Jerwood Young Artists

In 2010, a new strand of work was introduced to focus on nurturing exceptionally talented singers from the Chorus selected as Jerwood Young Artists. Through the Jerwood Young Artist Programme, the singers work with leading conductors, directors, choreographers, theatre specialists and vocal coaches to enhance their skills and experience.

The Jerwood Young Artist Programme is supported by the Jerwood Developing Artists Fund.

Northumbrian bass-baritone Michael Ronan is an up-and-coming artist praised for his ‘commanding voice and stage presence’ (Evening Standard). He has recently finished a season at Glyndebourne Festival Opera performing the role of Monsieur Barbu in Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Poulenc) and covering the roles of Colline in La bohème (Puccini) and Harvey in The Wreckers (Smyth). He is currently a member of Royal Academy Opera (RAO) where he is the proud recipient of the Sainsbury Award and is generously supported by The Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

He saw recent success as the winner of the Royal Academy of Music’s 2022 Bicentenary Prize with his performance described as ‘outstandingly moving’. He has also been awarded the Joan Chissell Schumann Lieder Prize, the Sir Thomas Armstrong English Song Prize, and the Blyth-Buesst Opera Prize.

Michael has been commended on his recent performance as Nick Shadow in The Rakes Progress (Stravinsky) with RAO, with whom he has also performed Don Inigo Gomez in L’heure espagnole (Ravel), Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (Mozart), and Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Britten). He has sung Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea (Handel) with Ensemble OrQuesta, and John Proctor in The Crucible (Robert Ward) at OPERNFEST, Berlin.

Next, Michael will be performing the role of Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with RAO and will return to Glyndebourne this summer to perform The Keeper of the Madhouse and Nick Shadow (cover) in The Rakes Progress, Masetto (cover) in Don Giovanni, and the 2nd Commissioner in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites.

Annabel Kennedy is a Mezzo-Soprano from Devon. She is part of the Royal College of Music’s International Opera Studio as a Siow-Furniss Scholar supported by the Sir Gordon Palmer Scholarship, under the tutelage of Amanda Roocroft and Caroline Dowdle. In addition, Annabel is grateful to be supported by the Josephine Baker Trust, The Drake Calleja Trust, The Munster Trust Award and the Sybil Tutton Opera Awards. Annabel is a Samling Artist, a Britten Pears Young Artist for 2022-2023 and a Glyndebourne Jerwood Young Artist for 2023.

As part of the RCMIOS, Annabel has performed ‘2nd Lady’ in Die Zauberflöte, ‘Hänsel’ in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, ‘Minskwoman’ in Jonathan Dove’s Flight, ‘Public Opinion’ in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld and ‘L’enfant’ in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges. Recently Annabel jumped in as cover for Longborough Festival Opera’s Double Bill in Spell Book by Freya Waley-Cohen and La liberazione di Ruggiero by Francesca Caccini.
Annabel performed as a Garsington Young Artist in the chorus and cover of ‘Noble Orphan 2’ for their production of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. She performed her first-ever principal role debut as Flora in Verdi’s La traviata for Nevill Holt Opera, as well as singing in the chorus of Mozart’s Don Giovanni that season.

Concert highlights include: solo debut at Cadogan Hall performing a ‘Suite of Lieder’ composed by Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha with the London Chamber Orchestra, under Christopher Warren-Green, Mahler’s ‘Rückert-Lieder’ with the RCM Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Martyn Brabbins and Wigmore Hall soloist debut singing the role of Euterpe in Handel’s ‘Parnasso in festa’ as part of the London Handel Festival.

Recent awards include First Prize in the Lies Askonas Competition, Audience Prize at the Somerset Song Prize, Second Prize in the Hurn Court Opera Singer of the Year Competition, First Prize in the RCM Concerto Competition, Second Prize in the ‘Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards’ Competition at Wigmore Hall, First Prize for the ‘AESS Dame Patricia Routledge English Song Competition’, First Prize for the ‘AESS Courtney Kenny Award’ English Song Competition and the ‘Undergraduate Prize’ for the Brooks van der Pump English Song Competition.

British Bass Jamie Woollard is studying at the Royal College of Music Opera Studio, where he is taught by Graeme Broadbent, and will graduate in July 2023. At the RCM Jamie has performed roles including Sarastro, Jupiter in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, and the Immigration Officer in Dove’s Flight, and he will perform Il Re in Respighi’s La bella dormente nel bosco in March 2023. For the Royal Opera House, Jamie has performed in the premiere of three opera scenes including bass aria ‘Detritus’ (by Laura Reid) for the Jette Parker Programme (Lost and Found, March 2022), and will be covering Segeste and Tullio in Handel’s Arminio at the Linbury Theatre in April 2023.

In concert Jamie has recently performed Mozart’s Requiem (St Martin in the Fields), Bach’s Cantata 215 (Wigmore Hall), and Verdi’s Requiem (Leith Hill Music Festival), as well as the title role in Handel’s Saul (Exeter Bach Choir), and in the premiere of Teresa Barlow’s Requiem (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra).

Jamie is a Samling Artist, and is the Stephen Catto Memorial Scholar at the RCM, supported by the Fishmongers’ Company Scholarship. He has also been supported by the Josephine Baker Trust and Sussex Opera and Ballet Society during his time at RCM.