Meet the team | IntergenOpera

Meet the Team

Charlotte Wicks, (nee Stephenson): mezzo-soprano / co-founder

Charlotte is a professional Opera singer, vocal teacher and co-founder of Intergenerational Opera. After studying at the Royal Northern College of Music and The Royal Academy of Music, Charlotte began her professional career at Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Charlotte went on to work for many of the UK's leading Opera companies as a soloist, including Opera North, English Touring Opera, Raymond Gubbay productions at the Royal Albert Hall and recently abroad working for Monte Carlo Opera House. Charlotte is an enthusiastic teacher at St Andrews Prep in Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells school of music.

Charlotte Shaw, (nee Beaumont): soprano / co-founder

British soprano Charlotte Shaw (nee Beament) is an alumna of the Rising Star of the Enlightenment programme for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Garsington Alvarez Young Artist Programme and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Her operatic repertoire includes Tytania A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Lucia THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA, Title role SEMELE, Serpetta LA FINTA GIARDINIERA, Michal SAUL, Title role BERENICE, Zerlina DON GIOVANNI, Barbarina LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Belinda DIDO AND AENEAS, Mabel PIRATES OF PENZANCE, Armilla in Porpora’s L’AGRIPPINA, Teresa in Julian Philips’ THE YELLOW SOFA and Miss Schlesen in Philip Glass’ SATYAGRAHA. Performance venues include Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cadogan Hall, Kings Place and Snape Maltings and tours of Europe, Israel and Asia. Charlotte lives in Kent with her young family and is excited to begin a career in teaching.

Julian Broughton: pianist / co-leader

Julian Broughton is a composer and pianist who loves working with people to help them get the greatest possible enjoyment from music.

Among his compositions are three string quartets, a Requiem (2020), and Irregular Behaviour for clarinet and piano (2022).

An exciting new venture includes working as a duo with Miriam Teppich, for whom he has written a Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2023). Julian is also very pleased to be teaching piano and composition for the distance learning programme for Palestinian students at the Edward Said National Conservatoire.

Lesley Anne Sammons: pianist / co-leader

Lesley Anne is a conductor, répétiteur, arranger and vocal coach based in the UK. With over 40 years’ experience, she has worked the length of the UK from Faroe Islands to Cornwall, as well as across Europe at many of its foremost Opera Houses.

Lesley Anne studied at Trinity College of Music, The Guildhall School of Music, and The National Opera Studio.

As a freelance Musical Director, Repetiteur and Coach, Lesley Anne has worked for Scottish Opera,Glyndebourne Festival and Tour, English National Opera, Opera North, English Touring Opera, Royal Opera House, Grange Park Opera, Opera Holland Park, Longborough Festival Opera.

She is an Associate Lecturer at Chichester University coaching and nurturing young people. Her latest class “How to work with an Accompanist “ is with first year students.

Emma Stannard: mezzo-soprano/co-leader

Emma is an operatic mezzo-soprano and singing teacher. She trained at both the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, and has sung for companies including: English National Opera, English Touring Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Opera Holland Park and many more.

As a singing teacher, Emma has over five years experience working with all ages and abilities, developing vocal technique and working towards a wide variety of goals.

In 2020/21, Emma undertook a PGCE in Primary Education and has worked as a teacher-coach, training primary school teachers in the field of music teaching and has classroom experience working throughout East Sussex.

Collaborating Artists

Adam Marsden: baritone

Adam Marsden studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Academy
of Music Opera School and the National Opera Studio, London. Adam is also a Georg Solti Accademia Scholar and a Samling Artist.

His operatic roles include Count Ceprano (Rigoletto), the King (Cendrillon), Prince Yamadori (Madama Butterfly) for the Glyndebourne Tour, the Hunter (Rusalka), the King (Cendrillon), Yakuside (Madama Butterfly), Ufficiale (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and Wigmaker (Ariadne aux Naxos) for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, James Meredith (Kommilitonen!) composed by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Somarone (Beatrice et Benedict) conducted by Sir Colin Davis and directed by John Copley, Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte),Tiger Brown (Die Dreigroschenoper) and Musiklehrer (Ariadne auf Naxos) for RAO, Zuniga (Carmen) for Mananan International Opera Festival. Adam premiered the revised Small Tales, Tall Tales A Grimm sequence by Kenneth Hesketh with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s Ensemble 10/10.

On the concert platform Adam performances have included the role of Balstrode (Peter Grimes), Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Elgar’s Coronation Ode, Handel’s Hercules, Israel in Egypt and Messiah, Janacek’s Glagolitiic Mass, Mendelssohn’s St.Paul and Elijah, Mozart Requiem and Coronation Mass, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Verdi Requiem.

Anna Dueñas León: flamenco dancer

‘Ana not only personifies the confidence, strength and drama of this beautiful dance, she spreads that energy …5 stars!’ Miranda Glavin, Latest 7 Magazine

Anna is an accomplished flamenco dancer, choreographer and teacher currently living in the UK. As well as performing sell out theatre shows with her flamenco company, Amor Flamenco, she has her own Flamenco dance academy: ‘Academia Flamenca’.

Anna teaches flamenco dance is Spain and in the UK. She is an enthusiastic and nurturing teacher who is passionate about communicating the depth and power of authentic flamenco dance to her students, whether online or in person. ‘I started creating the downloads and DVDs because so many of my students were telling me how they struggled to remember the steps, rhythms and movements they were studying in class. Students are very hungry for information and help and I wanted to give them something that would augment their study. What started as something to help my own students, grew and evolved as more people were asking me to help them. I’ve since taught students who’ve had no other formal training other than my DVD’s and downloads and I’ve been thrilled to see just how much they’ve grasped.’

Flamencodance.co.uk now offers information and advice on all things flamenco as well as providing courses, classes, holidays and downloads for flamenco students all over the world.