Andy Morton,

revival director

ORIGINALLY from England, Morton was a professional singer for 20 years. He has established himself as a resident director with Opera Australia over the past seven years, assisting on new productions and reviving existing ones.

He has worked on 14 productions and earlier this year he made his company debut as a director in his own right with a new production of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” on a stage built on the water in Sydney Harbor.

Kwon Hye-seoung,

as Cio Cio San

A VOCAL music graduate from Seoul’s Han-Yang University, the soprano obtained a diploma in opera performance with honor at the Conservatorium of Milan and the Vercelli Academy in Italy.

She performed extensively in Italy before relocating to Australia, where she has performed many of the major lyric soprano roles with Opera Australia including Mimi of “La Boheme,” Liu of “Turandot” and Pamina of “The Magic Flute,” among others. She was the winner of the Australian Singing Competition’s prestigious Opera Award and the MBS Young Performers Award in 2002. She was nominated for Helpmann (Micaela) and Greenroom Awards in 2008 and 2009.

Paul O’Neill as Pinkerton

O’NEILL graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and was Young Artist at West Australian Opera. He was awarded Opera Foundation Australia’s Covent Garden National Opera Studio Scholarship, and studied at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice with Dennis O’Neill. He was a finalist for the Metropolitan Opera Awards, the Australian Singing Competition’s Opera Awards and the Mathy Awards.

As an ensemble member of the Berlin State Opera, O’Neill has sung many roles in productions by various opera companies. He also has a rich concert repertoire, collaborating with renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic.

(Debra Li)