Meet the founders
Katie Blackwell
The All Aboard Opera! voyage is co-captained by Katie Blackwell. Katie has eleven years of experience performing and working in the opera industry, including in forms of interactive and site-specific opera with Opera Anywhere, Opera in a Box, Simply Opera and Welsh National Youth Opera.
Katie recently graduated with a Master’s from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, having studied with Eamonn Mulhall, and graduated from Cardiff University with a BA in Music and History, where she was the recipient of the Sir Geraint Evans Award for Outstanding Vocal Performance. She now works in theatre and production as a singer and director. Katie worked with Creation Theatre in Oxford as their education administrator, and now works as Oxford Opera's Director of Education and Outreach.
Katie is eager to celebrate diversity in her opera making, and is passionate about exploring and utilising modern theatrical techniques in her work. She is particularly interested in the accessible and environmentally sustainable options opened up by game theatre, as well as theatre created for a digital audience.
Emily Sloan
Co-captained by Emily Sloan, All Aboard Opera! is a collaboration birthed from a love of opera. Currently based in London, Emily Sloan is a working soprano and singing teacher and has always had a passion for outreach work and making opera accessible to the community. Emily has produced a wide range of operatic based events, including fully staged productions, streamed productions, and charity events.
As a singer Emily has taken parts ranging from Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Elvira (Don Giovanni), First Lady (Magic Flute), Rosina (The Ghosts of Versailles), Mathilde (Guillaume Tell), and Aunt Norris (Mansfield Park) to name a few. Emily has recently graduated with a Masters in Vocal Studies from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Dance where she studied with Sarah Pring, and graduated from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with an BMus in Vocal and Operatic performance.