Opera Forge

🎭 Meet the Forge - Welsh mezzo-soprano Angharad Lyddon, Opera Forge’s Waltraute and understudy of Fricka, recently made her house debut at Opéra de Monte Carlo as Mary in The Flying Dutchman and returned to Welsh National Opera to reprise the role of Branwen in Blaze of Glory.

Recent highlights also include her house and role debut as Mary in The Flying Dutchman for Opera Holland Park, Third Lady in The Magic Flute at the Nevill Holt Festival, and Flosshilde in Götterdämmerung at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. Roles for The Grange Festival include Irene in Tamerlanoand Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other roles include Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro (both West Green House Opera), and Olga in Eugene Onegin (West Green House Opera and Buxton International Festival).

Concert highlights include Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall, Stravinsky concerts with Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra alongside Sir Bryn Terfel.

Angharad made her professional debut for English National Opera as Kate in The Pirates of Penzance. Other roles for ENO include Daughter of Akhnaten in Phelim McDermott’s Olivier Award-winning production of Akhnaten, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dreamand Perdita in The Winter’s Tale. She is a former Jerwood Young Artist at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where highlights included Woodpecker in The Cunning Little Vixen. In 2025 she returned to Glyndebourne to cover Marcellina in Mariame Clément’s new production of Le Nozze di Figaro.

Angharad represented Wales in the 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and was a finalist in the Song Prize.

Tickets for Wagner’s Die Walküre, semi-staged by Wagnerian legend Sir John Tomlinson, with Kelvin Lim conducting Orpheus Sinfonia, are selling very fast. Secure yours now!

📅 22 November & 6 December 2026
🕞 3:30 pm
📍 Duke’s Hall, RAM

🎟️ Tickets via the link below 👇

https://www.ram.ac.uk/events/opera-forge-presents-wagners-die-walküre -and-times

Our Fricka, Rozanna Madylus // m e z z o - s o p r a n o, in full view on Mayfair Times September Issue, and a brilliant ambassador for Opera Forge! Thank you very much for this great post!!

Opera Forge inspires again at full voice! ✨🎭 Opera Forge’s Artistic Director Kelvin Lim, our singers Sky Ingram, Angharad Lyddon, Aidan Smith, and guest tenor Luis Chapa, came together recently at the magnificent Great Hall of the Royal Automobile Club in London for an unforgettable evening of opera, celebrating our Principal Partner, David Buchler and his wife Katerina Mina - Soprano.

From the first note to the final applause, this was yet another fabulous Opera Forge performance with a thunderous standing ovation. This is what happens when great artists, great supporters and a shared passion for opera come together.

Become a Principal Partner or Production Partner and enjoy one of the unique experiences that come with it — bringing our exceptional artists and unforgettable live opera into the world of your guests, clients and colleagues.

Could your organisation join us as a Principal Partner or Production Partner?! Contact us via our website to discuss this further. Join us in forging the future of opera!

📅 22 November & 6 December 2026
🕞 3:30 pm
📍 Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London

🎟️ Last remaining tickets via the link below:👇

https://www.ram.ac.uk/events/opera-forge-presents-wagners-die-walküre -and-times

Photos by: Mitzi de Margary

Have you met Opera Forge’s Valkyries? Eight formidable voices. One legendary sisterhood. And the thunder of Wagner’s Die Walküre is coming to London!

The Valkyries — Wotan’s warrior daughters, the legendary “choosers of the slain” — are among Wagner’s most exhilarating creations. And when those famous cries of “Hojotoho!” ring through the hall, prepare for some serious vocal firepower. 🔥

Opera Forge is thrilled to introduce the eight Valkyries who will join Katerina Mina - Soprano as Brünnhilde in our inaugural production on 22/11 & 6/12 2026:

⚔️ Lauren Roscoe — Helmwige
⚔️ Anna Gregory — Gerhilde
⚔️ Christina Orjis — Ortlinde
⚔️ Angharad Lyddon — Waltraute
⚔️ Georgia Mae Bishop— Schwertleite
⚔️ Louisa Petaï — Siegrune
⚔️ Kathy Taylor-Jones — Grimgerde
⚔️ Gemma Morsley — Rossweisse

Together with an exceptional cast, Sir John Tomlinson directing the semi-staged production, and Kelvin Lim conducting Orpheus Sinfonia, they will bring Wagner’s extraordinary world to life.

Now is the time to secure your seats. 🎟️

📅 22 November & 6 December 2026
🕞 3:30 pm
📍 Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London

🎟️ Tickets via the link below:

https://www.ram.ac.uk/events/opera-forge-presents-wagners-die-walküre -and-times

Two performances. One unforgettable Die Walküre.

Don’t miss the Ride. ⚔️🔥

Dartington, through the lens of Julian Guidera.

