Ellie Neate trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. On the stage she has performed principal roles for English National Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Teatro Lorenzo da Ponte, Waterperry Opera Festival, Blackheath Halls Opera, and for the Buxton International Festival. In 2025 she made her studio opera recording debut as Lisette in La Rondine with Opera Rara and the London Symphony Orchestra, and she recently covered the role of Masha in Langer’s Four Sisters for the Royal Ballet and Opera. Further, she has performed at Oxford Lieder Festival, Barbican Hall, Wigmore Hall and for ENO Does Eurovision. Moreover, any fans of the Disney+ adaptation of Rivals (that’s all of us, right?) will recognise her soaring vocals from the show’s orgasmic, operatic title sequence.
This summer Ellie takes on the role of Susannah in Wild Arts acclaimed production of The Marriage of Figaro, currently touring the UK. It comes to Bampton’s Ham Court on 21 July and the Schwarzman Centre in Oxford on 1 August. We want to know…
What Makes Ellie
Happy
I’m at my happiest working. There are so many nuances to every moment of communication – on stage and in the rehearsal room. I never lose interest in repeating and practising. Working with musicians and colleagues, no scene will ever be the same, and responding to what a partner sends you in a particular space, in a particular moment, is totally thrilling. There is a magic moment when a cast start to feel like a family and we commit to the show together as a team which makes me deeply happy.
Also: sour patch kids sweets, Thales of Miletus, winning card games against my loved ones, and thinking about Ancient Rome (it’s not just for men).
Sad
I’m aware that opera is fighting harder than ever for audience and funding and I feel sad thinking about the art form struggling without some people ever being able to properly experience how brilliant it is; in terms of music, in terms of storytelling. There’s nothing like it. I came across opera thanks to a TV broadcast from the Royal Ballet and Opera and began obsessively to watch old performances on YouTube. You don’t have to be taken to the fanciest venues and placed in the fanciest seats to become an opera lover!
Angry
Selfishness and misinformation. As an artist who thinks about characters’ intentions all the time, I feel angry when people aren’t willing to interrogate themselves honestly about their motives. I think if we all tried harder to question ourselves, the world would be a more equitable and just place.
Confident
For me the key to feeling confident is preparation. If I feel ready and I know what I’m doing, I can save some brain-space to solve problems on the spot – and also enjoy myself. A Diet Coke and a really good bra go a long way, too…
Reflective
There’s nothing like a good walk, preferably chatting with my Mum or my husband, to help me figure things out.
Musical
I feel my most musical when a team is really focused and connected. It’s trust, but more than anything it’s listening. Listening is at the heart of all musicality – it allows you to hold one another on stage, and to hold an audience; to tell a story, and to play with it. If I’m not singing I’m listening to John Adams, Dire Straits, or Chappell Roan.
The Marriage of Figaro
On the morning of their wedding, Figaro and Susanna discover that their employer, the amorous Count Almaviva, has his sights set on the bride-to-be. What follows is one madcap day of disguises, misunderstandings, and ingenious plotting as servants outsmart masters and love…
Directed by international opera star Danielle de Niese, Mozart's comic opera of intrigue, secret lovers and clever disguises brings together joyous music and sparkling theatrical mischief, promising ‘an evening full of sparkling tunes, tangled romances, and razor-sharp wit’. A phenomenal cast (who will be singing in English) and a 12-piece orchestra, perform a new translation by de Niese (described by the New York Times as ‘opera’s coolest soprano’) and Wild Arts’ Artistic Director, Orlando Jopling.
For further information and to book tickets visit wildarts.org.uk/figaro
