Fidelio Ludwig van Beethoven
Tuesday 17 February 7.30pm
London Lyric Opera in concert at Cadogan Hall
Biography
Fidelio Opera in two acts Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Text in German by Joseph von Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly “Léonore, ou l’amour conjugal fait historique en deux actes et en prose mêlée de chantes.”
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World premiere: Kärtnertortheater, Wien, 23 May 1814 Surtitles translation by Kenneth Chalmers, by arrangement with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden This performance is dedicated to the memory of Frau Edith Kraus (1932-2006)
Patron/Sponsor’s message
London Lyric Opera
A message from our Patron
A message from our Sponsor
by Isla Baring
by Martin MacConnol
Welcome to London Lyric Opera’s concert performance of Fidelio conducted by our Guest Conductor, Madeleine Lovell, supported by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Philharmonia Chorus and Queens’ College Chapel Choir in the warm acoustic and beautiful surroundings of Cadogan Hall. This timeless story of love, liberty and betrayal is Beethoven’s only opera and remains a firm favourite in the operatic canon. LLO’s last concert Der fliegende Holländer at the Barbican was a great success with Neil Fisher of The Times remarking, “Concert opera in London has a new champion”. A major element in our success to date has been the quality of the artists working with us. Tonight you will hear no finer example than the great dramatic soprano, Elizabeth Connell who will be singing one of her most famous roles, Leonore.
In June 2009, LLO will be back at Cadogan Hall performing Johann Strauss’ comic masterpiece Die fledermaus in concert with some fun surprises in the cast; this performance promises to be an unforgettable evening. Later in the year our principal conductor, Lionel Friend, returns to conduct von Weber’s Der Freischütz with the rarely performed Berlioz recitatives. In 2008 LLO produced Passion of Puccini at Leighton House, Cycles at Cadogan Hall and Der fliegende Holländer at the Barbican. It has been a year of remarkable growth. Our developing relationships with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Chorus enable us to approach the most challenging and rewarding repertoire. Without our main sponsor Wardour this would not be possible. Their commitment and drive have been an inspiration to us all at LLO. I hope you enjoy tonight’s performance and look forward to seeing you again at Die fledermaus here at Cadogan Hall in June. With all best wishes
Isla Baring Patron in chief London Lyric Opera
It’s not often you come across an organisation that is both entrepreneurially driven and brimming with creativity. This is why, when London Lyric Opera asked Wardour to be its main sponsor, we leapt at the idea. We are a creative business ourselves – albeit in the creation of corporate communications – and LLO’s passion and verve spoke to us. Over the past year, we have been thrilled by our growing association with James Hancock and his team. Creatively, their performances have stimulated our designers to produce what I know are some of Wardour’s best graphic designs. They also have a fearsomely efficient approach to the behind the scenes admin – something which always impresses me and the Wardour team.
In these tough economic times, I am prouder than ever of the relationship between Wardour and LLO. Great music lightens the pressures of our day-to-day lives. It boosts the spirit and swells the soul. Even after the curtain has come down, it lives within us. At a time when it’s all too easy to be distracted by the concerns of ‘the now’, LLO’s performances remind us of the world beyond the material – a place of the spirit that has been, and always will be, key to a full experience of life.
Martin MacConnol Sponsor CEO of Wardour Communications
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London Lyric Opera Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Leader – Clio Gould Philharmonia Chorus Queens’ College Chapel Choir Conductor Madeleine Lovell Chorus Master Edward Caswell Leonore Elizabeth Connell Florestan Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts Rocco Richard Wiegold Marzelline Rachel Nicholls Jaquino Andrew Staples Don Pizarro James Hancock Don Fernando Paul Goodwin-Groen First Prisoner Nicky Spence Second Prisoner Aaron McAuley
Fidelio
London Lyric Opera
Synopsis
Fidelio
courtesy of OPERA NEWS
Madeleine Lovell
Act I Spain, eighteenth century. In a prison, Marzelline, daughter of the jailer, Rocco, rejects the attentions of her father’s assistant, Jaquino, who hopes to marry her. Her heart is set instead on the new errand boy, Fidelio. The latter, a hardworking lad, arrives with provisions and dispatches and is distressed by Marzelline’s interest in him, especially since it has the blessing of Rocco. Fidelio is in fact Leonore, a noblewoman of Seville who has come to the jail disguised as a boy to find her husband, Florestan, a political prisoner languishing somewhere in chains. When Rocco mentions a man lying near death in the vaults below, Leonore, suspecting it might be Florestan, begs Rocco to take her on his rounds. He agrees, though the governor of the prison, Don Pizarro, allows only Rocco in the lower levels of the dungeon. As soldiers assemble in the courtyard, Pizarro learns from the dispatches brought to him that Don Fernando, minister of state, is on his way to inspect the fortress. At this news the governor resolves to kill Florestan, his enemy, without delay and orders Rocco to dig a grave for the victim in the dungeon. Leonore, overhearing his plan, realises Pizarro’s evil nature and the plight of his victim. After praying for strength to save her husband and keep up hope, she again begs Rocco to let her accompany him to the condemned man’s cell - and also to allow the other prisoners a few moments of air in the courtyard. The gasping men relish their glimpse of freedom but are ordered back by Pizarro, who hurries Rocco off to dig Florestan’s grave. With apprehension, Leonore follows him into the dungeon.
Act II In one of the lowest cells of the prison, Florestan dreams he sees Leonore arrive to free him. But his vision turns to despair, and he sinks down exhausted. Rocco and Leonore arrive and begin digging the grave. Florestan awakens, not recognising his wife, and Leonore almost loses her composure at the familiar sound of his voice. Florestan moves the jailer to offer him a drink, and Leonore gives him a bit of bread, urging him not to lose faith. Rocco then blows on his whistle to signal Pizarro that all is ready. The governor advances with dagger drawn to strike, but Leonore stops him with a pistol. At this moment a trumpet sounds from the battlements: Don Fernando has arrived. Rocco leads Pizarro out to meet him as Leonore and Florestan rejoice in each other’s arms. In the prison courtyard, Don Fernando proclaims justice for all. He is amazed when Rocco brings his friend Florestan before him and relates the details of Leonore’s heroism. Pizarro is arrested, and Leonore herself removes Florestan’s chains. The other prisoners too are freed, and the crowd hails Leonore.
