Lawrence Brownlee & Brian Jagde Masterclass
Created to promote cultural understanding across continents, Opera for Peace works to develop the next generation of opera professionals to become ambassadors of important values, acting as a positive influence on society and future generations. During a week in April 2024, Opera for Peace brought together a diverse group of emerging artists from across the globe at the Villa Medici in Rome to learn from each other and from a selection of their artist Ambassadors, some of the greatest artists of today. This film features six singers who followed masterclasses with Opera for Peace Ambassadors and tenors, Lawrence Brownlee and Brian Jagde.
Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a tenor on the world's top stages, and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. Captivating audiences and critics around the globe, he has been hailed as “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory” (New York Times). Heralded internationally as an artist with ‘a remarkable future’ (Opera World), American tenor Brian Jagde has a celebrated career on the world’s leading opera stages. In the 23/24 season Brian returned to Covent Garden and Metropolitan Opera as Don Alvaro in Verdi’s La forza del destino, followed by his house debut in Cavalleria rusticana at Teatro alla Scala.
Artists
In order of appearance:
Tenor | Víctor Jiménez Moral (Spain) |
|---|---|
Soprano | Livia Louis-Joseph Dogué (France/Martinique) |
Soprano | Celine Mun (South Korea) |
Soprano | Khayakazi Madlala (South Africa) |
Baritone | Maxim Lisiin (Russia) |
Mezzo-soprano | Hannah Jones (USA) |
| ... | |
Tenors and Opera for Peace Ambassadors | Lawrence Brownlee Brian Jagde |
|---|---|
Pianist and Opera for Peace Artistic and Musical Advisor | Kamal Khan |
Pianist | Naoki Hayashi |
| ... | |
Víctor Jiménez Moral
Víctor Jiménez Moral is a lyric light tenor. He made his professional debut in 2022 as Edoardo Milfort in Rossini’s opera La Cambiale di Matrimonio at Auditorio Joaquín Rodrigo Madrid. The same year he was selected to attend the Accademia Rossiniana where he sang in the opera Il Viaggio a Reims in the role of Cavaliere Belfiore. He also sang in festivals such as Wexford Festival Opera where he sang the role of Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri by Rossini. He recently made his debut at Teatro Circo de Albacete as Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Future plans include a masterclass with Thomas Hampson at the Internationale Opernwerkstatt Waiblingen in Germany.
Livia Louis-Joseph Dogué
Livia Louis-Joseph Dogué has been singing since the age of 3 and joined a choir at 9. At secondary school, she practised the clarinet and took part in the Caraïbes en Musique competition, where she was awarded a prize by the association ‘Martinique en Résonances’. She entered the Voix des Outre-mer competition, organised by the association ‘Les Contres Courants’, which promotes diversity in France and the visibility of black French people in opera. She was awarded the Young Talents prize in December 2019 during the Martinique final, and in January 2020 at the national final in Paris. Under the guidance of Fabrice di Falco, she took part in the 6th edition of Prodiges in November 2020, still self-taught, and won the Singing prize. The association ‘Les Contres Courants’ is supporting her as she prepares to enter the conservatoire. In 2023, she won the audience prize of the Voix Nouvelles competition on the stage of Opéra Comique. She also took part in a tour of Carmen in the role of Micaela, with the Voix des Outre-mer in all the French overseas territories.
Celine Mun
Korean soprano Celine Mun is an alumna of Yonsei University and MDW (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna). She studies under the tutelage of soprano Krassimira Stoyanova and soprano Daniela Fally. During the 2023/24 season, Celine Mun was a soprano soloist in Händel’s Factory by J.Harneit at Staatsoper Hamburg. The 2022/23 season marked her debut at the Wiener Staatsoper as Blumenmädchen in Parsifal. Her burgeoning career includes notable lead performances in Europe and South Korea, with roles such as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Musetta in La Bohème, Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte and Gilda in Rigoletto, and sung at concerts in Wiener Konzerthaus and Musikverein Wien. In 2022, Celine Mun was a member of Atelier Lyrique in Verbier Festival, Switzerland.
Khayakazi Madlala
In 2017, Khayakazi Madlala performed the role of Mimi at Joburg Theatre and Durban Playhouse in South Africa. Another significant milestone was her debut at Cape Town Opera – where she performed in the Gala concert, conducted by the renowned Adam Smith, performing alongside various esteemed soloists. In 2024, she had the privilege of being selected by Renée Fleming's Song Studio in New York, where she worked with eminent coaches such as Graham Johnson, Javier Arrebola, Angel Blue, and Renee Fleming, and made her Carnegie Hall debut. Through the Opera for Peace Academy, she participated in other masterclasses with other world-class singers, including Sumi Jo and Thomas Hampson.
Maxim Lisiin
Since 2022, baritone Maxim Lisiin has been a member of Bolshoi Theatre’s Young Artist Opera Programme in Russia, where he has participated in numerous productions and concerts, such as Verdi’s Don Carlo or The Story of Kai and Gerda in 2023. He studied at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music between 2020 and 2024. He received several awards, including the 2nd Prize at the 2nd International Sobinov Vocal Competition (2021) in Yaroslavl, the 1st Prize at the 8th International Natalia Spiller Vocal Competition (2021) in Moscow, the 1st Prize at the 2nd International Lemeshev Vocal Competition (2022) in Tver, and lately the 2nd prize at the 17th International Tchaikovsky Competition (2023) in St. Petersburg.
Hannah Jones
Mezzo-soprano Hannah Jones, from Houston Texas, recently earned her Master of Music degree in Classical Voice from the Manhattan School of Music, following her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University. Hannah has already sung iconic roles such as Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro, Madame de la Haltière in Cendrillon, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has participated in esteemed artist development programmes, including the Seagle Festival (2022), Opera Theater of St. Louis (2023), and the Shared Voices program by The Denyce Graves Foundation (2022-2024). Hannah has appeared on prominent American television platforms such as ABC’s Good Morning America and will be featured in CBS’s Sunday Morning. She was awared DMV district winner in the 2023-2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, in addition to winning the Encouragement Award in the Northeastern Region. Upcoming highlights include her Seattle Opera debut as Jennie Jackson in Tazwell Thompson’s acclaimed opera Jubilee, as well as her participation as a young artist in the prestigious 2024-2025 Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at Metropolitan Opera.
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