Blog

We are thrilled to be working with this brilliant group of people this summer on our brand new adaptation of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love. We’re delighted to be working with some new people as well as welcoming back some friendly faces!

Welcome to our brilliant team!

Abigail Kelly – Adina

Born and raised in Birmingham, Abigail studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire graduating with a first class honours degree and continued her studies at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire of Scotland.

Whilst Abigail’s more traditional operatic roles include Pamina – The Magic Flute (OperaUpClose) and Susanna – The Marriage of Figaro (ETO), Abigail particularly enjoys highlighting the works of composers of African and Caribbean backgrounds and has performed in many one-woman-operas by composer Dr Shirley Thompson OBE including Sacred Mountain at the Tête-à- Tête festival and in Kingston, Jamaica and Women of the Windrush at the Barbican.

Abigail facilitates workshops in conjunction with Birmingham Opera Company, Streetwise Opera and The Royal Ballet and Opera as part of their Create and Sing national school’s programme. She is an advocate for encouraging young voices in classical music and recently took on the role of Vocal Lead for National Youth Choir of Great Britain during their Spring residential course and Lead Artist for Ark Birmingham Secondary Schools Choir.

Abigail directs operas for children and learning disabled audiences including How to Find Your Name for ETO 2022, devised performances for Turtle Key Arts in 2022 and 2023 and the YAM Award winning children’s opera The Wish Gatherer for ETO in 2023 and The Wellies in 2024. Abigail has directed two pieces by Cassie Kinoshi and lydia luke for Birmingham Opera Company as part of their ‘Brum Commissions’ project 2023. In 2024 Abigail was Festival Director for Streetwise Opera’s Re:Discover Festival which won an RPS Impact award in 2025.

Jonathan Cooke – Nemorino

Jonathan Cooke is a versatile tenor, equally comfortable on the operatic stage, concert platform, and choral circuit. He graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) in 2015. Whilst studying, Jonathan sang the roles of Ruggero in Puccini’s La Rondine, Tamino The Magic Flute and Le Mari in Poulenc’s surreal one act opera Les Mamelles de Tiresias. Since moving to London, Jonathan’s operatic roles have been many and varied, though recently he has been focussing on the larger lyric roles, including Don Jose Carmen (Various companies), Rodolfo La Boheme (cover, Mid Wales Opera), Hoffmann The Tales of Hoffmann (Kentish Opera), Pinkerton Madame Butterfly (Opera Up Close), and Cavaradossi Tosca (Various companies) On the concert platform, some of Jonathan’s notable performances have been Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings and St. Nicolas, Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle and Elgar Dream of Gerontius.

Engagements this spring and summer include Dream of Gerontius (Guildford Cathedral & Johanneskirche, Düsseldorf), Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle (St Joseph’s College, Reading), Eisenstein die Fledermaus (Stag Theatre, Seven oaks), Verdi Requiem (St Martin-in-the-Fields & The Anvil, Basingstoke), and Elgar The Kingdom (Shrewsbury Abbey).

For more information, visit www.jonathancooketenor.com.

Jack Holton – Belcore

Baritone Jack Holton was a 2022/23 National Opera Studio Young Artist, and is currently a Young Artist with Opera Prelude and the Musicians Company. Notable awards include the Musicians’ Company 2022 Saloman Seelig Award and a Help Musicians UK Sybil Tutton Opera Award (2022 and 2021). He was also awarded the Anne Pashley and Gita Furber awards at GSMD for the academic year 2020/21, and has been an Opera Awards Foundation bursary award winner.

His roles in the last year include Julian (alternate) in The Fabulist at Charing Cross Theatre, and Fiorello in The Barber of Seville and Captor in Tosca at Opera Holland Park. He also sang at the 2024 International Opera Awards ceremony at Bayerische Staatsoper. Jack has recently played Henri in The Runaway Royal and Guglielmo (cover) in Così fan tutte at Opera North, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte for Baseless Fabric, and Count Ribbing in Un Ballo in Maschera for Chelsea Opera Group.

Other notable roles include La Poigne in Margot la Rouge, Count Anckarström in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera (Opera Holland Park [Young Artist]), Sky Masterson in Loesser’s Guys and Dolls (West Green House Opera), the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Rogue Opera, The Merry Opera Company), the title role in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (Oxford Alternative Orchestra/The People’s Opera).