Throughout its reception history Beethoven’s Fidelio has regularly provoked two opposing reactions. Most commentators have noted the allencompassing musical and dramatic range of the opera. For certain of them this constitutes a weakness and creates a disparate, unfocused work; while for others it shows the composer’s mastery over every genre of music theatre and represents a ground-breaking fusion of the symphonic and operatic genres. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that Beethoven, fearing he might not have another opportunity to write an opera (as, indeed, it turned out), wanted to make Fidelio his definitive contribution to the genre. It is likely that the long drawn-out nature of the compositional process contributed to the variety of Beethoven’s musical language (after the initial work of 1804-5, Fidelio was revised in 1806 and again in 1814). His style had undergone many changes during that decade, now usually referred to as his ‘Middle Period’, and the final appearance of Fidelio in 1814 anticipated the last phase of his career, one marked by ever increasing innovation and extremity.
However, we cannot dismiss the argument that Fidelio in its last version expresses the composer’s attempt at an ultimate, encyclopaedic utterance, for this is an aesthetic tendency perceived throughout his oeuvre. And after all, about how many other operas can one say that the composer wrote three different overtures, before settling on yet a fourth? The sheer range and variety of the opera is quite astonishing. The major national styles – German Singspiel, Italian opera seria and opera buffa, the French revolutionary rescue opera – are all represented. The use of both dialogue and music, and of the German language are a clear link to the Singspiel tradition, as is the German folksong idiom of, for instance, Rocco’s Act 1 aria about the necessity of money for a happy life.
The sheer range and variety of the opera is quite astonishing
Fidelio 11
10 London Lyric Opera
This is Rocco’s most down-to-earth moment in the opera, and it is no surprise to find him expressing himself with a deliberately naïve tune, full of the kind of syllabic text-setting and repeated notes which deliver his folk wisdom most appropriately. The extended recitatives and arias of Leonore and Florestan allude to the weighty forms of opera seria, thereby denoting the seriousness and high emotional status of these two and uniting them further in the audience’s mind. The interaction of characters from different social classes and their mutual reliance is a direct link with opera buffa, and the elements of disguise and rescue are a stock-in-trade of the late eighteenthcentury French tradition. The diversity of these dramatic forms is reinforced by Beethoven’s command of many musical idioms, traversing, for example, melodrama (where dialogue is heard over an instrumental accompaniment), strophic song and revenge aria. Each choice is made on dramatic grounds, and the result is music that, like every great operatic score, tells us so much more about the characters – their history, their desires, their weaknesses and strengths – than the libretto alone can disclose. It is Beethoven’s innovations in form, structure and orchestration that unify Fidelio, and his ability to transform the familiar into the spectacularly new. Consider the Act 1 Quartet ‘Mir ist so wunderbar’. This number has a similar effect to a Baroque opera seria aria, suddenly pausing the action and affording the audience a view of the protagonists’ souls. The disclosure of their thoughts and feelings is mirrored by a similar revelation of the inner parts of the orchestra, beginning with a quartet of violas and cellos (precisely those instruments traditionally hidden within the texture), supported only by the merest pizzicato double bass accompaniment.
Just as the voices enter one by one, so the music gradually becomes clothed in the many timbres and registers of the orchestra, but with such clarity that we can perceive the process stage by stage. Marzelline, Leonore, Rocco and Jaquino sing in canon, each presenting the same theme – a musical manifestation of their mutual interdependence and sympathy. It is left to the orchestra once more to emphasise their separate identities, as the accompaniment takes the form of a variation set, with each new character’s entrance marked by fuller scoring and increased rhythmic momentum.
It is Beethoven’s innovations in form, structure and orchestration that unify Fidelio The composer’s handling of the traditional revenge aria with Don Pizarro’s ‘Ha! Welch ein Augenblick’ is no less novel. It belongs to a familiar type that we also find, for instance, in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. Both Bartolo’s and the Count’s arias threatening vengeance share the same rhetorical octave spans and vehement vocal gestures. The profound evil of Don Pizarro’s character, on the other hand, leads Beethoven to a musical realisation that expresses violence and instability; where pride was at stake in Mozart’s opera buffa, it is now life itself that is at issue.
The dynamism of Beethoven’s idiom and its rhythmic energy would be enough to carry any listener through the drama. We should not be surprised to discover, however, that the composer employed many other musical means of shaping Fidelio, such as the use of particular keys (especially C major and E major) to mould the psychological structure, and the association of chromaticism with evil and the suffering that it causes. It is well known that the first three overtures which Beethoven wrote for the opera were all in C major, and indeed this is the key in which the opera ends. Yet Beethoven’s final decision was for an overture in E major, the key of Leonore’s heroic Act 1 aria ‘Abscheulicher!’. The first motif of the overture looks forward to the thrilling horn fanfare which accompanies Leonore’s exultant resolve in the final section of her aria. C major remains above all the key of redemption, and its brief appearances before the great Act 2 Finale are always significant. In spite of its tonal distance from the A major of Don Pizarro and Rocco’s Act 1 Duet, ‘Jetzt, Alter’, C major continually reappears, as both men’s thoughts turn to the victim Florestan. No greater contrast could be found between the life-affirming purity of C major and the chromaticism which heralds Pizarro’s terrifying commands. His Act 1 aria is a swirling eddy of diverse keys, and the dark sonorities of the Act 2 Melodrama and Duet bear his unmistakeable stamp. One of the most celebrated passages in the opera is, of course, the Prisoners’ Chorus with which the Act 1 Finale begins. In a mere twenty bars Beethoven conveys uncertainty, disorientation and finally the gradual dawning of light over suffering humanity. His compositional brilliance was at the service of a great moral project. Fidelio is a story of faith and redemption, and of the great achievement of human bonds. There is no more piercing account of the journey from dark into light, of deliverance through faith, the battle of courage against cowardice, and the triumph of good over evil.
