Bijou Opera presents a sparkling new chamber staging of Le Nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart, performed in full period dress and sung in Italian with surtitles. Over one tumultuous day, Figaro and Susanna outwit their philandering master, the Count, as disguises, secret trysts and misdelivered letters unravel into delicious chaos. Wit meets tenderness in this razor-sharp comedy of love, loyalty and forgiveness; where servants prove sharper than their betters, and music carries every twist of the heart.
Cast list
Count Almaviva: Jean-Kristof Bouton
Franco-Canadian baritone Jean-Kristof Bouton studied both in Montreal and Bucharest. His early career was spent on contract with the National Opera Iasi in Romania, where he sang multiple major roles.
He is now in demand across Europe with his recent performances including a critically-acclaimed debut at the Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg as Karnac Le Roi d’Ys, as well Renato Un ballo in Maschera in Romania, Germont La traviata for both the Nouvel Opéra Fribourg and the National Opera Iasi, the title role Macbeth for both West Green House Opera and Mid Wales Opera, and Conte Almaviva for Diva Opera in the UK.
His future plans include Ourrias Mireille for the Opéra de Lausanne, plus the title role Don Giovanni in Switzerland, Marcello La bohème for Diva Opera in the UK and France, and Roucher Andrea Chenier and Badger/Priest The Cunning Little Vixen in Germany.
Now based in London, his other acclaimed performances include Agamemnon La belle Hélène for the Opéra de Toulon, Raimbaud Le Comte Ory for the Opéra de Québec, Ford Falstaff for West Green House Opera, Moussol in Adolphe Adam’s Si j’étais roi and Monterone Rigoletto at the Opéra de Toulon, Escamillo Carmen for the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville and Diva Opera, Scarpia Tosca both for Diva Opera and the Opera Nationala Romana in Iasi, Belcore L’elisir d’amore for Diva Opera, a critically-acclaimed performance as Charlie in Opera Della Luna’s production of Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers at Wilton’s Music Hall, Marcello La bohème in Iasi, and Alvaro Il viaggio a Reims and Alfonso Lucrezia Borgia for English Touring Opera.
Whilst on contract in Iasi, his many performances included appearances as Silvio I Pagliacci, Alfio Cavalleria Rusticana, Enrico Lucia di Lammermoor, Marcello La bohème, Belcore L’elisir d’amore, Figaro Il barbiere di Siviglia, Huascar and Adario in Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, Achille in The Trojan Woman by Liz Swados and the title role in Don Giovanni.
Countess: Stefanie Kemball-Read
Dramatic coloratura soprano Stefanie Kemball-Read brings a unique combination of artistic and professional expertise to her career, having originally trained as a banker in the City before pursuing her passion for music. She trained at Trinity College of Music, London, graduating with distinction from their postgraduate diploma programme, and the recipient of the Paul Simm opera prize. Celebrated for her vocal brilliance, exceptional vocal agility and dazzling upper extension, she has performed extensively throughout the UK and Europe in over 25 leading soprano roles. These include Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Violetta (La traviata), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Ilia (Idomeneo), Nedda (Pagliacci), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Euridice (Orphée aux Enfers), – most recently last month for Kentish Opera – Hélène (La Belle Hélène), La Comtesse (Le Comte Ory), and Constance (Les Dialogues des Carmélites). She is particularly acclaimed for her portrayal of the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, a role she has performed regularly for numerous companies. Stefanie has also performed Poulenc’s one-woman opera La voix humaine in a live-streamed, multimedia staging production, interweaving filmed sequences and complementary piano works to reimagine this intense monodrama. Her operatic work has taken her to an extraordinary range of venues – from major opera houses and concert halls to stately homes and horse studs!
On the concert and oratorio stage, she performs regularly across the country, most recently appearing in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Britten’s Noyes Fludde & Orff’s Carmina Burana and has performed as a soloist in oratorios, given recitals and operatic performances at some of London’s most celebrated venues including St John’s Smith Square, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Piccadilly and King’s Place.
Beyond performance, as a producer and artistic director, Stefanie curates bespoke musical events across genres from opera and operetta to musical theatre in both the UK and internationally through her initiative Bijou Opera. Her work combines artistic vision with strong event management and financial expertise, and she is deeply committed to sustaining the operatic art form through education and community engagement. In Spain she created the celebrated and award-winning Sotogrande Opera & Musical Theatre Gala series for the Asociación Arturo Darch in Sotogrande and has also created and performed in large-scale galas for the Asociación Maiti Nepal Marbella, performing most recently at their Gala in December 2025.
