Our board
Our People
More Than Opera MTO, is a project-based company, administered by specialist volunteers experienced in arts management, accounting, financial management, legal and governance practice and strategic thinking.
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MTO’s tax-deductible benefaction is monitored by a Gift Committee comprising external members of high repute. MTO employs consultants for specific projects from time to time.
Anthony Battaini
Chairman
Anthony has seventeen years on the MTO Board and currently chairs the company. His professional career as an organisational psychologist and management consultant includes significant advisory work for non-profit and government bodies. Anthony is a past National President of The Institute of Management Consultants, an AHPRA registered psychologist and postgraduate of Monash and Canberra Universities. Currently he is Head of Talent Solutions for a specialist HR advisory firm. Anthony is proud to lead MTO in its mission to use the power of opera as a force for inspiration and community wellbeing. This includes creating opportunities for emerging artists; introducing new and innovative approaches to opera; and, partnering one of Australia’s most significant opera awards, the German-Australian Opera Grant. More Than Opera Limited.
Artistic Director
Alan Cook has been MTO’s Artistic Director since 2018 and General Manager since 2015. He is a conductor, opera coach, and musicologist with many years’ experience in operatic and symphonic repertoire and has been described as “producing a lush, richly coloured soundscape” at the podium. He has a Graduate Diploma of Opera and a Masters in Conducting, and also studied conducting in Rome with Bruno Aprea of the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia. He has performed in Austria, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, and Russia and worked extensively with orchestras in Ukraine and Russia during which time he developed an expertise in Russian repertoire and language. He is currently completing a PhD on the operas of Rimsky-Korsakov and works as an opera coach, leads masterclasses, and directs the Melbourne Chamber Choir.
Deputy Chairman
Eamonn has been involved in the performing and creative arts for over two decades, working in arts administration, marketing, consulting, event management and as a professional actor, composer, and designer.
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Eamonn studied pianoforte, double bass and voice at Melbourne University and, through private tuition, flute and violoncello to advanced levels. In 1999, having been awarded a Music Presentation Fellowship by ABC Classic FM & Symphony Australia, he worked with key symphonic, broadcast, industry service, and music publishing organizations in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart.
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Eamonn is the Melbourne music and dance critic for The Australian newspaper and has served as an honorary panel advisor for Arts Victoria. His academic credentials include a doctorate in Classical & Celtic Archaeology (University of Oxford), and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Bachelor of Music (Hons), Master of Arts Management and Master of Music (Musicology) at the University of Melbourne. He has been a member of collaborative research projects (involving the University of Western Australia, the University of Melbourne, Monash University and Australians Studying Abroad), a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford, and an Honorary Fellow in the School of Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne.
Fundraising
Judy has combined a business career as an award winning fashion designer and manufacturer, with a commitment to fundraising and projects that reflect her passion for music and the arts.
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She was first involved in event fundraising when her son Edward, then aged eight, became a chorister with the National Boys Choir of Australia, where Judy subsequently became a Board Member in 2002.
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Her contribution to the choir was recognized in 2011 when she won the Victorian AbaF Woodside Giving Award.
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Judy founded and is Event Chair for the highly successful “Opera in the Roses” annual charity luncheon for the Royal Children’s Hospital. She is a member of Opera Australia’s Events Committee; and pursues an active interest in Australian film and film projects associated with opera and musical theatre.
Director
B Mus, B Ed, Grad Dip Student Welfare.
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Anne worked as a teacher in the state education system for 33 years and also held many leadership roles, including 11 years as an Assistant Principal. Following this she worked at Berry Street Victoria supporting the development and growth of a school designed to improve educational outcomes for vulnerable young people. She now works for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and is a member of the YarraMe School Council.
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Anne sings in, and is President of, the Melbourne Chamber Choir. She became part of the MTO team that staged the first performances of David Kram’s Monash Cantata for Peace in Melbourne in 2017, and then in Amiens, France in 2018. She joined the MTO Board in 2019.