It is a story of faith and redemption, and the great achievement of human bonds
Historical Context 15
14 London Lyric Opera
Historical Context Dr Michael Rowe
Prominent thinkers shaped public opinion The French Revolution of 1789 overshadowed the period in which Beethoven lived. The Revolution came towards the end of a century that had witnessed the growth of the ‘public sphere’, the space where issues are openly and critically discussed, and public opinion formed. Prominent thinkers shaped this opinion, and their ideas collectively constituted the ‘Enlightenment’ which questioned existing institutions. The Bonn into which Beethoven was born in 1770 was one centre of the German Enlightenment thanks to its status as capital of the Electorate of Cologne, a polity fortunate in experiencing a run of reformminded princes who improved public education and sponsored the arts.
‘Enlightened absolutism’ characterised Bonn. It did not characterise Bourbon France, which was absolutist but hardly enlightened. The French monarchy failed to move with the times and hence fell in 1789. This was welcomed throughout Europe as a triumph over despotism, as symbolised by that pivotal moment: the storming of the Bastille on 14 July, and the release of the prisoners held there. Less enamoured of the Revolution were Europe’s princes, who feared something similar might occur in their own territories. They responded with repression, which took the form of stricter censorship, the removal of progressive thinkers from universities, and the closure of Masonic lodges. Reformers who previously had placed their hopes in enlightened monarchical government now became radicalised, and worked for the overthrow of the existing system. It was in this context that Beethoven moved to Vienna, capital of the vast, multinational Austrian Empire, in 1792. The year 1792 witnessed two other important events: the outbreak of war between revolutionary France and a coalition of European Great Powers, and the accession to the Austrian throne of a new emperor, Francis II. Francis pursued with vigour the war against France, whose revolution he was determined to destroy. Domestically, he adopted an equally reactionary course, reversing the policy of his predecessors. Francis and his inner circle associated reform with revolution, and generally distrusted new ideas. This sentiment only increased when the newlydeclared French Republic attempted to destabilise Austria by promising the Emperor’s subjects assistance should
they revolt. Austria responded with a McCarthy-style campaign against domestic opponents. Leading the oppression was the newly-formed Police Bureau, whose network of agents kept prominent persons under close surveillance, and whose cipher office secretly read people’s private correspondence. The Emperor was especially alarmed by the conspiracy unearthed by the police over the summer of 1794. This involved disaffected exofficials. The police made a wave of arrests, and these were followed by secret trials before a specially appointed commission. This found all the defendants guilty, and a score of those most implicated were publicly executed for treason in early 1795. The whole episode created a sense of fear throughout Austria. People were on notice that talk of reform was taboo with the result that they withdrew from politics completely, or engaged with it obliquely, often through literature, theatre and music. To reformers, oppression in Austria and elsewhere only increased the attractiveness of the new French Republic. However, hopes that here at least the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity might triumph similarly proved illusory. Matters progressed well enough the first few years after the Bastille’s fall: liberty and equality were enshrined in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, feudalism was abolished, and a progressive constitution introduced in 1791. However, the lack of political consensus made the new constitution unworkable and the outbreak of war in 1792, far from encouraging unity, instead triggered civil war and terror on a massive scale. The intense violence of 1793-4 quickly burned itself out, but what followed
was a cynical and corrupt regime that proved incapable of ending the sectarian violence and banditry that infested the provinces. Increasingly, Frenchmen yearned for a saviour. The saviour emerged from the army, which had covered itself with glory fighting enemies of the Republic. Napoleon Bonaparte was not the only general in contention, but he had the good sense to be in the right place at the right time. His seizure of power in November 1799 opened a new chapter. What his regime would do was not immediately apparent. Republicans consoled themselves with the observation that Napoleon was a product of the Revolution: a man of obscure origins who rose because of his talents, and who had risked life and limb fighting for the Republic; he had seized power in a military coup, but had nonetheless quickly gained popular backing for his regime change through a referendum. Furthermore, a few years later – in early 1804 – the new regime introduced the famous Code civil des Français, or Code Napoléon, that enshrined many of the principles of the Revolution. There were some worrying signs, however, and these tended to increase. The new French constitution equipped Napoleon as First Consul with extraordinarily extensive powers. Democracy was effectively watered down through a convoluted indirect voting system, and in any case the scope for legislative oversight greatly limited. Furthermore, the government reserved the right to set aside the constitution in cases of emergency.
Biographies 17
16 London Lyric Opera
Biographies Madeleine Lovell Conductor Overall, Napoleon’s Consulate (1799 to 1804) struck a balance between institutionalising some of the best aspects of the Revolution and restoring order. In 1804, the balance changed: Napoleon made himself Emperor. This move proved too much for many republicans. Beethoven, famously, was moved to scratch out his dedication to Napoleon of his third symphony upon hearing the news. To committed republicans the Empire (18041815) effectively buried the Revolution in favour of a police state that was replete with secret informers and political prisoners locked up in remote fortresses like the notorious Château d’If. Nor, following the resumption of war on a big scale in 1805, could Napoleon be heralded as a great peacemaker. Rather, he now appeared an empire-builder with an unprecedented territorial appetite. There were some benign aspects to his empire, to be sure: it generally extended religious tolerance and introduced efficient bureaucratic government. Attractive though these gains were to the enlightened elite (and religious minorities), they hardly appealed to ordinary Europeans who bore the brunt of the empire’s insatiable appetite for taxes and conscripts that sustained the French war machine as it conquered ever larger swathes of the Continent. Even Vienna, which had resisted two Turkish sieges in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was occupied – twice – in 1805 and 1809. Imperial extension inevitably culminated in imperial over-stretch, as the territory of the empire now exceeded the manpower necessary to control it.
In 1804, the balance changed: Napoleon made himself Emperor The signs were there in Spain as early as 1808, when Napoleon’s army became bogged down in a bitter guerrilla war against insurgents sustained by religious fervour. What ultimately proved fatal, however, was Napoleon’s decision to invade Russia in 1812. Vast though it was, Napoleon’s invading horde was swallowed by Russia’s greater vastness. The losses in men, horses and material were never made good, and though the Napoleonic Wars dragged on until 1815, the French attempt at Continental hegemony was effectively over. The Old Regime had weathered the immediate storm, though the legend that developed around Napoleon subsequently provided a new dangerous challenge. Dr Michael Rowe King’s College London 21 January 2009
Madeleine Lovell is an accomplished and versatile conductor with extensive experience of the operatic, orchestral and choral repertoire. She has directed many choirs and orchestras around the UK, including the BBC Symphony Chorus, the London Philharmonic Chorus, and the National Symphony Orchestra. As the conductor of London Lyric Opera’s inaugural concert (a programme of orchestral song cycles entitled Cycles) at the Cadogan Hall, Madeleine is delighted to be working again with this newlyestablished company. She is currently Musical Director of St George’s Chamber Orchestra, a professional ensemble based in South London, and of Londinium, an a cappella choir that performs regularly in the City of London. She is also Associate Chorus Master of the Philharmonia Chorus and a Guest Conductor of London Lyric Opera. In addition to her professional performing commitments, Madeleine is Director of Music at Queen’s College, Cambridge.
