Master Classes & Special Guests

Gary Matthewman is one of the UK’s leading song pianists. A regular artist at Wigmore Hall in London, other recent and forthcoming appearances include Carnegie Hall in New York, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and in Strasbourg, Prague, Lucerne, Basel, Lisbon, Toronto, São Paulo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney. His UK Festival performances include Oxford Lieder, Leeds Lieder, Aldeburgh, Buxton and Glyndebourne.

Recent and future recital partners include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Thomas Allen, Sumi Jo, Nuccia Focile, Mark Padmore, Ailyn Perèz, Kate Lindsey, Markus Werba, Dimitri Platanias, Sylvia Schwartz, Kate Royal, Andrei Bondarenko, Louise Alder, Adam Plachetka, Benjamin Appl, Sarah-Jane Brandon and Roderick Williams.

Gary has made numerous live broadcasts and recordings for BBC Radio 3, and his recent recording of Schubert’s Winterreise with Matthew Rose received widespread critical acclaim, featuring as Gramophone Magazine’s Recording of the Month and BBC Radio 3’s Disc of the Week. He is Professor of Vocal Repertoire at the Royal College of Music, and song coach for the Jette Parker Young Artists at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Roberta Cunningham is an American trained opera singer/voice teacher, currently living in Germany where she has resided since 1980. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor’s degree in Voice Performance, a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and finally a Master’s Degree in Opera Performance. She continued her studies at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz in 1980 (1982 and 1983) and the Hochschule für Music und Darstellende Kunst in Hannover, Germany. Her career started at the Kammeroper in Vienna and continued at the Stadttheater in Hildesheim (1985 to 1990), Münster, (1990 to 1993) and the theater in Rudolstadt (1993 to 1995) with guest performances in Leipzig, Bremerhaven, Osnabrück, Gießen, Trier, Luzern, and Cairo. Her roles include Mimì, Manon Lescaut, Pamina, Fiordiligi, Vitellia, Desdemona, Luisa Miller, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Maddalena (Andrea Chénier), Rosalinde, Kurfürstin (Vogelhändler), among others. She has, as well, been a part of the ensemble for the Premiere German Production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” (1997 to 2000). Roberta has been teaching for over 20 years and was an administrator, teacher and co-founder of the Neil Semer Vocal Institute. She is a sought-after speaker and masterclass leader and teaches privately in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Mannheim, and Alzenau as well as in Aarhus, Denmark, Vienna, Austria, and in Dubai!

Roberta will host Tisch Talks – informal one-on-one Q&A discussions about living in Europe, singing for a living, audition repertoire, general advice for singers, etc. She will also present Living & Working in Europe lectures, Mindfulness for Singers classes, How to Create a German Résumé class, and the Breathing & Posture Workshop.

Teaching Philosophy
My teaching is very much informed by my experience of hearing countless singers each year in an audition & competition context, many of whom, for various reasons, fail to make the desired impact.

As singers, we are so often fixated with achieving particular results that we don’t truly manage to be in the moment. Because of this, a primary focus of my work is to explore how we can shift from “controlling the results” to “taking control of the process”.

As an efficiently functioning, well-calibrated technique is the indispensable basis for any sustainable singing career, singers often focus on technique in isolation. To my mind true (authentic) artistic expression is rarely integrated early enough into the technical process.

In my teaching I am interested in how we apply our technique in a musical context as a means of giving voice to our individual artistry. The vocalism of language is central to my work: how we use words not only to express but in order to achieve a genuine legato etc.. Sound alone is rarely the key.

I believe there is no one model of teaching “to fit all” – lessons are about finding a common language in a supportive environment that enables us to evolve and understand more.

A further priority of mine is to support students in compiling a coherent and personally representative audition list that also functions from a European perspective.

In terms repertoire, I have a real affinity for the music of the early nineteenth century in particular Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini (probably stemming from my fascination with freedom of breath as the basis of all expression) and German operatic and Lied repertoire of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries – the music that is still central to my performance career.

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From Ireland, Paul McNamara is based in The Netherlands where he is Artistic Leader of the Dutch National Opera Academy, the collaborative master’s in opera performance offered by the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in partnership with the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.

