Carshalton Opera presents Così Fan Tutte
Cast
Fiordiligi - Helen Bailey (aka. Mrs Clements!)
Dorabella - Maggie Cooper
Guglielmo - Jon Openshaw
Ferrando - Sam Leggett
Despina - Valerie Wong
Don Alfonso - Giles Davies
Chorus - Walthamstow Hall Chamber Choir (soloists: Grace E, Emily L, Izzy S)
Pianist - Siyuan Xu
Conductor - Robin Page
Creative team
Director - Alex Pearson
Chorus director - Helen Clements
Stage manager - Chloe Simpson
Lighting technician - James Mitchell
Producer - Maggie Cooper
Founder - Matthew Drayton
With thanks to the Wally Hall team: Mrs Clements, Mr Clements, Miss Couch, Mr Castell, and Ms Chamberlain.
And thanks to: All Saints Church Carshalton, and Dan Lock and Bianca Meneghelli at Live Business for costumes.
Performer biographies
Helen Bailey (soprano)
Helen trained at the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban after graduating from Liverpool JMU with a First Class
degree in English Literature. Helen splits her time between teaching and performing with recent highlights including the
role of ‘Cleopatra’ in a reimagining of Handel’s Giulia Cesare, Verdi’s Requiem for Hampshire Choral Society at The Anvil
Basingstoke, Vaughan William’s Sea Symphony at The Stag Theatre and Lisa in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades
with Midsummer Opera. Please visit www.helen-bailey.com for more information about future engagements.
Maggie Cooper (mezzo-soprano)
Maggie was awarded a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has performed in operas,
oratorio and recitals in the UK and abroad with companies including Longborough Festival Opera, Opera up Close and
Regents Opera and recitals at St Paul’s Cathedral, St John’s Smith Square and St Martin-in-the-Fields. She was
described by ‘The Times’ as ‘captivating..naive and delicate, yet tough, touching…she delivers with searing power and
passion’. Maggie was nominated for 2019 Women’s Radio Station Future Classic Women Awards.
www.maggiecooper.com
Jon Openshaw (bass-baritone)
Jon is delighted to sing for the first time with Carshalton Opera. He has performed professionally with Longborough
Festival Opera, Garsington Opera, Opera South East, Opera up Close, Barefoot Opera, Surrey Opera and Heritage
Opera amoung others. Roles performed include Escamillo (Carmen), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Guglielmo (Cosi Fan
Tutte), Bartolo (Barbiere di Sivilglia), Dulcamara (Elisir d’Amore). Jon is based in Horsham and works as a singing
teacher and choir director, as well as freelance performer. www.jonopenshaw.co.uk
Sam Leggett (tenor)
Sam Leggett Sam made his operatic debut creating the role of Lord Alfred Douglas in Robert Ely’s ‘1936: Fishing’. His
previous roles include Dr Blind (Kentish Opera), Don Ottavio (Random Opera), Count Barigoule (Carshalton Opera),
Ralph Rackstraw (New London Opera Group), Edward Ferrars Sense and Sensibility, Count Almaviva (Tessitoura), Le
Remendado (Bristol Opera), Adolfo Pirelli and Lord Tolloller (Bristol University). He has appeared as a soloist with many
choral societies including Worcester Cathedral Choir, Fulham and Hammersmith Choral society, Carshalton Choral
Society and London City Orchestra. www.encoremusicians.com/Sam-Leggett
Valerie Wong (soprano)
Valerie is a Hong Kong-born soprano acclaimed for her versatility in both opera and concert performance. Her roles
include La Fée (Cendrillon), Musetta (La Boheme) and Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro). A 2025/26 Pegasus Opera
Mentorship mentee, she has premiered contemporary works at Tête à Tête Opera Festival and performed the UK
premiere of Zhou Long’s The Konghou Fantasia. Wong holds a Master of Performance from the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama and a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the Hong Kong Academy for performing Arts.
