Born in Carmarthen, West Wales, Andrew Rees gained a scholarship to study at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, and completed his studies on the Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. He was a Jerwood Young Artist at English National Opera and later became a principal tenor at the company.

Born in Essex, Alexander James Edwards began singing as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral, continuing his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, later joining the Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.