the professional environment of a repertory opera company.
Former Harewood Artists include Sophie & Mary Bevan, Allan Clayton, Nicky Spence, Elizabeth Llewellyn, Elizabeth Watts, Iain Paterson, Leigh Melrose and Sarah Tynan.
The name honours the long-standing support and leadership of the company by Lord Harewood, whose work at ENO spanned over 40 years. He made a huge contribution to ENO, and opera in general, during his remarkable life as Managing Director, Chairman and latterly President of ENO, and in overseeing the creation of Opera North.
Funding the Programme
The programme costs over £360,000 a year to deliver and is funded entirely through individual donations.
Three of our Harewood Artists are generously supported through Fellowships:
- Matthew Durkan – supported by the Nicholas John Fellowship
- Soraya Mafi – supported by the Bruce Tollis Fellowship
- Rowan Pierce – supported by the Mills Williams Foundation Fellowship
Sir John Tomlinson Fellowship
In 2019, a new fellowship named after Sir John Tomlinson has been founded. This new Fellowship will support our singers with dramatic, movement, performance psychology and language coaching, as well as opportunities to learn from distinguished artists and leading figures from the operatic world.
Each year, Sir John himself will select an ENO Harewood Artist as the recipient of this fellowship.
The Mikado Gala Performance in October 2019 raised funds for this Fellowship.
We are delighted to announce that the inaugural recipient of the Sir John Tomlinson Fellowship is Claire Barnett-Jones, one of our newest Harewood Artists who is currently performing in The Mask of Orpheus. Sir John presented Claire with the award at the end of the Gala performance.
We would like to thank our generous supporters, whose donations make this programme possible.
Meet the Harewood Artists of 2019/20
Find out a bit more about the 16 Harewood Artists of our 2019/20 season.