Bach im Theater: St. John Passion

Lutenist, co-founded the lautten compagney BERLIN with Hans-Werner Apel in 1984. lautten compagney BERLIN is the centerpiece of Katschner’s multifaceted work as a musician, organiser and researcher of early music. On CD, Katschner and his ensemble push musical boundaries. Alongside world premiere recordings of operas are unusual encounters of non-contemporary composers, e.g. Philip Glass meets Tarquinio Merula (Timeless), Heinrich Schütz meets Friedrich Hollaender (War and Peace 1618:1918) and many more. Each of these programmes demonstrates that musicians can combine early and more modern repertoire in a way that is extremely satisfying for musicians and audiences alike. Over recent years, Katschner has also emerged as a guest conductor. Following guest appearances in Bonn and Oldenburg he has led several opera productions at the Staatstheater Nuremberg. Most recently, Katschner conducted Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Semperoper Dresden and Handel’s La Resurrezione at the Nationaltheater Mannheim.

Photo credit: ©️ luxstudio

A conductor, stage director and programme curator born and raised in Hong Kong, Chiu is dedicated to producing brand new classical music theatre productions, innovating conventional approach and bringing a broader theatrical context to the local audience. Recent fully staged productions include Monteverdi’s Madrigals of War and Love; English madrigals The Triumphs of Oriana; Handel’s Messiah; Bach’s Ich habe genug, Hercules at the Crossroads, Coffee Cantata, St. John Passion and Markus-Passion (BWV 247), and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. Having lived in Europe and USA for years, Chiu places great importance on the idea of artists from different cultures working for a better world.

Photo credit: ©️ Angel Chiu

A choreographer and multi-disciplinary theatremaker. Lam holds a diploma in Drama and Dance (Contemporary Dance) from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Choreography from Codarts Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

His recent productions include Report ii: the illegal-i at the New Vision Arts Festival (2021); Living up to HER (2019) and Report i: Which I am I (2018) under Jockey Club New Arts Power; Pretext Quartet at the New Vision Arts Festival (2016) and Even．Odd by Hong Kong Arts Festival (2014).

In 2015, Lam was invited by Connecting Spaces to serve as an artist-in-residence at the Zurich University of the Arts.

In addition to choreography, Lam has also taken on various roles in performances such as director, stage director, movement designer and pop concert choreography director. Recent collaborations include A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Sylvia Chang by Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; The Impossible Trial - a musical by Freespace of West Kowloon Cultural District x Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; The Taming of the Shrew by Passoverdance; Bach im Theater: St. John Passion by SingFest x lautten compagney BERLIN (trial run in Berlin); Road to Damascus, Pride and 1894 Hong Kong Plague - a Musical by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; The Originals - Hong Kong Musicals in Concert curated by Leon Ko; Concerts People Come People Go, Girls In Tears and The Girl’s Player by Chan Fai-young x Women’s Choir; Love, Death and Everything In-Between and Sing While You Can by Yat Po Singers; Why We Chat? and Finding Loveless Land by Edward Lam Dance Theatre and Theatrical Concert - Karma Chameleon by Prudence Liew. His works have toured in cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Berlin, Erfurt, Dusseldorf, Zurich, Singapore, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

A theatre practitioner born in Malaysia and living in Hong Kong. Lim’s creative and choreography works include The Venerable Bird’s Eye View by Artocrite Theater; February 14 - a musical by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre x Yat Po Singers; CLP Community Entry Saving Fund Educational Theatre - Energy Heroes by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; The Impossible Trial - a musical by Freespace x Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; Invisible Men and The Finale of Mr. AD by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; Bach im Theater: St. John Passion by SingFest x lautten compagney BERLIN (trial run in Berlin and tour to Thuringia Bach Festival); solo performance DOTS by Annie Cheung and Switch Off - A Musical Confession by Windmill Grass Theatre.

A Grammy-nominated countertenor from the USA. Noted for his “shimmering voice” (BachTrack), Mobley is globally renowned for his interpretation of baroque, classical and modern repertoire and leads a prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic.

An advocate for diversity in music and its programming, Mobley became the first ever Programming Consultant for the Handel & Haydn Society (H&H) following several years of leading H&H in its community engaging Every Voice concerts. He holds the position of Visiting Artist for Diversity Outreach with the Baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire, and is also leading a research project in the UK funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UKAHRC) to uncover music by composers from diverse backgrounds.

His American concert schedule includes solos recitals (New York at the Miller Theatre and Collaborative Arts Institute Chicago), concerts with orchestras performing Handel’s Messiah with Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras and Carmina Burana with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as regular appearances with the most prestigious baroque ensembles such as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Bach Collegium San Diego and Seraphic Fire. Recent and future highlights include his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood Festival (conducted by Andris Nelson), with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with Orchestre Métropolitain de Montreal (conducted by Masaaki Suzuki).

