Founder and Artistic Director
Born in London, director-librettist Max Hoehn’s recent productions include Der fliegende Holländer (Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon), The Consul (Welsh National Opera), La Cenerentola (Stadttheater Bremerhaven), L’Elisir d’Amore (Longborough Festival) and Biedermann und die Brandstifter (Independent Opera at Sadler’s Wells). He won the Independent Opera Director Fellowship in 2015 and received a nomination for Best Young Director at the 2016 International Opera Awards. Plans include new stagings of Così fan Tutte for Welsh National Opera and Die Fledermaus for Theater Neubrandenburg-Neustrelitz. His translations include a new English-language adaptation of Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina for Birmingham Opera Company, commissioned by the late Graham Vick.
Composer
Joe Cutler has been described as “writing music of quirky dancing energy and humour mingled with mystery” (Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph). His music has been performed at Bang-on-a-Can Music Marathon (New York), Gaudeamus Music Week (Amsterdam and Utrecht), Opera City (Tokyo), Musik Monat (Basle), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Beijing Modern Music Festival, London Jazz Festival and the BBC Proms. He has released three full-length albums: in 2008 Bartlebooth was released on NMC and was one of Gramophone magazine’s Top 20 Releases of the Year. This was followed in 2014 by Boogie Nights released on Birmingham Record Company. His latest release, Elsewhereness, came out on NMC in November 2018.
In 2023 his Concerto Grosso, commissioned by Sage Gateshead for their resident RNS ensemble of disabled and able-bodied musicians, was nominated at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards in the Large Ensemble category. Since 2005 he has been Head of Composition at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
“Music of quirky dancing energy and humour mingled with mystery … delightfully unpredictable.”
The Telegraph
Composer
Born in Dresden, in the former East Germany, Torsten spent eight years as a member of the renowned Dresdner Kreuzchor followed by studies in piano and composition at the renowned Dresden Music University. Between 1990-2005 he lived in Japan where he wrote the scores to more than 60 films.
After the release of his song cycle ‘Mein Herz brennt’ for Deutsche Grammaphone in 2003, the centre of his musical activity shifted to Europe with a series of orchestral, chamber and choral commissions for the Dresden Philharmonie, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Three Choirs Festival. He has had three operas commissioned by Oper Köln, English National Opera and Konzerttheater Bern. In January 2022 his latest opera ‘Die andere Frau’ will be premiered at Semperoper Dresden.
