Artists Biographies

Hilary Fisher read music at the University of East Anglia and continued her singing studies as a postgrad at The Royal Academy of Music. She began her career with The Ambrosian Singers and as a principal has played Mrs. Peachum (Beggars’ Opera) for Central Festival Opera, Mrs. Jederman (Scoring a Century) at ENO and roles with Opera Viva, Abbey Opera and Chelsea Opera Group. For ten years Hilary toured with her trio, Cavatina, around the UK and Ireland, appearing at the Stables, Wavendon, Pizza on the Park, London’s South Bank and theatres from the Shetlands to the Channel Islands. In 1995 she took her original one-woman cabaret, A Chorus of One, to The Edinburgh Festival. In 2004 she was a finalist in the Lotte Lehmann Artsong competition. Hilary has appeared regularly as an oratorio soloist, and performed with Helen in March & April 2011 for performances of the Pergolesi Stabat Mater in London & Hertfordshire.

Helen Whittington took a degree in Performance at Middlesex University, before advanced vocal training at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has worked for various UK opera companies with leading roles include Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Musetta (La Boheme). She toured the USA in 2002 with Columbia Artists under-studying the title role in the Merry Widow. In 2004 Helen performed Poulenc’s virtuoso solo opera “La Voix Humaine” at Sevenoaks Playhouse and for the Wandsworth Festival at the National Opera Studio, London. In 2007 she created the role of Mary Kelly in the new musical Jack the Ripper. Recent Classical concert events include Carmina Burana at Birmingham Town Hall and Mozart Requiem in London. Helen regularly sings for Opera Galas, Hotel entertainments and for “The Music in Hospitals” scheme.

The Pianists

Flamin’ Dames pianists are far more than just good piano players! They are stars in their own right. Not only fantastic musicians but also hugely versatile performers who can slide seamlessly from creating the sound of a symphony orchestra to a funky 8 piece jazz band. They are sometimes called upon to create musical link sequences for the shows, and are an integral part of Flamin’ Dames act. Whether they are playing our professional touring keyboard or even a honky-tonk village hall piano, Nikhil & Stephen’s playing is sure to make you believe it’s a Steinway!

Nikhil Dally has many credits as musical director/pianist include Portraits in Song (with Elizabeth Mansfield); The Seven Deadly Sins, Lost in the Stars and A Little Weill (dir. Mehmet Ergen); Letter to a Daughter (dir. Arnold Wesker); A Chorus of One (dir. Keith Warner); and La Vie en Rose (King’s Head Theatre). As Composer-in-Residence for Re:creation Theatre Company, he wrote the music for their productions of Emma, Pride and Prejudice, She Stoops to Conquer and The Daydream. He also composed the music for Stephen Bill’s What the Heart Feels (dir. Sam Walters, Orange Tree Theatre) and Michele Celeste’s The Price of Love (Proteus T.C.). Nikhil is also a teacher and performer of Javanese gamelan, and plays regularly with the Southbank Gamelan Players. He also runs his own music school in Surrey.

 “Pianist Nikhil Dally accompanied brilliantly, switching genres and modulating seamlessly from aria to show-stopper with unobstrusive mastery” West Sussex County Times, Feb 2011

Stephen Powell read music at the University of Wales and later completed a postgraduate in Piano Accompaniment and Vocal Coaching at Trinity College of Music in London. Stephen works freelance covering a diverse range in classical, popular and theatre music fields, including performing as a pianist/keyboard player, conducting, composing, arranging, recording and teaching. In 2001, he wrote and conducted music for a gala concert held at The Royal Albert Hall and as Musical Director/keyboard player has directed shows from The King and I to Little Shop of Horrors, In 2005, he was Musical Director for a production of Piaf at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in 2008 composed the music for a new street opera called 24/Seven. The new work was premiered in Birmingham, subsequently transferred for a successful run in London and is in the process of being made into a feature-length film.