A glimpse into an extraordinary Working Session with designer and stage director Charlie Edwards, where Wagner’s music, Charlie’s artistry, and the exceptional voices of Wotan sang by Pauls Putnins, Katerina Mina - Soprano as Brünnhilde, and Rozanna Madylus as Fricka came together. Artistic director of Opera Forge, Kelvin Lim directed from the piano which sounded like a full orchestra under his fingers, and assistant director Eleanor Strutt was Charlie’s right hand.

We are immensely proud of what was forged at Dartington Trust. 🔥 Thanks to these stunning images, we can share a glimpse of the artistry, energy and passion that filled The Great Hall last Saturday.

More photos to follow. Stay tuned!

📸

What a weekend for Opera Forge in Dartington. ⚒️🎭 Opera Forge’s Working Session & Concert was an extraordinary celebration of Wagner, artistry and collaboration — culminating in a concert that left the audience spellbound, and us immensely proud.

A huge thank you to stage director and designer, Charlie Edwards, our artistic and musical director, Kelvin Lim, our terrific artists, the Dartington Trust team whose work was exceptional, and everyone who came to Dartington and made the day so special.

Conductor/pianist: Kelvin Lim
Stage Director: Charlie Edwards
Assistant Director: Eleanor Strutt
Wotan: Pauls Putnins
Brünnhilde: Katerina Mina - Soprano
Fricka: Rozanna Madylus

The Forge is burning brightly. And we’re only getting started. 🔥

If you haven’t booked your tickets yet for Wagner’s Die Walküre, semi-staged by Wagnerian legend Sir John Tomlinson, with conducting Orpheus Sinfonia, this is your chance to do so! 🙂

🎟️ 22 NOV & 6 DEC 2026, at 3:30pm

☝️ Follow QR code on our flyer, or the link below ⬇️ to book your tickets! The opening night is nearly sold out.

https://www.ram.ac.uk/events/opera-forge-presents-wagners-die-walküre -and-times

🔥 Welcome to Opera Forge 🔥
www.operaforge.com

Dartington Announcement - Charles Edwards

Unfortunately, following urgent knee surgery last week, Sir John Tomlinson is no longer able to join us at Dartington Trust this Saturday 22 August. We send Sir John our very best wishes for a speedy recovery.

We are delighted that internationally acclaimed opera director and designer Charles Edwards has agreed to step in at short notice for both Opera Forge’s behind-the-scenes ticketed working session and the evening concert.

Charles has directed opera in the UK and abroad, and designs set (and, often, lighting) for his productions. They include: Das Rheingold, Tristan und Isolde, Don Quichotte and Idomeneo for Grange Park Opera; I Puritani for the Metropolitan Opera, New York; Elektra for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Pagliacci, Joshua, Rigoletto and Oedipus Rex for Opera North; Turandot for National Reisopera, Netherlands; Tristan und Isolde for Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon; Così fan tutte for Mid-Wales Opera and Maria di Rohan for Wexford Festival Opera.

He is presently at work on the designs for his new production of Die Walküre for Grange Park Opera as the second part of the complete Ring, as well as for Sir David McVicar’s new production of Turandot for Scottish Opera.

We’re enormously grateful to Charles for joining us and look forward to welcoming him to Dartington this Saturday.

🎟 Tickets for all three forthcoming events of .forge are limited—secure yours now in the links below ⬇️

https://operaforge.com/22-august-dartington-working-afternoon-concert/

https://www.ram.ac.uk/events/opera-forge-presents-wagners-die-walküre -and-times

🔥 Welcome to Opera Forge 🔥
www.operaforge.com

🎭 Meet the Forge - British Cypriot dramatic soprano Katerina Mina - Soprano joins Opera Forge as Brünnhilde in our inaugural production of Wagner’s Die Walküre.

Managing Director and founding member of Opera Forge, Katerina is embodying the company’s artist-led ethos and its commitment to providing meaningful performance platforms for singers stepping into the most demanding repertoire. Katerina’s career encompasses a wide range of leading operatic and concert repertoire, with an increasing focus on the great Wagnerian roles.

She recently understudied Helmwige and Gerhilde (Die Walküre) as part of Regents Opera’s Ring Cycle and performed the Foreign Princess (Rusalka) with the same company. She took the trio of leading roles in the world premiere of Three Women, a chamber opera by Tim Welton and Vasos Argyrides. Her operatic repertoire includes Senta (Der fliegende Holländer), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Leonora (La forza del destino), Giorgetta (Il tabarro) and Tosca.

Born in Cyprus, Katerina moved to the United Kingdom to study voice and piano at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She has been awarded prizes at the Julián Gayarre International Singing Competition and the Concorso Vocale Internazionale di Musica Sacra. Katerina is mentored by the British dramatic soprano Susan Bullock.