www.valeriewongyiwing.com
Giles Davies (bass-baritone)
Giles studied at the Purcell School of Music and on a scholarship with Norman Bailey at the RCM, where he won the
Lieder Competition. Since then his concert and opera engagements have taken him across the globe in repertoire from
all periods. He has recorded for the BBC, Capriol Films, Naxos, Chandon, Divine Art Records, Boo productions and on numerous sound tracks. For Music Theatre Wales at the Linbury Theatre, Covent Garden, he created the title role of
Edgar Drake in The Piano Tuner by Nigel Osbourne, for which he receive critic acclaim. www.gilesdaviessinger.com
Siyuan Xu (pianist)
Siyuan is a London-based prize winning pianist specialising in chamber music and song accompaniment. Her interests
cover a wide range of genres, from early music to rarely performed contemporary music. Siyuan graduated with a
Master of Arts in Ensemble Piano from the Royal Academy of Music in 2024, followed by a professional Diploma in
2025. Her recent performances include recitals at Southwark Cathedral, St Marylebone Parish Church, British Library,
Brady Arts Centre, Regents Hall London, as well as performances at Chateau Voltaire and Fort L’Écluse France.
Robin Page (conductor)
Robin has worked as a conductor extensively in the UK and abroad, including engagements with the London
Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish National Radio Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic, Nordic
Chamber Orchestra (Sweden), Amor Artis (New York) and many other orchestras. He was the musical director of
Kingston Choral Society for 27 years, and has considerable choral conducting experience including the Halle Choir and
the London Symphony Chorus. www.robinpage.co.uk
Alex Pearson (director)
Alex is an experienced director and producer who has worked at a large number of venues throughout the UK on a
multitude of productions including plays, musicals and operas. Recent director credits include The Merchant of Venice
(Wimbledon Studio Theatre), Oranges and Ink (Tristan Bates and The Hens and Chicken, Words not Deeds (Bloomsbury
Theatre Festival), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing (The Rose Playhouse)
Carmen, Die Fledermaus and Cinderella (Carshalton Opera). Alex is the Executive Producer of Shakespeare in the
Squares. www.acrossthesquare.co.uk/meet-the-team
Fiordiligi - Helen Bailey (aka. Mrs Clements!)
Dorabella - Maggie Cooper
Guglielmo - Jon Openshaw
Ferrando - Sam Leggett
Despina - Valerie Wong
Don Alfonso - Giles Davies
Chorus - Walthamstow Hall Chamber Choir (soloists: Grace E, Emily L, Izzy S)
Pianist - Siyuan Xu
Conductor - Robin Page
Creative team
Director - Alex Pearson
Chorus director - Helen Clements
Stage manager - Chloe Simpson
Lighting technician - James Mitchell
Producer - Maggie Cooper
Founder - Matthew Drayton
With thanks to the Wally Hall team: Mrs Clements, Mr Clements, Miss Couch, Mr Castell, and Ms Chamberlain.
And thanks to: All Saints Church Carshalton, and Dan Lock and Bianca Meneghelli at Live Business for costumes.
Performer biographies
Helen Bailey (soprano)
Helen trained at the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban after graduating from Liverpool JMU with a First Class
degree in English Literature. Helen splits her time between teaching and performing with recent highlights including the
role of ‘Cleopatra’ in a reimagining of Handel’s Giulia Cesare, Verdi’s Requiem for Hampshire Choral Society at The Anvil
Basingstoke, Vaughan William’s Sea Symphony at The Stag Theatre and Lisa in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades
with Midsummer Opera. Please visit www.helen-bailey.com for more information about future engagements.