The tenor has appeared in opera houses throughout Germany and Austria performing roles such as Wagner’s Claudio (Das Liebesverbot), Erik, Tannhäuser, Loge, Tristan, Siegfried, Mime and Parsifal. In addition to operas by Berg, Braunfels, Schillings, Schreker, Strauss, Korngold and Zemlinsky, his extensive repertoire also includes work by Cavalli, Monteverdi, Mozart, Weber, Meyerbeer, Leoncavallo, Tchaikowsky, Janáček, Britten, Previn, Penderecki and John Adams.

He has been heard at major venues including Venice’s Teatro La Fenice, Teatr Wielki – the Polish National Opera in Warsaw, the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and with the Salzburg Festival at the Beijing Music Festival. A keen recitalist, concert appearances have taken him to many of the world’s leading venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and New York’s Carnegie Hall as well as to the Telemann Festival in Hamburg with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

Current and upcoming engagements include appearances with the Nederlandse Reisopera, the Berliner Staatsoper, Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken, the Opéra Royal de Versailles and Opéra national du Rhin, Strasbourg.

An alumnus of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Paul McNamara is an honours graduate of the University College Cork, the Cork School of Music and the Royal College of Music London. He is a casting consultant for the Stichting Omroep Muziek (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir) and Opera Adviser to the Arts Council of Ireland (An Chomhairle Ealaíon).

Much demand as a teacher, career consultant and juror in international singing competitions, in addition to returning to AIMS, 2024 will see him give masterclasses in The Netherlands and Germany, as well as working with the singers at the Oberösterreichische Opernstudio in Linz.

Through his uniquely compelling performances, Rolando Villazón has firmly established himself as one of the music world’s most critically acclaimed and beloved stars and as one of the leading artistic voices of our day. Celebrated and loved by critics and audiences alike, Villazón’s versatility is unique: in addition to his stage career, he is also a stage director, novelist, artistic director and presenter on television and radio.

Born in Mexico City, he began his musical studies at the National Conservatory of his native country before becoming a member of the junior programs at the Pittsburgh Opera and San Francisco Opera. Rolando Villazón quickly made a name for himself on the international music scene after winning several prizes at Plácido Domingo’s “Operalia” competition in 1999 (including the Zarzuela Prize and the Audience Prize). This was followed in the same year by his European debut as Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon in Genoa and debuts as Alfredo in La Traviata at the Opéra de Paris and as Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth at the Staatsoper Berlin. Since then, Rolando Villazón has been a regular guest at the Staatsoper Berlin, Munich and Vienna, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Salzburg Festival, working with leading orchestras and renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Antonio Pappano and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He has performed at venues including London’s Barbican Hall, the Philharmonie in Paris, Berlin and Cologne, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome and New York’s Carnegie Hall. In 2011, Rolando Villazón made his debut as a stage director with an acclaimed production of Massenet’s Werther with the Opéra Lyon and has since directed at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf, the Vienna Volksoper, the Semperoper in Dresden, the Théatre des Champs-Elysées and most recently at the 2022 Salzburg Festival, where his production of Il barbiere di Siviglia with a star cast under the direction of Cecilia Bartoli was acclaimed by critics and audiences.

In 2007, Rolando Villazón became an exclusive recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon and since then has sold over 2 million albums worldwide with a catalogue including over 20 CDs and DVDs which have received numerous prizes. He was also awarded the title of Chévalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of the highest honors in the field of art and literature in France, his permanent residence. Rolando Villazón is an ambassador for RED NOSES Clowndoctors International and a member of the Collège de Pataphysique de Paris. His first novel “Malabares” was published in 2013, followed by “Lebenskünstler” in 2017 and “Amadeus auf dem Fahrrad” in 2020, which was on Der Spiegel magazine’s bestseller list for several weeks. Rolando Villazón presented his own series “Stars of Tomorrow” on Arte, hosted on Radio Classique in France and can be heard daily on Klassik Radio with “Rolando furioso”. In 2017, he was appointed ambassador of the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg. He is currently the artistic director of the foundation.

