Soloists

British-Italian soprano Victoria Armillotta is currently based in London and is a recent awardee of the International Opera Awards. Victoria graduated from the Royal Academy of Music (MA) studying with renowned soprano Nuccia Focile and previously studied at the Royal Northern College of Music (BMUs Hons). She has debuted several significant soprano roles: most recently Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly) with Celebrate Voice Festival, Salisbury, lead by Phillip Thomas, Mimì (La bohème) with Cosmopolis Festival in Kavála, Greece and Devon Opera, Liù (Turandot) with Instant Opera, Giorgetta (Il tabarro) with Opera Cameratina directed by Sir John Tomlinson; Female Chorus (The rape of Lucretia), Die Feldmarschallin (Der Rosenkavalier) in scenes with British Youth Opera and Tatyana cover (Eugene Onegin) with Hampstead Garden Opera.

Victoria has performed in UK venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Smith Square Hall, Blenheim Palace, Manchester and Exeter Cathedrals and internationally in Theater im Delphi, Berlin, Olavinlinna Castle with Savonlinna Opera Festival, Finland, and most recently live on Rai Radio 3 in Rome. Victoria’s recent concert work includes singing Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder and the Soprano 2 solo in Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 8 in Fairfield Halls, London.

Victoria Simmonds began her career as a Young Artist and then Company Principal
at ENO, roles including Cherubino/Figaro, Pitti-Sing/The Mikado, Rosina/The Barber
of Seville, Dorabella/Così fan tutte and Zerlina/Don Giovanni.

In 2008 she created the title role in Jonathan Dove and Alasdair Middleton’s The
Adventures of Pinocchio for Opera North, and this summer she performed in the
world premiere of their latest work, Itch, at Opera Holland Park.

She has sung for major festivals around the world including Grange Park Opera,
Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park, Mostly Mozart Lincoln Centre New York,
Buxton, Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Edinburgh, and the BBC Proms, as well as
singing the title role in Carmen in the Albert Hall.

In 2012 Victoria created the role of Marie/Angel 2 in George Benjamin’s multi
award winning Written on Skin, which she went on to tour all over the world.

Recent roles include Nur Jahan in the world premiere of Taj Mahal by Nishat Khan
for Grange Park Opera, Watkins in Itch by Dove/Middleton for Opera Holland Park.

Born and bred Devonian Miranda Westcott, read music at the University of Birmingham before attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  She was awarded a full scholarship to Dennis O’Neill’s Academy of Voice in Cardiff where she started working with Phillip Thomas. Miranda is also a Samling Scholar.

Miranda has covered and performed a variety of roles for the Welsh National Opera, Longborough, Garsington and Raymond Gubbay amongst others. She now sings in the Royal Opera House chorus where she’s covered and performed many roles, recent highlight performances include Rossweise (Die Walküre), Mércèdes (Carmen) and Trine (Festen).

Other roles include Kate Pinkerton (Madame Butterfly) at the Royal Albert Hall; Rossweise (Die Walküre) and Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte) for Longborough Opera; Suzuki (Madame Butterfly) for Opera Project in Bristol’s Tobacco Factory;  Smeaton (Anna Bolena) Tower of London; Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro) for Surrey Opera, and Olga (Eugene Onegin) at Richmond Theatre.

In concert she’s appeared at the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, The Sage Gateshead, Oxford Lieder Festival and Sinfonia Smith Square.

This summer she looks forward to a return to the English Haydn Festival in Shropshire, Second Bridesmaid (Il nozze di Figaro) for the Royal Opera House and a song recital with Mark Packwood in her home town of Watford.