Upcoming engagements include a series of opera galas during the summer months. Stefanie will also perform as soloist for Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Little Organ Mass and Orff’s Carmina Burana later in 2026. September 2026 sees Stefanie return to Spain with Bijou Opera for a newly devised, bespoke opera performance. www.stefanieread.com www.bijouopera.com
Susanna: Sofia Kirwan-Baez
Described as a ‘superb singer actress’ (Opera Today), Anglo-Venezuelan soprano Sofia Kirwan-Baez is a Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (2025-27), a recipient of both the Musicians’ Company Award (2023) and the Sybil Tutton Award (2022), as well as the winner of the RCM Concerto Competition in 2021. She was a Young Artist on the National Opera Studio’s (NOS) Global Talent Programme 2023/24.
Operatic roles include Rosina Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Opéra National de Bordeaux 2025), Musetta La Bohème (Longborough Festival Opera 2024), Elle La Voix Humaine (Barricade Arts / Cumbria Opera Festival), Adina L’Elisir d’amore (Wild Arts), Eurydice Orpheus in the Underworld (RCM Opera Studio), Le Feu L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (RCM Opera Studio), Papagena Die Zauberflöte (RCM Opera Studio) and World premieres of works by Jasper Dommett (RWCMD Atmospheres Festival), Marco Galvani (Faded Ink Productions) and Toby Young (Oxford Music Faculty). In Summer 2023, she covered Eurydice in Longborough Festival Opera’s Orfeo and in March 2024, covered Karolka in English National Opera’s Jenůfa.
A seasoned recitalist, concert work includes Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at Birmingham Cathedral (2022) – and a fully-staged performance at the Midlands Arts Centre (2023) – as well as Handel’s Messiah with Nevill Holt (2022) / Wild Arts (2023), Bach’s John Passion and Christmas Oratorio, Bach’s B minor mass and Trauerode BWV 198 (City Music with Adrian Butterfield), Haydn’s Creation (Mayfield Festival), Mahler’s 4th Symphony, Monteverdi’s Vespers (Cadogan Hall), Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Dixit Dominus (Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford with Schola Cantorum), Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, among others. A passionate song recitalist, she made her Wigmore debut in September 2023 as part of their 2023 French Song Exchange, a programme supervised by Felicity Lott and François Le Roux. Sofia also performed in the 2023 Oxford International Song Festival as an Emerging Artist in a recital called Tell me the truth about Love. She is part of Samling Institute’s 2025 edition.
Having begun her musical studies with the violin in El Sistema in Caracas (Venezuela), she later started playing the piano, continuing both instruments in the Périgueux Conservatoire. Sofia studied Music at Oxford University and Vocal Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she was supported by Rotary International. Sofia was a Huffner Scholar supported by the Sir Gordon Palmer Scholarship in the Royal College of Music Opera School. She was also a member of Genesis 16 (2018-19).The 2025/26 season saw her returning to Longborough to cover Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande) and making her role debut in August as Susanna in Cumbria Opera Group’s The Marriage of Figaro. She also returned to the Opéra National de Bordeaux as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte.
Figaro: Nick Dwyer
Nick Dwyer is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and recently played the title role in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera for Woodbridge, having previously performed the role at Celebrate Voice Festival. Since then, roles include Sweeney Todd, a Victorian Melodrama for Opera Della Luna, and Don Alfonso for Rogue Opera’s Cosi Fan Tutte.
Nick has performed over 300 performances as Marcello in Opera Up Close’s Olivier Award winning La Bohème. Elsewhere, roles include Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo at Grange Park Opera, where he previously performed as Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin whilst understudying the title role.
Nick has ventured into music theatre as Javert in Les Miserables for Pimlico Opera Prisons Project at HMP Erlestoke, and has also worked in the film industry, where he performed a role in Holby City (drunk Santa Claus) and as a body double for Batman.
Cherubino: Anna Cooper
Originally from Cumbria, mezzo soprano Anna Elizabeth Cooper is an English National Opera Harewood Artist. For ENO this season she sang Nancy in Albert Herring and covered Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte. Last summer Anna covered Rosina in il barbiere di Siviglia for Longborough Opera Festival. Anna returns to Longborough this summer to sing Hansel in their playground opera of Hansel und Gretel. Anna is also singing Lola in Cavalliera Rusticana with the Northern Chamber Orchestra.
