Performances

William Drakett studied singing under Prof. Konrad Jarnot at the Robert Schumann Conservatoire in Düsseldorf, following organ and harpsichord studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His vocal studies have been further enriched by masterclasses with artists including Brigitte Fassbaender, Juliane Banse, Hans Eijsackers, Neal Davies, Eric Schneider, Christianne Stotijn & Henk Neven.

William has a particular love of the art song repertoire, and enjoys collaborating with pianists including Hans Eijsackers, Benjamin Mead, Edward Picton-Turbervill, Simon Carrey & Reinild Mees. He now lives in Wells where he is a Vicar Choral in the choir of Wells Cathedral, and continues his vocal studies privately with John Evans

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The Bloomsbury Baroque Ensemble is composed of Philippa Hyde, soprano; Diane Moore, baroque violin; William Summers, baroque flute and recorder; Ibrahim Aziz, bass viol, and Yeo Yat-Soon, harpsichord. Their second recital in this year’s Festival concentrates on music of the eighteenth century, around the time of the revival of Shakespeare’s work led by David Garrick. It was Garrick’s celebration of Shakespeare’s Jubilee in 1769 that put Stratford on the tourist map for all enthusiasts for the Bard, and two composers of the time particularly close to the great actor were Thomas Arne and Charles Dibdin. Discover them and others still in this recital.

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Michael Dobson is Director of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon and Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Birmingham; he is also a Trustee of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, an Honorary Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company, co-director of the Shakespeare Centre, China, and an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of the Higher School of Ukraine. His publications include: The Making of the National Poet; England's Elizabeth (with Nicola Watson); The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (with Stanley Wells); Performing Shakespeare's Tragedies Today; and Shakespeare and Amateur Performance.

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Tamara is a lyrico spinto soprano and studied both at the Julliard in New York and in the UK. Tamara holds a Diploma in Opera Performance from Birkbeck College, University of London, having majored in violin in her native Ukraine.

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She has wide-ranging operatic experience from Mozart to Strauss by way of Puccini, Verdi, Wagner and Tchaikovsky. In 2018 she co-founded Rose Opera and has produced works by Mozart, Verdi, Strauss and Britten.  She also holds an MA in foreign languages (Summa cum Laude) from the State Linguistic University of Kyiv and an MBA (also Summa cum Laude) from the University of Illinoi, specialising in International Business. ​​​​​​​​​​​