British tenor Daniel Gray Bell is a recent graduate of the Royal College of Music and the Alexander Gibson Opera Studio at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Operatic roles include Le Prince Charmant (Cendrillon/Alexander Gibson Opera Studio, RCS), Arbace (Idomeneo/Alexander Gibson Opera Studio, RCS), Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia/Hampstead Garden Opera), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni/Hurn Court Opera; Arcadian Opera), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amor/Celebrate Voice), Erster geharnischter Mann / Zweiter Priester (Die Zauberflöte/RCM International Opera Studio), Pinkerton (MadamaButterfly/Arcadian Opera), Don José (Carmen/Arcadian Opera), Oronte (Alcina/Saluzzo Opera Academy), Lensky (Eugene Onegin/Bath Opera), as well as debuting the role of Louis (The Waves by Louis Mander) in the Oslo Opera Festival.

This upcoming season, Daniel is returning to the ensemble of English Touring Opera for their Autumn 2026 season, performing in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. He is also looking forward to performing as Ferrando in Longhope Opera’s production of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with the Scherzo Ensemble this summer.

Matthew is an emerging Welsh tenor specialising in character roles.

Having graduated from the David Seligman Opera School at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, recent engagements include Rev. Horace Adams in Peter Grimes (British Youth Opera) Spoletta in Tosca (Oxford Opera) and Thomas Leaf in Under the Greenwood Tree (Dorset Opera Festival).

Matthew also completed his MMus at RWCMD, and previously studied music at Bath Spa University. Although Matthew’s primary repertoire is Operatic he is no stranger to the concert stage, having sung as a soloist throughout South Wales and the South-West of England in works including Tippet’s Five Spirituals, Goodall’s Eternal Light, Haydn’s Creation, Bach Magnificat, Mendelssohn Hymn of Praise, Chilcott Requiem, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle.

Roles include Colline/La bohème (ENO,
Nancy); Raimondo/ Lucia di Lammermoor (Denver & Moscow);Escamillo/Carmen (New Zealand);
Conte/ Le nozze di Figaro (Scottish Opera), Leporello/Don Giovanni, Conte/Figaro (Latvian National Opera,Malta);
Lilaque le fils/Boulevard Solitude (Genoa, Barcelona);
Collatinus/The Rape of Lucretia (St Petersburg, Riga);
Reinmar/Tannhäuser (Barcelona) and Lorenzo/I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Moscow).

Appearances in the UK include Nettuno/Idomeneo and Armed Man and Priest/Die Zauberflöte (Glyndebourne);
Nettuno/Idomeneo and Angelotti/Tosca (ENO);
Don Fernando/Fidelio (Garsington);
Ramfis/Aida (Royal Albert Hall);
Flavio (Early Opera Company).

Pauls has sung with orchestras including the Philharmonia, RPO, Israel, Moscow and Bucharest PO and Russian NO including all Bach Passions, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

Recordings include Ferrondo / Maria Stuarda, Ricardo Margherita D’Anjou and DVDs of La bohème at ENO and Henze’s Boulevard Solitude (Barcelona).

PHILIP studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Northern College of Music and is a former Britten-Pears Young Artist, a Samling Artist and Crear Scholar.

In recent seasons he has performed Don Alfonso Così fan Tutte and Count Almaviva Le Nozze di Figaro (Tobacco Factory Theatres Bristol);  Sharpless Madama Butterfly (Celebrate Voice Festival Salisbury and Diva Opera); Rambaldo La Rondine (Opera North, West Green House Opera, If Opera); Tonio Pagliacci, Michele II Tabarro, Marcello La Boheme, King El Gato con Botas (Mid Wales Opera) and Conte Gil Il Segreto di Susanna (If Opera); Alidoro La Cenerentola, Germont La Traviata, the title role in Rigoletto and Dr Malatesta Don Pasquale (Diva Opera).

Other appearances include Sid Albert Herring (Royal Danish Opera, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), Endymion/ Charon Orpheus (The Royal Opera), Harlekin Ariadne auf Naxos, Giorgio Passion, Witness 6 Icarus (Montepulciano Festival), Junius The Rape of Lucretia (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Reggio Emilia, Ravenna), Papageno Die Zauberflote (Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari), and Gratiano The Merchant of Venice (Polish National Opera).