In Europe, Mobley has been invited to perform with Orchester Wiener Akademie, Balthasar Neumann Chor & Ensemble, Freiburger Barockorchester, I Barocchisti, Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, Holland Baroque, the Netherlands Bach Society, Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, as well as the City of Birmingham Orchestra and the Budapest Festival Orchestra for a series of performances as Ottone in L’incoronazione di Poppea. He has also engaged in a few projects together with the Academy of Ancient Music in Cambridge, singing the role of Disinganno in Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and devising a new programme, Sons of England, supported by UKAHRC, which reflects his research under their umbrella and tours in 2024. Mobley gave a Purcell, Handel and Sancho programme for his solo debut recital in Paris, which he repeated as part of the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival in 2023.

His first solo album was released to great acclaim in 2023 to coincide with a major series of concerts with pianist Baptiste Trotignon in Paris, York and Liverpool as well as part of both the Aix-en-Provence and the BBC Proms festivals. In addition, Mobley features on several albums with the Monteverdi Choir, Agave Baroque and Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart.

A soprano from Hong Kong, graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Codarts Rotterdam Conservatory, the Netherlands. Tsang’s major teachers include Chan Siu-kwan, Frans Huijts and Dongjian Gong.

Her recent opera performances include Hong Kong Arts Festival’s Love Streams and Women Like Us; Hong Kong Grand Opera’s L’impresario in angustie and Musica Viva’s Maria Stuarda. As a concert soloist, she has performed with various local companies. She won second prize in the 17th OSAKA International Music Competition (Recital Course-Vocal Music).

As an artist-in-residence of SingFest, Tsang has joined the creative team of their choral theatre productions including Gute Nacht Mondlicht and Meine Lieder, mein Licht. She is currently serving as a vocal instructor at the University of Hong Kong and the Education University of Hong Kong and a conductor at the Hong Kong Children’s Choir and in a church.

A versatile bass-baritone who has become one of the most sought after singers in both operatic and concert repertoire. Robinson’s repertoire ranges from baroque to classical, romantic and contemporary music. He studied singing at the University of Arts in Berlin with Robert Gambill.

His recent and upcoming performances at many of Europe’s leading opera houses and concert halls include Orfeo (Bavarian State Opera); Missa Solemnis (Tonhalle Zurich); St. John Passion (Wigmore Hall and Deutsche Oper Berlin); Dido and Aneas (Staatsoper Berlin); Haydn’s Requiem (Gewandhaus Leipzig and MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra); Castor and Pollux (Warsaw Opera); Cosi (Snape Maltings); Otto, King of Germany (Magdeburg Opera) and Bach (Opéra de Rouen and Opéra de Lille). He has worked with leading conductors and directors such as Raphael Pichon, Claus Guth, Johannes Kalitzke, Helmut Rilling, Rene Jacobs, Benjamin Bayle, Christopher Moulds, Christian Curnyn, Stephan Schulz, Andrea Marchiol, Niclas Fink and Christophe Rousset.

A remarkably adaptable soloist and ensemble singer acclaimed for his distinctive and crystalclear voice. Fischer’s recent performances range from the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence to music festivals in St. John’s Smith Square in London and the prestigious Heinrich Schütz Musikfest alongside the internationally renowned ensemble Vox Luminis. Fischer’s collaboration with lautten compagney BERLIN is a testament to his versatility, featuring memorable renditions of Handel’s Susanna (2019), Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (2020-24), Haydn’s Lo Speziale (2019-21), as well as a historically informed staged opera pasticcio in 2023.

Fischer’s repertoire extends beyond the baroque and early classical eras. He showcased his talent alongside pianists Helmut Deutsch and Saskia Giorgini, delivering a captivating performance of Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes at Lied & Lyrik in Bamberg (2021). In 2022, he graced the stage at Ruhrtriennale with staged interpretations of works for 12 soloists by Iannis Xenakis and Claude Vivier. Fischer’s tenor solos in Britten’s Company of Heaven in 2022, conducted by Gregor Meyer at the Gewandhaus Leipzig, left a lasting impression. Notable conductors he has collaborated with recently include Teodor Currentzis, Frank Dupree, Asher Fisch and Daniele Gatti.

A Hong Kong street dancer and a member of the local street dance team Good Job Brother, Bboy Think has been training and creating street dance (breaking) since 2006. Dance is indispensable to him. From 2021 to 2023, he participated in the Hong Kong Breaking Team Qualifiers and won the championship for three consecutive years.

His inspirations come from American dancers and everything in life, such as action films and songs. Later on, he fused modern dance elements and developed his own style of Threading, Powermove and Puzzle, etc. He is also good at floor moves. Besides street dance, he has also participated in black box theatre and other dance related performances.

An active choral musician in Hong Kong and currently the Music Director of SingFest. Lam has led the group in performing a wide range of repertoire by Bach, Buxtehude, Pergolesi, Brahms and David Lang in choral theatre setting. Under his choral direction, SingFest has performed Bach’s Markus-Passion (BWV 247) and St. John Passion in the form of choral theatre under the baton of Matthew Halls and Wolfgang Katschner in Hong Kong and Germany respectively. Lam has led SingFest in performing excerpts of St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion and Handel’s Messiah in the form of online lecture-concert series.