In 2018 she released her debut album Angel of Fire on the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s label, accompanied by the RPO under Grzegorz Nowak. In 2022 she received a medal from the Stockholm Culture Awards for her contribution to opera.

Book your tickets to see Katerina perform in Dartington Trust’s Great Hall on Saturday 22 August 2026, as part of Opera Forge’s preparation for our inaugural shows at the end of the year.

🎟 Tickets for all three forthcoming events of Opera Forge are limited—secure yours now in the links below ⬇️

https://operaforge.com/22-august-dartington-working-afternoon-concert/

https://www.ram.ac.uk/events/opera-forge-presents-wagners-die-walküre -and-times

🔥 Welcome to Opera Forge 🔥
www.operaforge.com

Next Saturday 22 August at Dartington, Wagner comes alive with Opera Forge. ⚒️🎭

From the rehearsal space to the concert platform, join us for a very special Working Session & Concert at Dartington Trust’s Great Hall on Saturday 22 August 2026, following our recent similar event in London organised by .

Expect an afternoon of exploring in depth the roles of Brünnhilde, Wotan and Fricka, as we delve into Wagner’s own world, before seeing it all coming alive in concert.

This is your chance to experience the magic behind the performance: the coaching, the rehearsal, the interpretation and, ultimately, the music. And with artists from Opera Forge’s inaugural production of Die Walküre taking part, it’s a wonderful opportunity to experience the voices and artistry behind our Wagnerian journey.

📍 Dartington
📅 Next Saturday
🎟️ Tickets are available now — don’t miss it. Book yours in the link below ⬇️

https://ticket.dartington.org/EventAvailability?EventId=870998

Conductor/pianist: Kelvin Lim
Stage Director: Sir John Tomlinson
Assistant Director: Eleanor Strutt
Wotan: Pauls Putnins
Fricka: Rozanna Madylus
Brünnhilde: Katerina Mina - Soprano Katerina Mina

🎭 Meet the Forge - British Latvian bass-baritone, Pauls Putnins joins Opera Forge as Wotan in our inaugural production of Opera Forge presents “Die Walküre” & Opera Forge presents “Die Walküre”

His operatic roles include Colline/La bohème (ENO, Opéra de Nancy); Raimondo/Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera Colorado); Escamillo/Carmen (New Zealand Opera); Conte/ Le nozze di Figaro (Scottish Opera, Latvian National Opera, Teatru Manoel Valletta); Leporello/Don Giovanni, Lilaque le Fils/Boulevard Solitude (Teatro Carlo Felice and Gran Teatre del Liceu); Collatinus/The R**e of Lucretia (St Petersburg and Riga); Reinmar/Tannhäuser (Barcelona); Dutchman/ The Flying Dutchman (OperaUpClose); Fasolt/Das Rheingold and Wotan cover /Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried (Longborough); Nettuno/ Idomeneo and Armoured Man and Priest/Die zauberflote (Glyndebourne); Nettuno/Idomeneo and Angelotti/Tosca (ENO); Don Fernando/Fidelio (Garsington); Imperial Commissioner/Madama Butterfly and Ramfis/Aida (Royal Albert Hall).

Pauls has an international concert career and has sung with orchestras including the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel, Moscow and Bucharest Philharmonics, as well as the Russian National Orchestra ranging in a wide repertoire, including all Bach Passions, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. His recordings include Ferrondo in Mercadante’s Maria Stuarda regina di Scozia, Ricardo in Meyerbeer’s Margherita D’Anjou (Opera Rara); Everyman in Walford Davies’ Everyman (Duton); as well as DVDs of Jonathan Miller’s production of La bohème at ENO (Warner Classics) and Lehnhoff’s production of Henze’s Boulevard Solitude at the Liceu, Barcelona (Euroarts).

In 2020, Pauls was awarded the Carole Rees Award from Mastersingers for advanced musical studies, specifically towards learning all the Wotan roles in Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Now, Opera Forge gives him the opportunity to debut the role of Wotan in Die Walküre.

Book your tickets to see Pauls perform in Dartington Trust’s Great Hall on Saturday 22 August 2026, as part of Opera Forge’s preparation for our inaugural shows at the end of the year. A Working Afternoon led by Sir John Tomlinson will be followed by a concert of Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 3 of Die Walküre.

🎟 Tickets for all three forthcoming events of Opera Forge are limited—secure yours now in the links below ⬇️

https://operaforge.com/22-august-dartington-working-afternoon-concert/

https://www.ram.ac.uk/events/opera-forge-presents-wagners-die-walküre -and-times

🔥 Welcome to Opera Forge 🔥
www.operaforge.com