After graduating with a double starred first in music at King’s College, Cambridge, Madeleine received an M.Phil in Musicology and spent a further two years researching opera, as a result of which she organised the first performance in the UK of Galuppi’s comic opera, The She-Devil. Madeleine holds a Masters in singing and also a Certificate of Advanced Studies in repetiteur training, both from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Subsequently, she was Assistant Musical Director of the touring company, Pavilion Opera, and conducted Die Fledermaus for Alternative Opera. She is much in demand as a choir trainer, working regularly with the BBC Symphony Chorus (for instance, preparing them for BBC2’s Maestro and several Proms performances, including Verdi’s Requiem in August 2008). Besides her involvement with other choirs, Madeleine has a longstanding relationship with the Philharmonia Chorus, including work for two recordings and for their participation in London Lyric Opera’s recent performance of Der fliegende Holländer. Madeleine’s busy schedule for the coming months includes further concerts with St George’s Chamber Orchestra, and an adventurous programme for Londinium, ranging from the late Renaissance to the inventive and original idiom of Robin Holloway. She will be working on the Eton Choral course this summer, and taking workshops in the UK and the Netherlands, focusing on the performance of contemporary works. Future projects with Queens’ College Choir include a recording in June 2009 and a tour to Hong Kong in December.
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Biographies 19
Elizabeth Connell Leonore
Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts Florestan
Andrew Staples Jaquino
Rachel Nicholls Marzelline
Elizabeth Connell is recognised as one of the world’s leading dramatic sopranos. Following her debut at Wexford Opera Festival in 1972 she sang at the opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973. Following a five-year association with English National Opera she has been a freelance artist with the major opera houses.
Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts was born in Wales and read music at Lancaster University before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music with Barbara Robotham, where he received awards from the Wolfson Foundation, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Peter Moores Foundation.
She has appeared at the opera houses of London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, New York (Metropolitan Opera), San Francisco, Milan (La Scala), Naples and Geneva in a wide repertoire including Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Der fliegende Holländer, Tristan und Isolde, the Ring, Elektra, Ariadne, Nabucco, Macbeth, Attila, Don Carlos, Fidelio, Jenufa and Peter Grimes. She has collaborated with conductors such as Abbado, Sir Colin Davis, Downes, Elder, Giulini, Levine, Maazel, Mackerras, Muti, Ozawa Sawallisch and Sinopoli. She has sung at the Bayreuth, Salzburg, Orange, Verona and Glyndebourne Festivals.
Concerts have included Martinu’s Epic of Gilgamesh with the CBSO and Sir Simon Rattle, Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins and the Mahagonny Songspiel, BBC Proms; Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings in Denmark; Molqui The Death of Klinghoffer and Bartok Cantata Profana, BBC Symphony Orchestra; Erik, Der fliegende Holländer with LLO at the Barbican and Elgar’s, Dream of Gerontius with the BBC Philharmonic and Vassily Sinaisky. He has worked with Opera North, most recently taking the title role in Peter Grimes (which won the Royal Philharmonic Society Opera Award for 2006 and Best Opera at the 2007 South Bank Awards), English National Opera, Alwa in Lulu; Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, English Touring Opera, Garsington Opera, Grange Park Opera, Edinburgh and Cheltenham Festivals and sang Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra with Matthias Bamert.
Andrew Staples sang as a chorister in St Paul’s Cathedral before winning a Choral Scholarship to King’s College Cambridge, where he gained a degree in Music. Andrew was the first recipient of the RCM Peter Pears Scholarship, sponsored by the Britten Pears Foundation at the Royal College of Music and subsequently joined the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. He studies with Ryland Davies.
Rachel Nicholls is establishing herself as one of the most versatile sopranos of her generation, with a huge repertoire ranging from J. S. Bach and Handel to Schönberg and Errollyn Wallen. She read French and Linguistic Science at the University of York, and furthered her studies at the Royal College of Music, winning many prizes including the President’s Rose Bowl for the Most Outstanding Student of the Year. Winner of the Second Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Competition, she made her début at London’s Royal Opera as Third Flowermaiden Parsifal.
Her many recordings include Rossini’s Guillaume Tell, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten, Verdi’s Due Foscari, Schönberg’s Gurrelieder, Wagner’s Lohengrin, and Schubert Lieder as part of Graham Johnson’s Complete Schubert Edition. Recent engagements include Isolde and Turandot in Hamburg; Gertrude Hänsel und Gretel for the Royal Opera; Turandot in Australia, Brünnhilde with Marek Janowski in concert in Berlin and concerts of Jenufa with the London Symphony and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestras and Daniel Harding.
Future engagements include Don Basilio The Marriage of Figaro, Welsh National Opera; The Gambler, ROH Covent Garden; Erik Der fliegende Holländer in concert for Grange Park Opera; Tichon Katya Kabanova for Opera Holland Park and The Adventures of Mr Broucek for Opera North and Scottish Opera.
His concert engagements include: Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Swedish Radio conducted by Daniel Harding, John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple in New York, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Strings and Horn with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Mozart’s Requiem with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra both conducted by Andrew Manze, the Gävle Symphony with Robin Ticciati, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra with Daniel Harding. His roles include: Male Chorus The Rape of Lucretia, Ferrando Cosi fan tutte, Eisenstein Die Fledermaus, Tamino for Opera Holland Park, Belfiore La Finta Giardiniera for the National Theatre in Prague and Narraboth Salome for the Royal Opera. Andrew has also sung Nencio in Haydn’s L’Infedelta delusa for English Touring Opera. His plans include concerts for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle. He made his Royal Opera House debut as Jaquino Fidelio and returned for First Armed Man Die Zauberflöte.