Lam was a Part-time Lecturer of the Hong Kong Baptist University’s (HKBU) Music Department in 2017-2021, conducting the HKBU Choir. As a conductor-pianist of The Hong Kong Children’s Choir (HKCC) Senior Class, his notable projects with HKCC include leading contemporary opera Madame White Snake (2019) written by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long, Les Chant des Enfants des Étoiles (2023) written by Unsuk Chin at Hong Kong Arts Festival; Aria (2020) at New Vision Arts Festival and appearing as guest singer in HKCC’s 50th anniversary original musical King of Singers (2021).

Lam has also been invited as guest instructor in local and international choral workshops and projects, including his collaboration with the Grammy award-winning tenor Paul Phoenix in leading the 1st and 2nd International Boswil Choral Summer Academy .

Lam holds a Bachelor of Music from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Master of Music in Conducting from Westminster Choir College, USA.

Stage and costume designer. Wong’s theatre credits include The Massage King; Hu Xue Yan, My Dear; Deling and Cixi; Principle; The Miracles of the Namiya General Store; Pa Pa Magician; Frankenstein: Relive; The Void; Luna Gale; Always by Your Side; The Ward; The Shape of Things; Good Times, Best Friend; The Woman Wears Kenzo; That’s not True; Table for Two; The Prove; We Are Gay; The Top Restaurant; Show Me Your Love; Scapin in Jianghu, Chap. 2023 and Love & Samsara.

Wong’s musical and opera credits include The Originals; Breathing at Zero; Songs of Portrait; Markus-Passion (BWV 247); Hercules at the Crossroads; Freespace Jazz Fest 2022; Man of La Mancha; Love Streams and I Am What I Am - A Tribute to Leslie Cheung.

His dance credits include The Island Whispers…; The Last Dance; Waiting Heart; Dance of Strings; Reveries of the Red Chamber; Nezha: Untold Solitude; Tenacity of Being; Re-mark II and Womanhood.

He has received set design awards for The Island Whispers…; Reveries of the Red Chamber; Hu Xue Yan, My Dear and Nezha: Untold Solitude.

Graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre and Entertainment Arts, majoring in Lighting Design. Yeung is currently a freelance stage worker.

During her studies, Yeung received the Best Lighting Design at the Hong Kong Drama Awards for Phaedra by the HKAPA. She also received the same award for Iron by We Draman Group; Attempts on her Life, Marriage and Le Père by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. In 2012, she received the Outstanding Design for Dance at the 14th Hong Kong Dance Awards for Two Swallows - Ode to Wu Guanzhong.

Graduated from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, UK, majoring in Stage and Costume Design. Nominated for the Best Costume Design for Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery by Chung Ying Theatre Company.

Her recent set and costume design credits include Chung Ying Theatre Company’s Alive in the Mortuary; Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio’s Shakespeare in Our Time: The Rape of Lucrece; Trinity Theatre’s Still You and SingFest’s Bach in Black Box The Thunder Bay.

Her costume design credits include Hong Kong Repertory Theatre’s Scapin in Jianghu, Chap. 2023; Hong Kong Dance Company’s Dance Theatre Womanhood; Chung Ying Theatre Company’s Man of La Mancha and The Miracles of the Namiya General Store; Trinity Theatre’s Sweet Dreams, Table for Two and Dustykid on Stage and the experimental multimedia production “Lion Dance Theatre” Guan Yu’s Ride of 1,000 Miles at New Vision Arts Festival.

Dedicated to providing the highest quality of performances and innovative educational opportunities to connect local singers, instrumentalists, audiences and donors. Since 2012, under the guidance of renowned conductor Helmuth Rilling and festival director Patrick Chiu, SingFest has launched a series of widely-acclaimed concerts and choral-related education programmes for local musicians, teachers, university and secondary school students as well as music enthusiasts.

In 2014-15, SingFest as a summer festival expanded into a year-round programme with the support by the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme by the Hong Kong SAR Government. SingFest innovative programming adds theatrical elements into choral performance in projects such as “BACH 330”, “Bach im Theater”, “Choral Polygon” and “choral:Images”.

SingFest is financially supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

One of the most renowned and creative baroque ensembles in Germany. Under the artistic direction of Wolfgang Katschner, their concerts have been captivating their audiences for almost four decades. Whether as a chamber ensemble or as an opera orchestra, time and time again, it overcomes barriers and seeks encounters with new sounds and other artistic genres, exhibiting an infectious joy for playing and a readiness to embrace innovative concepts.

‘The lautten compagney won the 2019 OPUS Klassik award and was honoured in the Ensemble/ Orchestra category for their recording War and Peace 1618:1918. Their CD Timeless, which combines the music of the early baroque with works by Philip Glass, received the 2010 ECHO Klassik award.

For its unusual and innovative programmes, the lautten compagney is appreciated by audiences as well as feuilletons in Germany and abroad. In addition to its

performances in Berlin, the lautten compagney tours Germany, Europe and the world with around 100 concerts per year.

The lautten compagney celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024. It represents the avant-garde segment of the classical music business. They routinely invite their audiences to experience classical music in a new way and to overcome perceptual barriers.