About Us
Edinburgh Grand Opera (EGO) is an artistically aspirational chorus-based company producing and performing fully-staged operas with orchestra and professional soloists, combining the best of both amateurs and professionals.
Edinburgh Grand Opera is unique because the company consistently engages musical and artistic directors of a high professional quality and repute, supported by professional singers and orchestral players. Our current directors are Kally Lloyd-Jones and Alistair Digges. Past directors include notably: Susannah Wapshott, Christopher Bell, Richard Lewis, Neil Metcalfe, James Ross, Gerry Mulgrew and Rita Henderson.
Past performers, well known in the opera world, include Donald Maxwell, Frances McCafferty and Ian Storey.
Edinburgh Grand Opera provides important performance opportunities for professional emerging artists to learn repertoire and perform whole operas with an orchestra.
Edinburgh Grand Opera provides educational opportunities and inspires personal growth and well-being for everyone who joins us from chorus members to stage management, drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, ages and expertise through their experience in participating in a high quality art form.
Kally Lloyd-Jones - Director
Kally Lloyd-Jones was born and raised in Scotland. She initially trained at the Theatre Arts Ballet School and Central School of Ballet in London and has an MA in English literature and Film Studies from Glasgow University and has worked extensively as a director, choreographer, dancer, movement director and teacher in Scotland and internationally.
As founder and Artistic Director of Company Chordelia, Kally has created 11 full length dance theatre productions. Kally was awarded a Herald Angel for directing The Seven Deadly Sins, a co-production between Company Chordelia and Scottish Opera and has recently created, directed and choreographed the critically acclaimed Dance Derby, another co-production with Scottish Opera.
In tandem with her work in dance, Kally has directed Katya Kabanova for Scottish Opera, L’Elisir d'Amore for Edinburgh Grand Opera, The Rape of Lucretia for St Andrews Opera, Eugene Onegin for Bloomsbury Opera/St Andrews Opera, Thrashing The Sea God for Joby Burgess and Tête a Tête Opera Festival, MacPherson’s Rant for The Byre Theatre, Opera Scenes 2012 & 2013 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, was Associate Director on Orlando for Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera and revival director for Dominic Hill’s MacBeth for Scottish Opera.
Her opera choreography/movement direction includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Don Giovanni, The Tales of Hoffmann, La Rondine, Dido & Aeneas, Les Mamelles de Tiresias, Sir John In Love (RCS), The Love of Three Oranges, War and Peace, Betrothal in a Monastery (Scottish Opera/RCS), La Bohème, Die Fledermaus, Cinderella, A Night at the Chinese Opera, The Two Widows, The Secret Marriage, Five:15, The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto, Hansel & Gretel, The Magic Flute, The Flying Dutchman, Don Giovanni, MacBeth, Jenufa and Il Trovatore (Scottish Opera), Making Arrangements, Amerika (Tête a Tête Opera) and I Puritani for Welshn National Opera. Her movement direction theatre credits include The Last Witch (EIF/Traverse/Lyceum) Dr Faustus (Citizens Theatre/West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Libertine (Citizens Theatre/Bristol Old Vic), Under Milk Wood (Tron Theatre).
Kally has recently worked at Danish National Opera and Welsh National Opera and future engagements include Associate Director/Choreographer with Harry Fehr on Ariodante at Scottish Opera and Movement Director on Madame Butterfly at Glyndebourne.
Kally recently created a new work, Lady Macbeth: Unsex Me Here, following on from her successful Nijinsky's Last Jump for Company Chordelia which premiered to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe. www.kallylloydjones.com www.chordelia.co.uk
Alistair Digges - Musical Director
He is co-founder and Musical Director of Scotland's professional touring company Opera Bohemia, most recently conducting their productions of Eugene Onegin, Gianni Schicchi and La Traviata. Other conducting engagements have included Gounod’s La Colombe for West Green House Opera 2016, a co-production with Opera Danube, and the closing concerts of the 2015 and 2016 Rainhill music festivals. He is also Musical Director of Fife Opera with whom he’s conducted Carmen, Faust and Eugene Onegin, and of the award winning Edinburgh Singers with whom he’s recently performed in Paris and Berlin and collaborated with the London Oriana Choir. Forthcoming engagements include assistant conductor for a production at the Netherlands Reisopera, as well as conducting The Pearl Fishers for Opera Bohemia and The Magic Flute for Fife Opera. He is on the musical staff of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and the Ulster Youth Choirs and is in demand as an adjudicator, guest conductor and workshop leader across the UK. Previous Musical Director positions held include the London Fairlawn Singers and Kilmarnock and District Choral Union.
Before pursuing his conducting career Alistair performed extensively as an operatic tenor and concert soloist throughout Europe and beyond. Engagements included a series of recitals across India with renowned soprano Patricia Rozario, the title role in the premier of Sir Nigel of Tilford under the baton of Laurence Cummings, Rodolfo for Vignette Production's acclaimed tour of La Bohème in England and France, Nemorino for Opera South, performances for Opera da Camera Linz in Austria and performances in Russia, Germany and at the Buxton and Aldeburgh festivals of Britten's Parables. As an oratorio soloist he covered a vast repertoire and worked with the likes of Stephen Cleobury, John Butt, Philip Moore, Jonathan Willcocks and performed across France with Alain Charron. As an exponent of contemporary music, he sang the role of John in Michael Oliva’s Singularity in London’s From the Soundhouse series, Gareth Wiliams’s Breath Cycle for Scottish Opera, the Sloans Project for Noise Opera and has also worked with the Mahogany Opera Group.