Lights and Shadows: A New Musical Adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

Elena Hadjiafxendi is a Greek-Cypriot actress and soprano known for her eclectic and distinctive style, which fuses music, literary recitation, and drama. Her work often centres on poetically rich narratives with strong philosophical themes. She has performed in Cyprus, Greece, the UK, and Italy, collaborating with directors and musicians across classical and contemporary theatre, musical theatre, operetta, film, and television.

Christos Fountos was born in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 1997 and began studying piano at the age of five under Professor M. Gospodinoff. At 17, he made his debut with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. The following year, he began his studies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London under Philip Fowke, graduating in 2019 with a BMus in Performance, the Director’s Award for Excellence in Piano, the Silver Medal, and a nomination for the Gold Medal. 

He continued his studies on a full scholarship under Martino Tirimo and Sergio de Simone, earning an MMus in Performance with Distinction in 2021 and being awarded the Musicians’ Company Silver Medal. He is currently undertaking a Postgraduate Artist Diploma, also on full scholarship. 

Fountos has performed as a soloist with the Croydon Symphony Orchestra, the Sampson Orchestra of Cambridge, and the Guildford Symphony Orchestra, and is scheduled to appear with the Havant Symphony Orchestra and the Sevenoaks Symphony. He has given recitals at prestigious venues including Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room (Southbank Centre), Drapers’ Hall, St James’s Piccadilly, the Hellenic Centre, Maida Vale Studios, West Road Concert Hall (Cambridge), the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building (Oxford), Sala “A.B. Michelangeli” and the Liceo Musicale “L. Bianciardi” in Italy. 

He is currently engaged in a fruitful collaboration with Canadian composer Rodney Sharman, the Centre of Cypriot Composers, and conductor Darrell Davison. Christos has previously been supported by the Munster Trust, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and Trinity Laban, and is currently a scholar of the Jacqueline Williams Scholarship, Trinity College London, and the Leventis Foundation.