During the 2023-24 season, Rolando Villazón returns to some of the world’s most prestigious stages. He begins the season with performances of one of his signature roles, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Orfeo) in a new production at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival. Another highlight is his return to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he sings Papageno in The Magic Flute. He revives his acclaimed portrayal of Loge in Das Rheingold at Berlin’s Staatsoper under the baton of Philippe Jordan and returns to Semperoper Dresden, for a revival of last season’s celebrated production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. Rolando Villazón reprises another signature role, Alessandro in Mozart’s Il re pastore, with frequent collaborators L’Arpeggiata and Christina Pluhar in a concert version at Budapest’s MÜPA. He closes the season with a return to Vienna’s Staatsoper for a baroque gala alongside Cecilia Bartoli.

Born in Denmark, Boje Skovhus studied at the Aarhus Music College and the Royal Academy for Opera of Copenhagen and in New York. He rose to opera stardom after a last minute appearance at the Vienna Volksoper when he substituted as Don Giovanni. Since then he has enjoyed a rapidly developing career on the world’s greatest opera stages.

He has been virtually adopted by the Viennese, and regularly performs at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival. He sings the major baritone roles, such as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. He has spurred a revival of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Vienna Volksoper, and Royal Opera Copenhagen, and the little known baritone version of Massenet’s Werther. He also has made a specialty of Britten’s Billy Budd and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, including arias or scenes from them on his first opera disc (Sony Classics). Other leading baritone parts in his repertoire are Berg’s Wozzeck, Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero, Peter I in Zar und Zimmerman, Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Raimond in Othmar Schoeck’s Venus.

Skovhus also frequently appears on the recital stage and has recorded many recital discs. These include selections of Lieder by Hugo Wolf and Erich Korngold, a selection of songs by Robert and Clara Schumann (The Heart of the Poet), and the two great Schubert song cycles Schwanengesang and Die schöne Müllerin. After his 1997 New York recital at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center he was acclaimed as one of the great Lieder singers of his generation. He is particularly known for the energy and characterization he brings to the stage. He has appeared on many of the world’s great opera stages, including the Metropolitan in New York (debuting 1998 in Die Fledermaus), the Hamburg State Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opéra de Paris, Royal Opera Copenhagen, and the Bavarian State Opera.

He appears at major music festivals such as Die Salzburg Festspiel, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Edinburgh, the Vienna Festwochen, and the Feldkirch Schubertiade. On the orchestral concert stage, he has sung in Orff’s Carmina Burana, Britten’s War Requiem, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Brahms’ Ein deutsche Requiem, and Schumann’s Scenes from Faust. This is Skovhus’ sixth time to give a master class at AIMS.

Recognised as one of the leading accompanists of his generation, he has worked with many of the world’s greatest singers including Sir Thomas Allen, Dame Janet Baker, Olaf Bär, Barbara Bonney, Ian Bostridge, Angela Gheorghiu, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Della Jones, Simon Keenlyside, Angelika Kirchschlager, Magdalena Kozena, Solveig Kringelborn, Jonathan Lemalu, Dame Felicity Lott, Christopher Maltman, Karita Mattila, Lisa Milne, Ann Murray, Anna Netrebko, Anne Sofie von Otter, Joan Rodgers, Amanda Roocroft, Michael Schade, Frederica von Stade, Sarah Walker and Bryn Terfel.

He has presented his own series at the Wigmore Hall (a Britten and a Poulenc series and Decade by Decade – 100 years of German Song broadcast by the BBC) and at the Edinburgh Festival (the complete lieder of Hugo Wolf). He has appeared throughout Europe (including London’s Wigmore Hall, Barbican, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Opera House; La Scala, Milan; the Chatelet, Paris; the Liceu, Barcelona; Berlin’s Philharmonie and Konzerthaus; Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein), North America (including in New York both Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall), Australia (including the Sydney Opera House) and at the Aix en Provence, Vienna, Edinburgh, Schubertiade, Munich and Salzburg Festivals.