Maggie Cooper (mezzo-soprano)
Maggie was awarded a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has performed in operas,
oratorio and recitals in the UK and abroad with companies including Longborough Festival Opera, Opera up Close and
Regents Opera and recitals at St Paul’s Cathedral, St John’s Smith Square and St Martin-in-the-Fields. She was
described by ‘The Times’ as ‘captivating..naive and delicate, yet tough, touching…she delivers with searing power and
passion’. Maggie was nominated for 2019 Women’s Radio Station Future Classic Women Awards.
www.maggiecooper.com
Jon Openshaw (bass-baritone)
Jon is delighted to sing for the first time with Carshalton Opera. He has performed professionally with Longborough
Festival Opera, Garsington Opera, Opera South East, Opera up Close, Barefoot Opera, Surrey Opera and Heritage
Opera amoung others. Roles performed include Escamillo (Carmen), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Guglielmo (Cosi Fan
Tutte), Bartolo (Barbiere di Sivilglia), Dulcamara (Elisir d’Amore). Jon is based in Horsham and works as a singing
teacher and choir director, as well as freelance performer. www.jonopenshaw.co.uk
Sam Leggett (tenor)
Sam Leggett Sam made his operatic debut creating the role of Lord Alfred Douglas in Robert Ely’s ‘1936: Fishing’. His
previous roles include Dr Blind (Kentish Opera), Don Ottavio (Random Opera), Count Barigoule (Carshalton Opera),
Ralph Rackstraw (New London Opera Group), Edward Ferrars Sense and Sensibility, Count Almaviva (Tessitoura), Le
Remendado (Bristol Opera), Adolfo Pirelli and Lord Tolloller (Bristol University). He has appeared as a soloist with many
choral societies including Worcester Cathedral Choir, Fulham and Hammersmith Choral society, Carshalton Choral
Society and London City Orchestra. www.encoremusicians.com/Sam-Leggett
Valerie Wong (soprano)
Valerie is a Hong Kong-born soprano acclaimed for her versatility in both opera and concert performance. Her roles
include La Fée (Cendrillon), Musetta (La Boheme) and Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro). A 2025/26 Pegasus Opera
Mentorship mentee, she has premiered contemporary works at Tête à Tête Opera Festival and performed the UK
premiere of Zhou Long’s The Konghou Fantasia. Wong holds a Master of Performance from the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama and a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the Hong Kong Academy for performing Arts.
www.valeriewongyiwing.com
Giles Davies (bass-baritone)
Giles studied at the Purcell School of Music and on a scholarship with Norman Bailey at the RCM, where he won the
Lieder Competition. Since then his concert and opera engagements have taken him across the globe in repertoire from
all periods. He has recorded for the BBC, Capriol Films, Naxos, Chandon, Divine Art Records, Boo productions and on numerous sound tracks. For Music Theatre Wales at the Linbury Theatre, Covent Garden, he created the title role of
Edgar Drake in The Piano Tuner by Nigel Osbourne, for which he receive critic acclaim. www.gilesdaviessinger.com
Siyuan Xu (pianist)
Siyuan is a London-based prize winning pianist specialising in chamber music and song accompaniment. Her interests
cover a wide range of genres, from early music to rarely performed contemporary music. Siyuan graduated with a
Master of Arts in Ensemble Piano from the Royal Academy of Music in 2024, followed by a professional Diploma in
2025. Her recent performances include recitals at Southwark Cathedral, St Marylebone Parish Church, British Library,
Brady Arts Centre, Regents Hall London, as well as performances at Chateau Voltaire and Fort L’Écluse France.
Robin Page (conductor)
Robin has worked as a conductor extensively in the UK and abroad, including engagements with the London
Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish National Radio Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic, Nordic
Chamber Orchestra (Sweden), Amor Artis (New York) and many other orchestras. He was the musical director of
Kingston Choral Society for 27 years, and has considerable choral conducting experience including the Halle Choir and
the London Symphony Chorus. www.robinpage.co.uk
Alex Pearson (director)
Alex is an experienced director and producer who has worked at a large number of venues throughout the UK on a
multitude of productions including plays, musicals and operas. Recent director credits include The Merchant of Venice
(Wimbledon Studio Theatre), Oranges and Ink (Tristan Bates and The Hens and Chicken, Words not Deeds (Bloomsbury
Theatre Festival), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing (The Rose Playhouse)
Carmen, Die Fledermaus and Cinderella (Carshalton Opera). Alex is the Executive Producer of Shakespeare in the
Squares. www.acrossthesquare.co.uk/meet-the-team