Sarah Helsby Hughes

Sarah was born in Liverpool, England and studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire of Music with Pamela Cook MBE, Paul Farrington, and latterly with Barbara Roebotham of the RNCM.

Since graduation, Sarah has appeared for many opera companies in the UK and beyond, including Third Genie (Zauberflote) and Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) for Mid-Wales Opera, Carmen for Leicester Opera, Mercedes (Carmen) for Pro- opera, Peep Bo (Mikado) for Carl Rosa Opera, Cherubino (Il Nozze di Figaro), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Nicklause (Hoffman), and Musetta (La Boheme) all for Opera Bites, Maddalena (Rigoletto) and Orlofsky (Fledermaus) for Lyric Opera Dublin, Tessa (The Gondoliers) for Woodthorpe Festival.

She visited the USA with D’Oyly Carte’s production of HMS Pinafore, appeared in Opera Ireland’s production of Don Carlos in Dublin and sang Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) for Pavilion Opera in Toyko. For Opera Minora (Amsterdam) she appeared as Britten’s Phaedra in 2002.

Sarah is a founder member of Opera Bites, a small company presenting staged costumed opera excerpts, appearing at music festivals in the UK. Opera Bites made their European debut in 2002, appearing with the Nijmegen Studentorkest in an opera gala directed by Quentin Clare. She also directs and designs for Opera Bites. She made her Italian debut in July 2005, singing Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder in Florence, and was featured vocalist in Burt Bacarach and Neil Simon's Promises, Promises (winter season 2005/6) at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre.

Sarah is also a vocal teacher, workshop leader, opera/costume designer and director.

Double Divas c/o Piccallily Productions
59 Fore Lane Avenue   Sowerby  West Yorkshire HX6 1BB
t. 01422 832162
e.info@doubledivas.co.uk