Recording projects have included Schubert, Schumann and English song recitals with Bryn Terfel (for Deutsche Grammophon); Schubert and Strauss recitals with Simon Keenlyside (for EMI); recital recordings with Angela Gheorghiu and Barbara Bonney (for Decca), Magdalena Kozena (for DG), Della Jones (for Chandos), Susan Bullock (for Crear Classics), Solveig Kringelborn (for NMA); Amanda Roocroft (for Onyx); the complete Fauré songs with Sarah Walker and Tom Krause; the complete Britten Folk Songs for Hyperion; the complete Beethoven Folk Songs for Deutsche Grammophon; the complete Poulenc songs for Signum; and Britten Song Cycles as well as Schubert’s Winterreise with Florian Boesch for Onyx.

This season’s engagements include appearances with Simon Keenlyside, Magdalena Kozena, Dorothea Röschmann, Susan Graham, Christopher Maltman, Thomas Oliemanns, Kate Royal, Christiane Karg, Iestyn Davies, Florian Boesch and Anne Schwanewilms.

He was a given an honorary doctorate at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2004, and appointed International Fellow of Accompaniment in 2009. Malcolm was the Artistic Director of the 2011 Leeds Lieder+ Festival.

Clemens was born and schooled in Graz and has been associated with AIMS all his life. Completed BA, MPh and PhD studies in Musicology, Romance Languages and Organ performance. He is a freelance author, journalist, program annotator, narrator, and musician.

Since 2004, Clemens works as an artists’ agent representing an international group of vocalists.

He frequently collaborates with the most prestigious promoters, orchestras, festivals and opera houses around the World.

Artists he has worked with include Christa Ludwig, Elina Garanča, Rolando Villázon, Thomas Hampson, and actors Christoph Waltz and Vanessa Redgrave. On his roster are several former AIMSers whom he represents in various European countries.

He teaches audition training at the Graz Music University, in London, Washington DC, Buenos Aires, and many other places.

Kammersängerin Linda Watson American dramatic soprano made her career based in Germany where she studied and began as a mezzo-soprano at the Theater Aachen. She has performed worldwide, including at the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. She focused on dramatic roles by Wagner and Strauss, as well as Turandot. She was awarded the title Kammersängerin in Germany in 2004 and in Austria in 2020. Watson began her stage career as a mezzo-soprano at the Theater Aachen in 1992, followed by an engagement at the Aalto Theatre in Essen in 1995, combined with a guest contract at the Leipzig Opera, where she performed Wagnerian roles such as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde and Venus in Tannhäuser. She became a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 1997. The same year, she first appeared as Venus at the Vienna State Opera, and a year later as Kundry in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. From 2000 to 2005, she portrayed Ortrud in Lohengrin at Bayreuth.

From 2006 to 2010, she sang all three Brünnhilde roles in Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival, and also performed these roles in the new production at the Vienna State Opera, earning a solo Grammy Nomination. She subsequently appeared as Brünnhilde at many of the world’s great opera houses, including at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, even in a nine-hour compilation of all the Ring in one day. She added more dramatic roles to her repertoire, including Isolde, Elektra, and both the Dyer’s Wife and the Nurse in Die Frau ohne Schatten. The credibility of her portrayals and her vocal bravura led to engagements worldwide, in Munich, Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona, at La Scala in Milan, Florence, Bologna, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She has worked with conductors including Claudio Abbado, Bertrand de Billy, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Hartmut Haenchen, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, Antonio Pappano, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Christian Thielemann. In 2013 and 2014, the singer returned to the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein to perform as Marschallin, Elektra, Ariadne and Brünnhilde. At the Vienna State Opera, she was appointed Kammersängerin in January 2020. At La Scala in Milan, Linda Watson could be seen and heard in the 2020/21 season as Herodias in Salome.

In addition, Linda Watson is a professor of voice at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, and performs master classes worldwide.

Mariusz Kwiecien is recognized worldwide as one of the leading baritones before the public today. Known for his handsome voice, incisive musicianship and captivating stage presence, he performs with the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Bavarian State Opera, and with many other renowned theaters around the world. He is in demand for his portrayals of the title roles in Don Giovanni, King Roger, and Eugene Onegin, as well as for Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Riccardo in I Puritani, and Rodrigo di Posa in Don Carlo.