Other operatic engagements have included performances with L’Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing, the Early Opera Company, English National Opera, English Touring Opera and Scottish Opera. Conductors with whom she has worked in opera and concert include Stephen Cleobury, Thomas Dausgaard, Sir Colin Davis, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Valery Gergiev, Martin Gester, Richard Hickox, Sir Simon Rattle, Steven Sloane and Masaaki Suzuki. Recent and current engagements include First Niece Peter Grimes at the St Endellion Festival, Fiordiligi Così fan tutte at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Donna Elvira Don Giovanni at the Gregynog Festival, Armida Rinaldo at the Edinburgh Festival 2009, Nerone L’Incoronazione di Poppea at the New Theatre, Tokyo, the B Minor Mass, St Matthew Passion (arranged Mendelssohn) and Messiah with Bach Collegium Japan and Jauchzet Gott with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in London and Minneapolis.
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Biographies 21
James Hancock Don Pizarro
Richard Wiegold Rocco
Paul Goodwin-Groen Don Fernando
Nicky Spence First Prisoner
James was born in Melbourne and studied at the Victorian College of the Arts. He was a Victoria State Opera Young Artist and was awarded the Opera Foundation Australia German Operatic Award; the AIMS Award, Graz; Australian Opera Auditions Committee Scholarship; Dame Joan Sutherland Scholarship; The Tait Memorial Trust Scholarship; an Australian Musical Foundation London grant and a Bayreuth Bursary. Roles he has performed include: Germont; Escamillo; Figaro (Rossini and Mozart) il frate Don Carlos and The Poet Prima la Musica,Salieri. Companies he has worked for include: UCL opera, Melbourne Opera, Victoria State Opera; Opera Australia; Oper Köln; Longborough Festival; Pocket Opera Nürnberg in Der Ring in einem Abend arr. David Seaman; and Bill Maschinist Hopkins, Brand; Der Mann Schwergewicht, Krenek; and The Mayor Der Held, Mosolov for Cambridge University Opera Society.
Born in South Wales, Richard trained at the Royal Northern College of Music after a career as a cellist. He now studies with the distinguished tenor Anthony Roden. Richard’s operatic roles include Arkel Pelleas et Melisande and Il Commendatore Don Giovanni at the Canadian Opera; Bonze Madama Butterfly and Banquo Macbeth with Scottish Opera; Dachs/ Pfarrer Das Schlaue Fuchslein at the Wiener Kammeroper; Gobernador Das Wundertheater and Jimmy Mahagonny Songspiel at Montepulciano; Rocco Leonore, Valton I Puritani; Talbot Giovanna D’Arco and the Polish Officer/Russian Commander A Life for the Tsar for Chelsea Opera Group; Pistola Falstaff and Il Commendatore for the Lyrique-en-Mer Festival, France; Second Mercenary Svanda Dudak at the Wexford Festival, Snug A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Dr. Bartolo Le Nozze di Figaro with English Touring Opera, the Green Knight Gwyneth and the Green Knight for Music Theatre Wales, Sarastro Die Zauberflöte for the Longborough Festival and Death The Emperor of Atlantis with the Hallé Orchestra.
American Bass Paul Goodwin-Groen, labelled as an artist to be watched, has been recognized for his striking stage presence and rich tones. In 2005 he made his debut with Theater Hof in Germany as Fafner Das Rheingold. Recently, he was invited to sing Bottom A Midsummer Nights Dream at the 50th Anniversary of the Aldeburgh Festival. This season he made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Guccio Gianni Schicchi, while concurrently covering Simone and also performed the role of the Mother in Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins.
A natural performer, Nicky left School in Dumfriesshire to take up a scholarship to study as the youngest singer at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama where he is currently completing his final year of the Opera Course studying with John Evans. Nicky’s performance experiences have secured him a long-term recording contract with Universal Classics.
James has given recitals at the Melbourne International Festival, St James Piccadilly and other festivals in the UK and Australia. Concert repertoire includes the Messiah, Creation, Beethoven 9, Elijah. He recently sang the Songs of Travel at Cadogan Hall in Cycles conducted by Madeleine Lovell. James’ roles include Conte di Luna Il Trovatore, Pavilion Opera; the title role in Simon Boccanegra, OperaUK; Kothner Die Meistersingers, Edinburgh Players Opera Group, the title role in Rigoletto, New Devon Opera and the Holländer in Der fliegende Holländer at the Barbican for LLO with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lionel Friend.
As a concert singer, Richard has appeared at the Macao Easter Festival, China, the Wexford Festival, the Lyrique-en-Mer Festival and at leading venues in the UK. This June, Richard makes his Covent Garden debut as Dr. Grenvil La Traviata and later in the year he will understudy the great Finnish bass Matti Salminen as König Marke Tristan und Isolde also at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
He has performed the roles of Cadmus/ Somnus Semele, Leporello Don Giovanni, the title role in Don Pasquale, Colline La Boheme, Sarastro Die Zauberflöte, Don Alfonso Cosi fan tutte, Zuniga Carmen, Don Basilio Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Mr. Olsen in Weill’s Street Scene, Caspar Der Freischütz, Don Gomez L’heure d’espagnol, Jago Ernani, Baron Douphol La Traviata, Bottom A Midsummer Nights Dream and Sparafucile Rigoletto. Paul has performed Bach’s St. John Passion and Cantata 36, Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in G Minor and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. He won a grant to study in Italy from the Ezio Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera. He received a BA from Wheaton College, and an MFA in Acting from Brandeis University, and continued his studies at the Manhattan School of Music and the Britten-Pears School of Advanced Musical Studies.