Previously at ENO, Anna sang Kate in Pirates of Penzance and covered Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. At Glyndebourne Festival, Anna sang Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Soeur Alice in Barrie Kosky’s production of Dialogues des Carmélites and covered Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte.
Anna has also performed Olga in Eugene Onegin at Opera Holland Park and has premiered three contemporary roles; Suzanna in Behind God’s Back by Joseph Howard at the Tête-à-Tête Festival, Vindicio in The Duchess of Padua by Ed Lambert on a UK tour for The Music Troupe and Soloist for Kings, Witches, Lovers and Souls by Jen Hartley for Cumbria Opera.
Other operatic roles include Concepcion L’heure Espagnole, Lisetta il mondo della luna, Dinah Trouble in Tahiti and Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro, directed by Sir Thomas Allen. On the concert platform Anna has performed as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra & Choir, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hallè Orchestra.
Don Basilio / The Gardener: Stephen Anthony Brown
Stephen studied at Trinity College, London and then at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School at the Royal College of Music. His career has led to roles with companies such as Glyndebourne, Opera Della Luna, English Touring Opera, Carl Rosa Opera and D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Stephen’s roles include Tanzmeister and Brighella Ariadne auf Naxos, Eisenstein Die Fledermaus for Carl Rosa Opera and Spoletta Tosca for Dublin Lyric Opera. For Glyndebourne he has sung Pedro in Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery, Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw and Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream and roles in Carmen and Eugene Onegin. Other highlights include character tenor roles in Between Worlds for English National Opera, Dick Guglielmo Ratcliff at Wexford International Festival and Tenor Gabriel with Alison Balsom and Trevor Pinnock at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
Stephen has sung gala concerts for Raymond Gubbay at The Bridgewater Hall Manchester, Symphony Hall Birmingham and the Barbican London as well as with the RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin. He regularly sings Bach’s Evangelists and Elgar’s Gerontius. Highlights include Verdi’s Requiem at London’s Barbican, Matthäus Passion (arias) with Peter Schreier in London and in Iceland and international engagements in Romania, Norway, Jerusalem, Spain and Germany.
Stephen is also the artistic director of both Kentish Opera and Opera in Oborne, the Allegri Singers and the Sussex Chorus. He is also the artistic director of the Rosenau Sinfonia, a professional orchestra based in London, with whom he recently conducted the whole ‘Ring Cycle’ of Wagner.
Barbarina: Eurus Duyen-Thach
Eurus Duyen Thach is a soprano graduating from Brunel University of London, where she was awarded the prestigious Brunel Music Award while completing her Master’s degree in Psychology. Although her operatic journey began only recently, she has rapidly developed as a young artist through vocal training, performance opportunities, and ensemble work across the university’s music programme.
Following a successful audition in Autumn 2024 – where she performed selections from Cats and Titanic – Eurus received a full music scholarship providing individual vocal tuition and performance mentorship throughout her studies. It was through this programme, and under the guidance of her vocal tutor Stephen Anthony Brown, that she first began to explore opera seriously.
Within a year, Eurus progressed from discovering her operatic voice to performing a series of small-stage works and showcase performances. Her repertoire has included Handel’s V’adoro, pupille and “Poor Wand’ring One” from The Pirates of Penzance, a performance she considers an important milestone in her development as a soprano. Alongside her solo work, she has also performed as a soprano with the University of Brunel choir and with the close harmony ensemble group Brunettes, directed by Sally Goodworth, whose repertoire included arrangements such as Viva la Vida.Opera has quickly become a source of artistic purpose and personal expression for Eurus, inspiring a growing passion for storytelling through music and performance. She hopes one day to perform in The Magic Flute. This production marks her professional stage debut.
Creative team
Director & Set Designer: Stephen Anthony Brown
Music Arrangement: Stephen Anthony Brown
See Stephen’s biography above
Music Director & Piano: John Cuthbert
John enjoys a varied musical life as a piano accompanist, répétiteur, musical director, chamber musician, and singer. As a piano accompanist, he has performed at Wigmore Hall and the Elgar Room in the Royal Albert Hall. In 2017, he won the accompanist prize in the AESS Dame Patricia Routledge song prize. John is also a Samling Artist and a former Piano Accompaniment Fellow at the Royal College of Music, where he continues to work as a staff accompanist.
