
3 minute read
Christophe Mortagne
tenor Trémolini
Loïc Félix
tenor Sparadrap/Le Director
French tenor Christophe Mortagne is in demand for character tenor roles at major houses around the world including the Metropolitan Opera, New York; La Scala, Milan; Dutch National Opera; and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He has worked with conductors including Fabio Luisi, Marc Minkowski and Antonio Pappano, and directors such as Stefan Herheim, Kasper Holten and Laurent Pelly. In the 2022/23 season he sings Don Curzio (Le nozze di Figaro) for Opéra National de Paris; Monsieur Triquet (Eugene Onegin) for La Monnaie, Brussels; and Schmidt (Werther) for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Recent operatic highlights include Don Curzio (Opéra National de Paris); Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro (Teatro Real, Madrid); Spalanzani in Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Opéra National de Bordeaux, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Royal Opera House); Roi Bobèche in Offenbach’s Barbe-Bleue (Opéra de Lille, Opéra National de Lyon); the title role in Offenbach’s Le Roi Carotte (Opéra National de Lyon); Dr Caïus in Falstaff (Teatro Real, Madrid); Goro in Madama Butterfly (Gran Teatre del Liceu); Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin (Canadian Opera Company, Royal Opera House); Aegisth in Elektra (Opéra National de Bordeaux); and Four Servants in Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Lyon).
Christophe studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and is a former member of La Comédie Française. His recordings include Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Royal Opera House/Sony DVD; Bregenz Festival/Unitel Classica DVD); L’Étoile (Dutch National Opera/Naxos DVD); Eugene Onegin (Royal Opera House/Opus Arte) and La Vie parisienne (Opéra de Lyon/Virgin DVD).
After spending his boyhood as an outstanding solo singer in the Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois, Loïc Félix decided to become an opera singer and joined the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied with Christiane Eda-Pierre and Christiane Patard. He also attended prestigious masterclasses with Michel Sénéchal, Régine Crespin and Renata Scotto.
On graduating from the Conservatoire, with his rich voice and his theatrical talents, he received invitations from a large number of European opera houses, building a reputation in a varied repertoire from Mozart (Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro) to Britten (The Little Sweep, title role in Albert Herring), as well as the creation of Le Nègre des Lumières by Chevalier de Saint-George. He has also sung in Benvenuto Cellini, Carmen, Orphée aux enfers, Roméo et Juliette, Falstaff, Salome, Les Mamelles de Tirésias, and Busoni’s Doktor Faust and Turandot
As a tenor with a feel for comedy, Loïc is particularly at ease in the operetta repertoire. He has performed in La Vie parisienne, Les Brigands, La grande Duchesse de Geroldstein, La Périchole, Monsieur Choufleuri, La Veuve joyeuse, Die Fledermaus, and many others.
Future plans include Falstaff in Lille, Caen and Luxembourg; Carmen at the Opéra National de Paris and at Glyndebourne; and Busoni’s Turandot in Nancy. In concert, he will perform in programmes dedicated to Offenbach with the Orchestre de Chambre Fribourgeois and on tour with the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France.

Harriet Walter narrator

Jeremy Sams
English narration
The acclaimed British actress Dame Harriet Walter is best known for her roles in Downton Abbey, Killing Eve, Ted Lasso, Succession and The Crown. She has appeared in over 60 shows on television and has been featured in numerous movies including Sense and Sensibility, The Young Victoria, Rocketman and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award and has been nominated for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011 she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to drama.
Theatre director, lyricist and translator of plays and opera libretti as well as a composer, orchestrator and musical director, Jeremy Sams is the ultimate polymath. His work has garnered a BAFTA Award, a Director’s Fortnight at Cannes and an Ivor Novello Award. Jeremy’s directorial credits include The Wizard of Oz (London Palladium), The Sound of Music (London Palladium, Princess of Wales Theatre Toronto), Noises Off (National Theatre), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium) and Little Britain. He wrote the libretto for This Enchanted Island (Metropolitan Opera, New York), and his translations include Mozart’s Figaro’s Wedding, La bohème, The Magic Flute and Wagner’s Ring Cycle (English National Opera); The Merry Widow (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden); and Les Parents terribles, The Miser and Mary Stuart (National Theatre).