Nicky’s awards include the Kathleen Ferrier Young Singer’s Bursary First Prize, a Young Classical Performer of the Year nomination at the Classical Brits, and he was a finalist in the Gold Medal at the GSMD. In opera his roles include Bill Flight for BYO, Samson Samson, Don Eusebio L’Occasione fa il ladro, Osmin La Rencontre Imprévue for GSMD, Soldier I giardini della storia J. Dove (Batignano), Scaramuccio Ariadne auf Naxos for Garsington Opera, King Arthur at BrittenPears, Pirelli Sweeney Todd at Shawford Mill and Count Zedlau Wiener Blut and Belmonte Die Entfhürung aus dem Serail for English Touring Opera. Nicky’s future operatic plans include Jaquino Fidelio for Opera Holland Park, Pyramus Pyramus and Thisbe for Opera Project, The Guide The King goes Forth to France, and Ferrando Cosi fan Tutte. On the concert platform: A Samling Showcase at the Wigmore Hall and recitals at Snape Maltings, Leeds Lieder+ Festival, the National Portrait Gallery and Hampton Court whilst recording plans include a CD of Alun Hoddinott Songs, an ITV Documentary Profile, and leading the New Scottish National Anthem.
22 London Lyric Opera
Biographies 23
Aaron McAuley Second Prisoner
David Cairns Critic/Author
Edward Caswell Chorus Master
Aaron gained a B. Mus. with honours, at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, under the direction of Alan Watt. Aaron is currently studying for an Artist Diploma in Opera at the Royal College of Music under the direction of Tim Evans.
David Cairns was chief music critic of the Sunday Times from 1983 to 1992, having been music critic and, later, arts editor of the Spectator and a writer on Times Educational Supplement, Evening Standard, Financial Times and New Statesman.
Edward went to Christ Church, Oxford and the Royal College of Music where he studied singing with Norman Bailey. Having previously worked as a singer, Edward has established himself as a widely respected choral conductor and appears regularly as a guest chorus master throughout the UK and Europe. In October 2008 he became Artistic Director of the Philharmonia Chorus.
His solo career has taken him around the country performing such works as Handel’s Israel in Egypt and Berlioz’s L’enfrance du Christ (Polydorus) as well as Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Mozart’s Vesperae solemnes de confessore and Litaniae de verabili altaris sacramento, Schubert’s Mass in G and Magnificat, Haydn’s Missa in honorem sanctae ursulae, Faure’s Requiem, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to music and Telemann’s cantata The Schoolmaster with members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He has toured the Scottish Isles performing for Herriot Watt University. His operatic roles include the Sheriff in Flotow’s Martha, the Bride’s Father in Weir’s The Vanishing Bridegroom, and the immigration officer in Dove’s Flight. Roles Aaron has understudied include Pistola Falstaff, Arkel Pelléas et Mélisande and Liberto in L’incoronazione Di Poppea.
He was co-founder of Chelsea Opera Group (1950) and sang solo roles under the group’s first conductor, Colin Davis. From 1967 to 1972 he was classical programme coordinator at Philips Records, where he was involved in many of the company’s major recordings. His books include Responses: Musical Essays and Reviews (1973), a two-volume life of Berlioz, volume 2 of which won the Samuel Johnson Non-Fiction Prize and the Whitbread Biography Award (2000), Mozart and His Operas (2006), and, as co-author, the ENO Opera Guide on Falstaff.
Forthcoming performances include a recital with the Glasgow Youth Choir to mark their 50th anniversary, and Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Second Prisoner with Garsington Opera in the Summer.
He is Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, president of the City Music Society and of Putney Music, vice-president of Chelsea Opera Group, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a member of the boards of St John’s Smith Square and the International Musicians Seminar, and founder-conductor of the Thorington Players, an amateur orchestra which gives concerts for charity and which recently performed Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at St John’s.
Aaron is supported by The Countess of Munster Trust, Douglas & Hilda Simmonds Award, The Drapers’ De Turckheim Company, Musicians Benevolent Fund and the Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarship.
He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of California, Davis, and has been visiting fellow at the Getty Center in Santa Monica and at Merton College, Oxford.
Edward works as chorus master and conductor with NDR Chor, the SchleswigHolstein Festival Chor and SWR Vokalensemble in Stuttgart and has recently prepared Netherlands Radio Choir for Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato under the direction of Kenneth Montgomery. He returns to Netherlands Radio next season, and in 2009 will prepare the BBC Singers for Mozart’s Requiem with conductor Scott Ellaway. On 4th July this year he will conduct the Philharmonia Chorus in Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil in Salisbury Cathedral.
Edward works as a lecturer in the Department of Vocal Studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and teaches singing at the University of Glasgow. He is Musical Director of St Andrews Chorus and the Wordsworth Singers in Cumbria. As Outreach Director of Capella Nova he leads workshops across Scotland and is currently leading a course ‘Health and Wellbeing through Song’ at the University of Strathclyde.
24 London Lyric Opera
Supporting young Australian Performing Artists in the UK
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra History
Patron HRH The Duke of York Music Director Daniele Gatti Founded in 1946 by Sir Thomas Beecham, with his vision of bringing world-class performances of the greatest music written to the length of the country, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra continues to maintain Beecham’s legacy by offering audiences in the UK and abroad the highest possible standards of musicmaking, accompanied by some of the most acclaimed artists of the day. Since its formation, the Orchestra has been directed by some of the world’s finest conductors, most notably Rudolf Kempe, Antal Dorati, André Previn and Vladimir Ashkenazy. The RPO continues to thrive, undertaking a busy concert, touring and recording schedule, under the inspired leadership of Maestro Daniele Gatti. The Orchestra is pleased to announce that from the beginning of the 2009-2010 season, Charles Dutoit will become Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, with Daniele Gatti continuing as Conductor Laureate. The Orchestra is London-based and performs regularly at Cadogan Hall (as Resident Orchestra), the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Festival Hall. These high-
profile performances in the capital are complemented by a comprehensive regional touring programme. Throughout the summer months the Orchestra also performs to tens of thousands of people at open-air picnic concerts across the country. As an international orchestra, the RPO has toured more than thirty countries in the last five years, with significant engagements including concerts in the Vatican and Tiananmen Square, China. The RPO extends its artistic work through a vibrant and innovative Community and Education programme. Using music as a powerful and motivating force, the RPO works in a variety of settings including projects with young homeless people, youth clubs, the probation service, schools and families. RPO Community and Education projects promote live music-making, reflecting the diversity of the individuals involved, as well as the Orchestra’s own background. The RPO records widely for all the major commercial record companies, with no less than eight of its CDs featuring in the record charts last year. The Orchestra also has its own record label, which includes the popular Here Come The Classics™ series.
