A Night at the Opera

Join us for A Night at the Opera with soprano Naomi Rogers, tenor Alessandro Cortello, baritone Ted Day and pianist Ralph Woodward!

This spectacular event will take place at the Bateman Auditorium at Gonville & Caius College in Cambridge. Get ready to be mesmerised by the powerful voices of talented opera singers and the enchanting melodies from some of the most popular operas: Marriage of Figaro, Bohéme, Elixir of Love and many more.

Immerse yourself in the magical world of opera as you experience the passion, drama, and beauty of this timeless art form. Whether you're a seasoned opera aficionado or new to the genre, this event promises to be a night to remember. Don't miss out on this extraordinary evening of music and emotion. Book your tickets now and prepare to be captivated by the breathtaking performances at A Night at the Opera!

Naomi Rogers, soprano

Alessandro Cortello, tenor

Ted Day, baritone

Ralph Woodward, piano

music by Mozart, Donizetti, Puccini, a.o.

This concert is organised with the support of the Wong family.

Naomi Rogers is a soprano from Suffolk with a Master of Music in Performance degree and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Royal Northern College of Music. She has worked with many of the UK's top opera platforms, such as Opera Holland Park, Clonter Opera, BBC1, Opera North, Buxton Opera, and Northern Opera Group.

Naomi made her debut with Opera Holland Park in the UK premiere of Adamo's Little Women and performed the roles of Papagena and Gretel at the Edinburgh International Festival. She regularly works with Clonter Opera House, where her performances include Queen Titania in Puck's Adventure and soprano soloist in their opera gala. A highlight of last season was singing Papagena and First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with Clonter Opera, fulfilling one of her dream roles. Naomi also collaborated with Opera Holland Park and English National Ballet in Stravinsky’s Les Noces at Sadler's Wells.

Recently, Naomi premiered Gary Lloyd's contemporary opera Disunited Jukebox, which toured across Northern England and performed at Glasgow’s Armadillo Stadium. She regularly performs internationally as a guest singer on cruise liners with The Little Opera Company. As a regular concert performer, Naomi’s highlights are performing as guest opera singer on BBC1's 'I Can See Your Voice' 2021, as guest soloist at the International Opera Awards 2019, which took place at the Saddler’s Wells Theatre in London and singing Mozart repertoire with the Hallé Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall. In 2020, Naomi made her recording debut as soloist in Sullivan Songs alongside Sir David Owen Norris and in last June featured as an artist for La ScenaMusicale, Canada's most respected classical music, opera, jazz and world music magazine and ended 2021 on a high by winning the Sir David Maddison Opera Prize. She now looks forward to a masterclass with Ermolena Jaho (on behalf of the International Opera Awards) as well as the many other concerts and performances programmed for 2026.

https://www.naomi-rogers.com/

The Italian tenor Alessandro Cortello started his vocal training with Alfredo Mariotti and later studied with Claude Thiolas and Luciana D'Intino. He graduated in Piano at the Conservatorio Frescobaldi in Ferrara and in Singing at the Conservatorio Tomadiniin Udine. He also studied Composition. He won two editions of the Concorso Cameristico C.A.Seghizzi in Gorizia: in 2005 in the Sacred Music category, and in 2007 in Chamber Singing category.

As an opera singer he has performed the following roles: Alfredo (Traviata, Verdi), Count Almaviva (Barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini) Ernesto (Don Pasquale, Donizetti), Nemorino (Elisir d’Amore, Donizetti), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly, Puccini), Pong (Turandot, Puccini), Rodolfo (Bohéme, Puccini), Jacopo Foscari (I due Foscari, Verdi), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti), Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Offenbach). He took part in the Rai Italian Television productions of Rigoletto conducted by Zubin Mehta with Placido Domingo in the title-role and Cenerentola, conducted by Gianluigi Gelmetti.

As a chamber music singer he performed Schubert's and Schumann's most important Lieder cycles, besides songs by Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Mahler, Strauss, Berg, Fauré, Duparc, Ravel, Poulenc, Rachmaninov, Britten and Copland, in duo with several pianists and with Trio di Parma. As a concert singer he performed the solo roles in Requiem by Mozart (with Orchestra Filarmonica della Fenice, Venice, conducted by Enrico Bronzi), Liszt (with Orchestra of Teatro Verdi, Trieste), Dvořak and Verdi, in Haydn's Missa in Tempore Belli (conducted by Antonio Ballista), Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Beethoven's Mass in C (Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, conducted by Ralph Woodward) and in Orff's Carmina Burana.

Alessandro sang in many Italian houses and halls, and in Austria, Croatia, UK, Greece, Czech Republic, Russia, and in Dublin for Bloomsday2019, when he performed at the National Library of Ireland and at Áras an Uachtaráin for President Higgins.

https://alessandrocortello.blogspot.com/

Theodore “Ted” Day is a British baritone whose career bridges both academic excellence and dynamic operatic performance. Hailing from Cambridge, he began his musical journey as a chorister at St John’s College Choir and later read French and Classics at the University of St Andrews, where he held a choral scholarship, founded the Opera Society, and earned the Cedric Thorpe Davies Prize for outstanding musical contribution.

In 2022, Ted pursued postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in London, earning the Vivian Prin Scholarship and later the Douglas and Hilda Simmonds Scholarship, under the tutelage of Tim Evans-Jones and Sebastian Wybrew.

On stage, Ted has performed a variety of roles with Hampstead Garden Opera, including the Courtier in La Cenerentola. He also sang in Song Queen: A Pidgin Opera at both the Royal Albert Hall and Wilton’s Music Hall, and appeared in the chamber opera Fanny & Stella’s Last Day Out at RCM, undertaking the title role. With Byre Opera, he performed the roles of Harašta in The Cunning Little Vixen and Ariodate in Serse.

A committed ensemble singer, Ted has also collaborated with choirs and vocal groups such as the Charles Wood Singers, Collegium Warwick, Lloyd Singers, St Albans Chamber Choir, Putney Choral Society, and Fulham Camerata.

Recently, he debuted with St Paul’s Opera as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, bringing a blend of comic timing and nuanced interpretation to the role.

Ralph Woodward grew up in Durham, and studied Music as Organ Scholar at Queens’ College, Cambridge. He is now Musical Director of the Fairhaven Singers, Full Score and Orchestral Score and Acting Assistant Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge. He has played concertos on three instruments, worked in 20 Cambridge College Chapels, 20 UK cathedrals, six US states, and over 25 countries, and conducted the London Mozart Players, City of London Sinfonia, The Parley of Instruments, English Chamber Orchestra, and Britten Sinfonia. He carries out a wide range of editorial tasks for Oxford University Press and a number of the country’s leading composers. His choral arrangements have been performed all round Europe and on Radio 4’s PM programme. Past projects have included work with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Emma Johnson, Iestyn Davies and Cradle of Filth, and an appearance on ITV’s Grantchester. In addition to his musical interests, Ralph manages a cricket team, plays badminton enthusiastically, gives presentations on the assassination of JFK, and spends as much time as possible eating and drinking in foreign countries.

https://www.ralphwoodward.net/