In Spring 2025, Jack covered the roles of Ned Keane in Peter Grimes and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, as well as perform Count Almaviva in Figaro Cwta, an abridged version of the opera designed to introduce newcomers to opera, for school groups and music service groups, all at Welsh National Opera. This Autumn Jack will play Maximilian in Candide for WNO.

Jack also frequently leads workshops independently and with the Musicians Company in primary and secondary schools, and works with Opera Holland Park’s Inspire programme.

Jack is represented by Musichall Ltd.

Peter Edge – Dulcamara

Shropshire-born baritone Peter Edge is an Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Rising Star. He was a finalist in the 2025 London Handel Festival Singing Competition, the runner up of the 2024 London Bach Singers Prize, winner of the John Kerr Award for English Song and the International Medal at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. As a principal artist, Peter has enjoyed seasons with English Touring Opera, Longborough Festival Opera, The Grange Festival, Hampstead Garden Opera, and Opera North. Peter made his role debut with The Royal Opera in the 2024/25 Season in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti/A Quiet Place and returned to perform in Verdi’s Aida.

Philippa Mo – Violin

Philippa studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing and performs extensively as a soloist worldwide. Solo tours have taken her to Australia, Brazil, China, Turkey Mongolian and Kazakhstan. She is a member of UPROAR Wales New Music Ensemble.

Concerto appearances include Piazzolla’s Four Seasons, Leeds, McCabe’s Les Martinets Noirs, Sweden, Dvorak Concerto, Exeter Cathedral and Colin Riley’s Stream-Shine, Ely Cathedral. Philippa has released critically acclaimed recordings for NMC, Dutton and Nimbus labels. Awarded Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, she won the Future Classic Women Awards 2020.

She is represented by Agrippina Concert Agency in Germany and is Artistic Director of the Richmond Chamber Orchestra in Yorkshire. www.philippamo.london

Yuliia Humeniuk – Accordion

Yuliia is an accomplished Ukrainian accordionist with an international career spanning solo performance, chamber music, and cross-genre collaborations.

She began playing the accordion at the age of seven in Ukraine. Between 2014 and 2018, she studied at Kherson Music College, performing as a soloist with the folk ensemble Vencerada on both accordion and cimbalom, touring in Ukraine and Lithuania.

From 2018 to 2022, Yuliia studied at Kharkiv National University of Arts, performing internationally with ensembles in India and Turkey.

Since moving to London in 2022, she has quickly become part of the UK music scene, performing at venues including the Royal Albert Hall (Youth Prom 2022), the House of Lords, Guildhall, and Drapers’ Hall. She also performed alongside Eurovision 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder.

During her Erasmus program in Italy (2023–2024), she co-founded the accordion quartet Harmonikós, winning the Chamber Music Competition in Ischia in 2024.

Yuliia has developed her artistry through masterclasses with renowned accordionists such as Giuseppe Scigliano, Ksenija Sidorova, and Raimondas Sviackevičius. Since 2024, she has been studying for her Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she actively engages in chamber projects, including a performance at the Courtauld Gallery in 2025.

Recent highlights include performing in The Dowager’s Oyster operetta, joining London Concertante’s Candlelight Concert series, and participating in the World Music Festival in Innsbruck with the London Accordion Orchestra. This summer, she collaborates with Wild Arts, continuing her work across classical and contemporary genres.

Leo Geyer – Arranger/MD/Bassoon

Born in London of Anglo-Indian descent, Leo Geyer is a young composer, conductor, and presenter. He enjoys a busy and diverse career composing and conducting opera, dance, film, and concert music. He has established a reputation for his reimaginings, which creatively engage with music of the past, and is currently studying for a doctorate in opera-ballet composition as the Senior Music Scholar at St Catherine’s College, Oxford.

Leo’s music has been described by The Times as “imaginative and beautifully shaped”, and has received performances by ensembles including the English Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Rambert Dance Company and Opera North.

Leo began his conducting career at the Royal Opera House as a Cover Conductor for The Royal Ballet. Described by James Murphy, CEO of the Royal Philharmonic Society as “one of the great young British conductors to watch,” Leo has worked as a guest conductor with the BBC Concert Orchestra, English National Opera, Birmingham Contemporary Music Ensemble, the National Theatre, Ensemble 212 (USA), AUT (Denmark), and other ensembles.

​When he was 19, Leo founded an orchestra which has now grown to become Constella Music. He has brought together internationally renowned artists in numerous critically acclaimed performances across the UK. Last year, Leo began his training as a presenter on the BBC Open Music Programme with Katie Derham as his mentor. He made his debut at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, for a BBC Proms performance broadcast live on Radio 3.