As an orchestral pianist, celeste, and harmonium player, John has worked with the City of London Sinfonia, London Symphony Orchestra, and London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed in Bucharest, Frankfurt, Lucerne, and at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
John has also worked as a repetiteur with English Touring Opera and the National Gilbert and Sullivan Festival Company. In 2017, he became the Musical Director of Opera in Oborne where he has directed from the piano La Bohème, Così fan Tutte, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, La Traviata and Carmen. He now works regularly with Opera Della Luna and was the répétiteur for their UK premiere of Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers in 2022. A new venture, since 2023, as part of the Opera in Oborne festival has been improvising accompaniments for silent films. These include Buster Keaton’s feature film The General, and Safety Last starring Harold Lloyd.
In addition to playing the piano, John is a tenor and sings in the choir of All Saints’ Margaret Street in London. He also deputises for the choirs of St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and St George’s Windsor.
Producer: Stefanie Kemball-Read
See Stefanie’s biography above.
Wardrobe: Siobhan Chapman
Siobhan’s passion for costume design was nurtured from an early age in a family where creativity and resourcefulness were part of everyday life. Largely self-taught, her skills developed from school needlework lessons and an inherited instinct for design. With early costumes being made for her out of found materials, a favourite being a Victorian dress and bonnet from a curtain, this inventive approach continues to define her work today with creations ranging from a 1920s wedding dress fashioned from a shower curtain to Georgian gowns repurposed from theatrical drapery.
Alongside her work as a maker, Siobhan began performing at a young age, singing and dancing with numerous societies across the South of England. Her dual interests soon merged, leading her to take on both performance and creative roles in productions of operas including Le nozze di Figaro, La Bohème, L’elisir d’amore, and Carmen, as well as many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Siobhan continues to perform as a member of Salisbury Chamber Chorus under the direction of Simon McEnery and studies singing with Lynsey Docherty.
For the past eight years, Siobhan has served as Resident Wardrobe Mistress for Opera in Oborne and Opera Cameratina, and has also created costumes for Celebrate Voice and Opera for Woodbridge. During this time, she has designed or provided costumes for some 28 operas and even a pantomime. Her work ranges from dressing individual principal roles to fully costuming large choruses, sometimes delivering more than 20 outfits for a single production, such as her recent work on Les contes d’Hoffmann.
Her designs span an impressive range of historical periods, from medieval to modern, with particular affection for Georgian, Regency, and 1950s styles. Known for her imaginative and resourceful approach to design, she has created an eclectic array of costumes, from the disciplined uniformity of orphan ensembles to the inventive characterisation of a steampunk mechanical doll, an eco-warrior bird catcher, and even a postman ingeniously disguised as a goose!She has a particular passion for working with small-scale and chamber opera companies, where each costume can be individually conceived and crafted with care. She is therefore especially delighted to be working with Bijou Opera on this production of Le nozze di Figaro – a personal favourite – set in her much-loved Georgian period. You can next see her designs in Opera in Oborne’s production of Die Zauberflöte later in summer 2026.
Wigs: kindly provided by Celebrate Voice
Surtitles: Surtitle Solutions
Musicians
Piano: John Cuthbert
See John’s biography above.
Clarinet: Peter Cigleris
Cello: Rebecca Hepplewhite
British cellist Rebecca Hepplewhite (née Hewes) enjoys an international career as a soloist and chamber musician, with performances across Europe, Asia, South Africa and the United States at many of the world’s leading venues, including the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Lincoln Center and Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Based in London, she is principal cellist of Orpheus Sinfonia, Trafalgar Sinfonia and Belmont Ensemble of London Sinfonia whilst also enjoying a busy and diverse freelance orchestral career.
As a chamber musician Rebecca performs regularly with numerous ensembles, most notably as cellist of the Pomegranate Piano Trio alongside pianist Andrew West and violinist Fenella Barton, and the Melynthia Trio with flautist Klio Blonz and pianist Grace Mo. A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Rebecca has commissioned, premiered and recorded numerous new works for both solo cello and mixed ensemble, earning recognition for her versatility, expressive depth and commitment to expanding the cello repertoire. She performs internationally as one half of the acclaimed Svyati Duo with organist Julian Collings. They have performed extensively throughout the USA, Europe and Asia and their recordings for Regent Records have received widespread critical praise. Her discography also includes chamber music releases on the NMC, Usk and Chandos labels.
Highlights of the current season include performances of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, Saint Saens Cello Concerto and Elgar Cello Concerto, alongside two major concert tours of the United States.