Meryl Richardson

This year Meryl has been working as assistant director / designer with Opera Factory on Tosca and Barber of Seville for the Longborough Festival having returned from Italy where she was working on her own film animation and art projects. Before this she was assistant director on ‘RED’ by John Logan with Kickstart Theatre Company in Durban, South Africa. Other recent work include working with Agile Films in Shoreditch, London, writer/reviewer for the London Centre for Arts and Cultural Exchangeon the ‘Inside Out’ Festival. Meryl observed as an assistant director at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden on their production of ‘Matilde de Shabran’ while continuing her studies and gaining an MA (Distinction) in Plays and Screenplays at City University London. She is a member of WFTV (Women in Film and TV), The Actors Centre and an invited writer at the ICA Script Lab.

Meryl Richardson’s portfolio of work is diverse and eclectic ranging from theatre, opera and dance, to photography, design and writing. An experienced actress, before training for Opera, Meryl performed extensively in theatre in the UK and internationally, including London’s West End, and has worked with directors such as Trevor Nunn, Richard Cottrell, Mike Ockrent and Keith Warner. Meryl is also a trained classical and contemporary dancer.

Meryl studied voice at the Royal Northern College of Music graduating with distinction in 1998. Whilst at College Meryl was the recipient of various scholarships and stipends, including The Peter Moores Foundation, The Equity Trust Fund and the Amici di Verdi Stipend.

She then joined the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company, acting in a wide range of productions including works by Ibsen and Shakespeare and continued to work with many of the leading Repertory theatres around the country, including principal roles in seasons with Manchester Library Theatre Company. Meryl then came back into West End Theatre to work on two further shows as a principal at the Adelphi Theatre, New London, and Shaftesbury Avenue Theatres and went on to perform and write with Hilary Westlake’s avant-garde theatre Company ‘Lumiere & Son’in their stage production of ‘Panic’ with performances in the UK, Scandinavia and Russia.

Meryl began her operatic career with English National Opera as cover for the First Lady in The Magic Flute in 1998 and became a regular member of the company. At the ENO Meryl sang, Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites, covered Alice Ford in Falstaff, covered Maria Stuarda in Maria Stuarda in 1999. She was in The Ring at the English National Opera from 2002-2004 singing the role of Helmwige in Die Walküre at the same time covering the role of Brünnhilde in the complete Ring. She sang Aksinya and covered Katerina in Lady Macbeth from Mtsensk in 2001 and she sang the role of Musetta in La Boheme. Following this Meryl sang Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung for the Wagner Society at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre conducted by Tony Legge and sang the title role in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa in the UK Premiere of the Opera at the Riverside Studios in London.

In 2002 Meryl made her German Debut singing the role of Mezzosopran in L’armonia drammatica by Globokar in Bielefeld and Münster. In 2003 Meryl sang Kurt Weill Songs at Covent Garden performing with Darcey Bussell for the Royal Ballet New Works by Christopher Wheeldon, Marianne Leitmetzerin in Der Rosenkavalier at ENO and made her North American Debut in 2004 as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre in a new production by Christopher Alden at New York’s University theatre with the EOS Orchestra. In 2004 Meryl covered Brünnhilde in The Ring for South Australian State Opera conducted by Ascher Fisch. Meryl sang her first Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Minden, in a new production directed by Keith Warner 2005.