Andrew Richards
Co-founder · Executive Producer · Tenor
Tenor Andrew Richards made his operatic debut at New York City Opera before taking leading roles at The Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Arena di Verona and La Scala. Now renowned for the Wagnerian repertoire, he co-runs Kudu Productions and is an audio engineer, videographer and digital producer.
Jeanne-Minette Cilliers
Co-founder · Artistic Director · Pianist and Conductor
Hailed as a “pianistic poet,” Jeanne-Minette Cilliers is an internationally renowned pianist and conductor. She has performed at world-class venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Bayerisches Staatsoper in Munich and Russia’s Yusupov Palace, collaborating with top opera houses and major Metropolitan Opera stars. A forward-thinking artist, she frequently champions contemporary premieres and co-creates innovative multimedia projects.
Contact
Let’s talk
Whether you are an orchestra, a presenter, a funder or a collaborator, write to us. Tell us about your needs or your “wild idea,” and one of us will be in touch.
General
info@kuduproductions.com
Jeanne-Minette Cilliers
jmc@kuduproductions.com
Andrew Richards
andrew@kuduproductions.com
Phone
+1 619-327-9553
Mailing list
Stay close to the music
Premieres, recordings and behind-the-scenes news from Babar & The Piano and Songs of Comfort. A few emails a year.
Creative partners
The artists behind Babar & The Piano
Janni Younge
Stage director and puppet maker
Award-winning director, producer and puppet creator. Her productions have toured North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia, including The Firebird at the Hollywood Bowl. Former director of Handspring Puppet Company; recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Theatre.
Siphokazi Jonas
Author and narrator
Multi-award-winning South African poet, playwright, actor and producer based in Cape Town. Author of the poetry collection Weeping Becomes a River, winner of the 2024 Book Lounge Book of the Year and the 2025 HSS Award for Best Poetry.
Kathleen Tagg
Composer
South African-born, New York-based pianist, composer and producer who expands the piano into an electro-acoustic orchestra. Co-artistic director of Table Pounding Music with David Krakauer; holds a doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music.
Recording artists
The artists of Songs of Comfort
Raehann Bryce-Davis
Mezzo-soprano
Hailed by The New York Observer as “one of the best mezzo-sopranos of this generation.” She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress, and sings at Dutch National Opera, Houston Grand Opera and the Salzburg Festival. Her debut album, Evolution, was released on Lexicon Classics in 2025.
John Holiday
Countertenor
Praised by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the finest countertenors of his generation,” and a finalist on Team Legend in Season 19 of NBC’s The Voice. He has sung at The Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera and the Bayerische Staatsoper, and at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Royal Albert Hall, moving freely between Baroque repertoire, contemporary opera and American song.
Justin Hopkins
Bass-baritone
American bass-baritone whose roles range from Sarastro at Opera North to Antron McCray in Anthony Davis’s The Central Park Five at Detroit Opera. He has sung with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Boston Pops, and is a prize winner of the Lotte Lenya Competition. Jeanne-Minette’s partner in the original Songs of Comfort films.
Will Liverman
Baritone
Opened The Metropolitan Opera’s 2021–22 season in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, a “breakout performance” (The New York Times). The Met’s recording won the 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. Also a composer, his soul opera The Factotum premiered at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2023.