Clonter has just completed the first lap of the annual auditioning process – 195 applications received, 143 audition slots available, 24 withdrawals due to ill health (It is that time of year). Run from Glasgow to London, via Manchester, and Clonter’s home in Congleton, auditioning students and ex-students from the leading conservatoires across the UK, to select singers to take part in the May Masterclasses and Spring Opera Showcase, next summer’s opera production of the Barber of Seville, the Education Workshops and the Opera Gala in November.