Vocal Studies

Chiara Angella
Soprano Opera Professor
Chiara has had leading roles at “La Scala” in Milan, “Comunale” Theatre in Bologna, “C.Felice” Theatre in Genoa, “La Fenice” in Venice, “Opernhaus” in Zurich, “Capitole” in Toulouse.
She studied at “Verdi” Conservatoire in Milan and with Magda Olivero, Maria del Fante and Luciano Pavarotti.
She specialised in production and dramaturgy at the Stabile Theatre of Veneto.
She is winner of Circle Dordoni Brescia, “best singer 2006” and “Gold Mascagni 2007”, Winner of “Amici del Loggione” of the La Scala in Milan.

Silvio Zanon
Baritone Opera Professor
Silvio has had leading roles of Verdi’s and Verismo”s repertoire worldwide, including “La Scala” in Milan, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, «Staats Oper» in Vienna, “Liceu” in Barcelona, “Bunkamura” in Tokyo, “Megaron” in Athens.
He studied with Giuseppe Scandola and Luciano Pavarotti.
He is Founder and Director of the Opera Academy «Progetto Voce».
He specialized in production and dramaturgy at the Stabile Theatre of Veneto and is the winner of “Primo Palcoscenico” international competition

Cristian Cimei
Music Director and Opera Professor
Cristian is an Italian conductor who has performed at the Boston Opera House, Lincoln Centre (New York), Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre (Atlanta), Capitol Theatre (Sydney), Melbourne Art Centre, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Hyogo Performing Arts Center (Osaka), Gunpo Culture & Arts Center (Seoul) to name a few. He has collaborated with Luciano Pavarotti, Fabio Armiliato, Mariella Devia, Kristin Lewis, Christin-Marie Hill, Ole Bohn, Dame Janet Suzman. Simon Callow, and with composers Ennio Morricone, Eleanor Alberga and Jim Stephenson amongst others. Conducting Awards include the prestigious Helen Jones Grad End VPA Fellowship at Texas Tech University, the ‘Goossens Fellowship’ and International Merit for outstanding performance from the Sydney Music Conservatoire.

Nicola Colabianchi
Italian Repertoire Tradition
Conductor, composer, pianist and librettist, MºColabianchi is Director of the Lyric Theatre of Cagliari. Member of the Board of the Lazio Regional Orchestra, he has also been Artistic Director of the Rome Opera Theatre for several years.
As conductor, he collaborated on opera, concert and recording productions with such artists as Domingo, Pavarotti, Krauss, Ramey.
Expert and historian of lyric voices, he has created and conducted 120 radio broadcasts for Rai International, based on recordings of opera singers from the origins of phonography to the 1960s.

Russell Painter
English Opera Coach
Russell is an English Tenor and Opera coach sitting in the Board of Directors of Equity Uk.
A Master graduate from Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ian Kennedy, Russell’s Opera credits include Tamino (The Magic Flute), Title role in Albert Herring, Don Basillio (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Jose (Carmen), Count Almaviva (The Barber of Seville) Gaston (La Traviata) and Roman’s Isabella and the Pot of Basil at Covent Garden and Buxton.
Russell has also a large experience with the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire, with many principal roles including The Defendant, Marco, Frederic, Hilarion, Ralph, Captain Fitzbattleaxe, Richard Dauntless, Earl Tolloller, Duke, Alexis, Nanki-Poo and Box.

Vivien Hewitt
Musical Dramaturgy, Production & Design Professor
Vivien is a Stage director and
costume designer in major theatres including Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, C.Felice Theatre in Genoa, Bunka Kai Kan in Tokyo, Seoul Arts Centre in South Korea, Teatro Municipal in Lima (Peru), Teatro Solìs in Montevideo, Baltimore Opera.
She is a Puccini and opera expert with many TV and radio programmes for BBC, Channel 4, France 5/Arté, RAI, Carlo Felice Streaming and Rete Versilia.

Alessio Pizzech
Scenic Art Professor
Alessio is Opera Director with the leading theatres and festivals in Italy and worldwide, including Opera Youth Arezzo, Bergamo Music Festival, La Fenice in Venice, Verdi in Trieste, Slovenian Theatre in Maribor, Conservatoires in Norway and Libanon, Opera Festival in Barga and Oslo.
He has been Stage Director for theatre plays in Metastasio Theatre in Prato, “Teatro in scatola” in Rome, “Cut” in Venice, “Grassi” Foundation in Milan, “Festival dei Due mondi” in Spoleto, “Experimental Centre” of Filmography in Rome

Zenaida Des Aubris
Career Strategies Professor
Zenaida has worked in artistic administration at the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Palau de les Arts Valencia. As a producer, she was general manager of “Turandot in the Forbidden City” in Beijing and then general director of the Hangzhou Grand Theater, China. She ran her own boutique agency for opera singers and was personal manager to the film and opera stage director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle and later to the conductor Lorin Maazel. She has a Masters in Sociology from the University of Washington. Her current focus is on career strategy and business courses for opera singers and classical musicians.

Manuela Custer
Mezzo Soprano Visiting Opera Professor
Manuela has held performances at Scala in Milan, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Royal Festival Hall, Paris’ Theatre des Champs-Elysées, Rossini Opera Festival, Teatro Regio in Turin, Wiener Konzerthaus, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Teatro La Zarzuela in Madrid, Dallas Opera.
She has albums released by Warner Fonit, Virgin Classics

Diego Mingolla
Italian Opera Coach
Diego is a Piano Accompaniment and Opera` Repetiteur at State Philharmonic of Kazakistan, NCPA (National Centre for Performing Arts) in Mumbai, International Sommerakademie Mozarteum in Salzburg, L’Accademia della Voce in Piemonte and the L. Perosi Academy for Post Graduate Music Studies in Biella.
He has had collaborations with
Mirella Freni, Barbara Frittoli, Lucio Gallo, Manuela Custer, Laura Claycomb, Francis Keeping, Rockwell Blake

Luciana Di Bella
Italian Opera Coach
Luciana Di Bella is an Italian soprano and jazz singer. Luciana graduated in Opera at the Trapani Conservatoires under the guidance of Ilya Aramajo, before continuing her specialization with Mariella Devia, Gregory Kunde, Birgitt Nickl and Alaimo among others. Her repertoire ranges from Vivaldi to Rossini and Mozart, to contemporary music. In recent years she focused on chamber and sacred music and has participated in several international sacred music festivals in Italy, France, Switzerland. Luciana has taught at the classical music department of the University of Agder in Norway as Italian specialist for diction and interpretation in the operatic repertoire. She has lived in London since 2016 and carries out her concert and educational activities between the United Kingdom and Europe.

Monique Klongtruadroke
Italian Opera Coach
Monique is a coloratura soprano of Italian/Thai heritage. A top graduate in Opera Singing from the Venice Conservatoire in Italy, she has a singing career spanning four continents. She was invited to sing for the King of Thailand, and in several Thai Royal Command Performances. Praised by OPERA UK magazine for singing the role of Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), leading roles in the World Premieres of the first Thai language Opera The Lunchbox (IHOS Opera) in Australia, and opera-ballet Bhuridat (Opera Siam International) in Thailand. With teaching experience at Thailand’s top universities in Voice and Italian Diction, she divides her activity between UK, Thailand and online.