Upcoming Events Wednesday 18 March 2009 Prokofiev: A life of Music John Amis and our young Tait Awardees John Amis together with Mary Jean O’Doherty, James Homann, Amir Farid and Claire Howard present an evening on Prokofiev. Works to include Diabolique Opus 4, Toccata Opus 11, War and Peace arias, The Love of 3 Oranges and Songs Without Words. Tickets £23 7 for 7.30pm
49 Queen’s Gate Terrace, London SW7
Monday 20 April 2009 Tait Rush Hour with lyric tenor Brad Cooper and soprano Valda Wilson The Trust’s popular Rush Hour planned to keep you in touch with emerging and established Australian talent. Brad Cooper, a lyric tenor, rising star of bel canto from Holland Park Opera and Wexford Festival with Valda Wilson. Tickets £23 7 for 7.30pm
49 Queen’s Gate Terrace, London SW7
Tuesday 19 May 2009 Royal Over-Seas League Arts A Celebration Of Young Australian Music Talent In this concert we hear recent winners of the Tait Memorial Scholarship and ROSL awardees in an hour-long programme of popular classics and musical delights. A glass of champagne is served on arrival and the concert will be followed by a reception with quality Australian wines and canapés. Tickets £25 6.30 for 7pm
ROSL, Princess Alexandra Hall St James’s Street London SW1A 1LR We wish to thank the Vernon Ellis Foundation and The Thornton Foundation. Photos: Seija Knight and Duncan Rock at our recent Christmas Celebration. Tristan Dyer and Darcey Bussell at In Celebration of Ballet 2007. Photos by Angus Forbes.
For tickets or information Please contact us on: info@taitmemorialtrust.org www.taitmemorialtrust.org 4/80 Elm Park Gardens London SW10 9PD 020 7351 0561 Registered charity no. 1042797
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26 London Lyric Opera
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Musicians and Management
First Violins Clio Gould Tamás András Gerald Gregory Andrew Klee Kay Chappell Anthony Protheroe Erik Chapman Russell Gilbert Second Violins Clara Biss Elen Hâf Richards Jennifer Christie Siân McInally Guy Bebb Peter Dale
Music Director Daniele Gatti
Oboes Tim Watts Leila Ward
Managing Director Ian Maclay
Bassoons Daniel Jemison Helen Simons Contra Bassoons Claire Webster
Violas Andrew Williams Helen Kamminga Emilie Hornlund Andrew Sippings
French Horns Chris Parkes Kathryn Saunders Phil Woods Andrew Fletcher
Cellos Tim Gill Chantal Webster William Heggart Shinko Hanaoka
Trumpets Brian Thomson Mike Allen Adam Wright
Basses Roy Benson David Broughton Flutes Emer McDonough Julian Coward
in a new English translation by Simon Butteriss
Piccolo Helen Keen
Clarinets Douglas Mitchell Tom Watmough
Trombones Phil White Bass Trombone Andrew Waddicor Timpani Matt Perr
If you would like to join the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s FREE mailing list or for further information about concerts and recordings, please take a look at our website: www.rpo.co.uk or call us on 020 7608 8800.
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
Finance Director Michelle Johnson Concerts Director Elizabeth Forbes Concerts Manager Elsa Tatevossian Head of Press & Marketing Chris Evans Head of Community & Education James Hutchinson Orchestra Managers Sally Sparrow Malcolm Wilson Librarian Patrick Williams Stage Manager Chris Ouzman
Wednesday May 6 2009 at 7.30pm at The Bloomsbury Theatre 15 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH Box Office 020 7388 8822 or at www.thebloomsbury.com
Bawdy, boisterous and brilliant – beg, borrow or steal a ticket. Prior to UK and Irish Tour May and June 2009 Check website for details www.operauk.co.uk
28 London Lyric Opera
The Philharmonia Chorus 29
Philharmonia Chorus History
Chorus Members
The Philharmonia Chorus was founded by Walter Legge in 1957 to record Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Otto Klemperer. It quickly established itself as one of Europe’s premier choirs and has worked with many leading conductors and orchestras, both in the UK and overseas.
Soprano Gill Beach Carol Capper Sheena Cormack Rosalyn Dale Judy Davies Sheila Fitzgerald Ruth James Vivien Karam Carolyn Killen Patty Kostkova Jackie Leach Laura MacPherson Sarah Molloy Dilys Morgan Rosslyn Panatti Ayano Sasaki-Crawley Denise Squires Theresa Walters
Its extensive repertoire encompasses the mainstream choral masterpieces and opera. Highlights during the past few years have included performances of Verdi’s Requiem with both Valery Gergiev and Riccardo Muti, Rachmaninov’s The Bells with Vladimir Jurowski, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Sir Charles Mackerras and Lohengrin and Der Freischütz at the Edinburgh Festival. Performances in 2008 have included Dvorak’s Requiem and Stabat Mater, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Brahms Requiem (under Lorin Maazel), the Berlioz Te Deum and Leonard Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony. Concerts have been given in Istanbul, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, and St David’s Hall, Cardiff, in addition to the main London venues. The Chorus was privileged to take part in London Lyric Opera’s performance of Der flegende Höllander in the Barbican. September 2008 saw the Chorus in Spain to take part in a recording of Frédéric Chaslin’s Wuthering Heights, conducted by the composer.
Last October the Philharmonia Chorus was delighted to announce the appointment of Edward Caswell as its new Artistic Director. He will conduct the Chorus in London in April in a programme of works by Bruckner, Arvo Pärt and Rachmaninov, and he has prepared the Chorus for this evening’s performance.
