Jennifer Hamilton (director) is a Senior Tutor in the Opera Department at the Royal Northern College of Music and has been at the helm of all the South Creake operas since they began eight years ago.  Her RNCM production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s Greek drew praise from all who saw it, the composer himself acclaiming it one of the best versions he had seen.  It was the first time such a production had been used as a vehicle to draw schools into the work of the College and this scheme helped lead to near capacity houses for all performances.  Other work in Manchester has included Britten’s Rape of Lucretia for which she was Associate Producer and which was nominated for a Manchester Evening News award, Massenet’s Werther and James Macmillan’s Busqueda.  After a highly successful production of Handel’s Julius Caesar with Gary Cooper for the Yorke Trust in 2001, she went on to direct Tamerlano, also with Gary Cooper, for the RNCM.  This won an important award from the Manchester Evening News for the best opera of the year.  She directed The Sailor’s Tale in South Creake in 2002.