Stéphanie Montreux
Encyclopedia
Stéphanie Montreux was born Stéphanie Shoshanna May Montreux Carswell on 19 June 1985 in Melbourne, Australia. Sometimes credited as Stephanie Carswell / Stéphanie May Carswell / Shoshanna May. She is the older sister of Jennifer Carswell
.
. Montreux began her career with the role of Young Cosette
in Les Misérables
, before going on to play Brigitta von Trapp in The Sound of Music
.
In 2004, Montreux deferred her degree in psychology
to pursue a performance career and, after finishing in the musical Chess
in Melbourne, Montreux moved to London, and subsequently made her West End debut in Sunday Night Live at Her Majesty's Theatre
(April 2005: Cats
, September 2005: Beauty and the Beast
). In concert, Montreux's roles have included Christine Daaé (The Phantom of the Opera
), Rose Vibert (Aspects of Love
), Betty Schaefer (Sunset Boulevard
), Soprano (Requiem
), Johanna (Sweeney Todd), Maria (West Side Story
) and Rapunzel (Into the Woods
). Montreux has sung and performed at Melbourne venues including St. Patrick's Cathedral
, Docklands Stadium and Rod Laver Arena
.
Montreux played Anne Haycock in the television series Psychic Private Eyes, Laetitia in Horace and Tina: School Camp, Charlotte Corday
in Histoire de Paris, Gabrielle Lorenzo in Obsession, Charlotte Graham in Graham's Girls, Pirate Party Girl in The Green Fairy, and herself in a BBC London
Musical Theatre special. Montreux has also been interviewed and performed live for Shanghai Radio
, and was a performer in the 2006 Royal Variety Performance
at the London Coliseum. From April 2007, Montreux appeared in Pegasus Opera Company's production of Delius
' Koanga
at Sadler's Wells Theatre
to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain. In 2008, Montreux was a member of the West End Chorus for Chess
at the Royal Albert Hall, also starring Josh Groban
, Idina Menzel
, Adam Pascal
, Marti Pellow
and Kerry Ellis
.
Montreux has synesthesia
and has been the subject of radio and television documentaries on the condition.
Jennifer Carswell
Jennifer Carswell is an Australian-born actress. She is the younger sister of Stephanie Carswell.Carswell plays Ruby in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll a 2010 biopic on the life of punk-rock star Ian Dury....
.
Life and career
Montreux was born in Melbourne, Australia, and attended Salesian College Rupertswood and St Columba's CollegeSt. Columba's College, Melbourne
St. Columba's College is a private, all-female Roman Catholic secondary school in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon.-History:After taking responsibility for St Monica's School in Moonee Ponds in 1896, Mother Ursula Bruton purchased the property at 139 Buckley Street to provide secondary education...
. Montreux began her career with the role of Young Cosette
Cosette
Euphrasie "Cosette" Fauchelevant is a fictional character in the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.- Cosette in the novel :...
in Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
, before going on to play Brigitta von Trapp in The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
.
In 2004, Montreux deferred her degree in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
to pursue a performance career and, after finishing in the musical Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
in Melbourne, Montreux moved to London, and subsequently made her West End debut in Sunday Night Live at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
(April 2005: Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
, September 2005: Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
). In concert, Montreux's roles have included Christine Daaé (The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
), Rose Vibert (Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
), Betty Schaefer (Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
), Soprano (Requiem
Requiem (Webber)
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem is a requiem mass written in memory of the composer's father, William Lloyd Webber, who died in 1982. Many thought it a surprising turn for such a populist composer as Lloyd Webber to produce a piece of "serious" music, being his first and to date only full-blown...
), Johanna (Sweeney Todd), Maria (West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
) and Rapunzel (Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
). Montreux has sung and performed at Melbourne venues including St. Patrick's Cathedral
St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Patrick's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Denis J. Hart. The building is known internationally as a leading example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture.In 1974 Pope Paul VI...
, Docklands Stadium and Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena is a tennis stadium that is part of the Melbourne Park complex located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and has been the main venue for the Australian Open in tennis since 1988, replacing the ageing Kooyong Stadium...
.
Montreux played Anne Haycock in the television series Psychic Private Eyes, Laetitia in Horace and Tina: School Camp, Charlotte Corday
Charlotte Corday
Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont , known to history as Charlotte Corday, was a figure of the French Revolution. In 1793, she was executed under the guillotine for the assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, who was in part responsible, through his role as a politician and...
in Histoire de Paris, Gabrielle Lorenzo in Obsession, Charlotte Graham in Graham's Girls, Pirate Party Girl in The Green Fairy, and herself in a BBC London
BBC London
BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily BBC London News and the weekly Politics Show on television, the BBC London 94.9 radio station and local coverage of the...
Musical Theatre special. Montreux has also been interviewed and performed live for Shanghai Radio
Shanghai Media Group
Shanghai Media Group , under the Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group , is a multimedia television and radio broadcasting, news and Internet company...
, and was a performer in the 2006 Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
at the London Coliseum. From April 2007, Montreux appeared in Pegasus Opera Company's production of Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
' Koanga
Koanga
Koanga is an opera with music by Frederick Delius, his third opera, written between 1896 and 1897, and a libretto by Charles F. Keary, inspired partly by The Grandissimes of George Washington Cable. Inspiration also came from Delius' own experiences as a young man when his family sent him to work...
at Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain. In 2008, Montreux was a member of the West End Chorus for Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
at the Royal Albert Hall, also starring Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
, Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...
, Adam Pascal
Adam Pascal
Adam Pascal is an American actor and singer known for his performance as Roger Davis in the original cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway 1996, the 2005 movie version of the musical, and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...
, Marti Pellow
Marti Pellow
Marti Pellow has been the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet since their formation in 1982. He has also recorded solo material.-Early life:...
and Kerry Ellis
Kerry Ellis
Kerry Jane Ellis is an English stage actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music...
.
Montreux has synesthesia
Synesthesia
Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
and has been the subject of radio and television documentaries on the condition.