Alto Elizabeth Album Anneliese Collett Ursula Davies Clare Harvey Diana Howarth Judy Jones Celia Kent Anne Lavender Philippa Millbrook Alison Rieple Danni Rochman Muriel Scott Sylvia Suban Anne Thies Hana Tiller Anne van der Lee
Tenor Tim Appleby * Richard Ashdown * Ahmet Cakir Mark Damerell Dominick Felix * Tim Freeman * Edmund Henderson * Andrew Martin Andew McCall Geraint Powell Ian Williams John Woodhouse Tenor 2 Zak Attar Simon Carbery * Bob Geary Christopher Hollis * Michael Hope Marco Marta Jon Meredith Andrew Oliver David Phillips * Mark Tannett * Ian Williams
Bass 1 Mark Anderson David Bryant * Phillip Dangerfield * Michael Day Richard Gaskell Richard Harding * Jonathon Holder Michael Hughes Michael Humphries Alan Jones Richard Lane Edward Morgan Aziz Panni Andre Refig * Ben Stubbs David Walker James Wigram Bass 2 Tony Brewer Robert Collis Mike Fleuty Nigel Grieve Oliver Hogg Matt Kellett * Steve Kirby * Barnaby Mason Stephen Rosser * James Shirras * * Wachtsoldaten
30 London Lyric Opera
Management and sponsors 31
The Choir of Queens’ College, Cambridge
Management and sponsors
Choir Biography
Throughout its 560 year history, Queens’ College Cambridge has had an extremely strong musical tradition. The Chapel Choir, led by the two Organ Scholars and the Director of Music, performs to the highest standards in College, in public performance and in the recording studio. Their repertoire ranges from the divine to the secular and from classical to popular. The regular duty of the choir is to sing evensong twice a week in the beautiful Victorian college chapel. The choir also frequently performs in and around Cambridge, and at cathedrals across the United Kingdom. Recent appearances have included Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral in London, and Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. Moreover, Queens’ Choir has a strong international reputation, following tours to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Hong Kong, and most recently the USA – where the choir performed extensively in New York, at Vassar University and in Harvard. In 1999 the choir began its recording relationship with Guild Music, with the highly successful album ‘Evening Watch’. Since then, the choir has released five further recordings and another is in preparation. Through its performances and recordings the Choir of Queens’ College has firmly established itself both in Cambridge and among the international musical community as a leading exponent of great choral music.
Chorus Members Soprano Sara Boomsma Georgina Bryan Alice Cairns Soumaya Keynes Rosalind Orchard Laura Parrott Sian Smith Alto Eleanor Careless Emma Jones Madeleine Power Sophie Morrison Faith Taylor
Tenor James Angus Nicholas Dore Cody Johnson Nicholas Sutcliffe Geoffrey Williams Bass Matthew Andrew Alexander Breedon Hector Miller-Bakewell Daniel Rollison Joel White Thomas White Ciaran Woods
London Lyric Opera Patron–in-Chief Isla Baring Patron Christine Collins James Hancock Founder Principal Conductor Lionel Friend Madeleine Lovell Guest Conductor Company Manager Violetta Tosic Wardour Design Gordon Dadds Legal Services Company Accountant Global Accountants Ltd Advertising Sales/ Promotions Christopher Mason Public Relations Violetta Tosic For this Production Dramatic Realisation Repetiteurs Surtitle Operator Photographer Photographer Cadogan Hall General Manager Event Manager Marketing Manager Technical Manager
Jane McCulloch Stephen Rose Caroline Jaya Ratnam Paul Webster Kenneth Chalmers Moz Bulbeck Julie Kim
Adam McGinlay Gill Dixon Lisa McFall James Tapping
Platinum Sponsor Branding and Marketing Partner
Wardour www.wardour.co.uk
Gold Sponsors
Tait Memorial Trust www.taitmemorialtrust.org The Ashton Partnership www.theashtonpartnershi.com
Silver Sponsors
Henkell Brothers www.henkell.com.au
Legal Partner
Gordon Dadds www.gordondadds.com
Hotel Partner
Cadogan Hotel www.cadogan.com
Transport Partner
Translux International www.translux.com
Supported by: Novum Wines Baker & Spice
www.novumwines.com www.bakerandspice.com
With our warmest thanks to Jonathan Burton,Royal Opera House; Mark Millidge, English National Opera; Kathie Convery, Victorian Opera; Leeza Johnson, Tiffany Leeson, Margaret Marinkovic, Catherine Stokes, Advance UK Arts Network, and the team at Wardour. Vernon and Hazel Ellis and the Vernon Ellis Foundation for their most generous support. We would like to welcome Lord Eatwell, President of Queens’ College Cambridge, Queens’ Alumni and the Advance Arts Network to tonights performance.
Photo and Image credits: Front Cover – Artwork, Sam Weber; Design, Wardour pp1 Lebrecht Music & Arts, pp2 Julie Kim, pp9 Julie Kim, pp12 Orsolya Szakaly, pp15 Julie Kim, pp16 Clive Barda & Julie Kim, pp17 Sussie Ahlburg & Jonathan Underwood, pp18 Julie Kim, pp19 Julie Kim & Anon, pp20 Gordon Smith, pp21 James Hancock & Charles Boursnell, pp22 David Lindsay, pp26 Mozbphotography pp33 Mozbphotography
Our mission 33
Our mission Supporting LLO London Lyric Opera is a young company with ambitions to fill a niche in the UK opera scene by producing high-quality concerts with the best available singers and musicians. Concert performances are planned in London every four months in the best concert venues. If you would like to get involved or have ideas about projects or resources that might help us keep doing what we’re doing, we’d love to hear from you. Please call us on +44 (0)20 7193 4149 or email info@londonlyricopera.com to discuss this further. LLO Friends We believe that LLO will have an exciting future as an important opera company in the UK – but we need your help. Our aim is to be the premier London concert opera company, performing opera in concert to the highest possible standard with no compromise to orchestra size and quality. We will always perform with the forces required by the score and use professional orchestras and cast the best available singers.
Our Friends get special benefits such as invitations to private events, opportunities to meet the artists, first call on performance tickets and generous Friends discounts. All names of Friends are prominently listed in our performance programmes and appear on the LLO website. If you would like to find out how you can become a Friend and support our work, please write to us at: London Lyric Opera, 27 Clevedon Road, London SE20 7QQ Friends Gold Isla Baring Christine Collins Silver
Mr and Mrs V Scamporlino
To continue this important work we are going to need additional funding. If you could support us by being a ‘Friend’, we would be enormously grateful.
Bronze
Mr and Mrs R Dennis Mr and Mrs D H L Hopkinson Mr and Mrs D How Ms P Radcliffe
The ‘Friend’ categories are the following Bronze £25 - £249 Silver £250 - £999 Gold £1,000 - £4,999 Platinum £5,000+
Corporate sponsorship Through corporate contributions towards LLO’s work, your company will enhance and promote its image and messages to an audience of well-educated, affluent opinion-shapers and decision-makers. You will promote products in the most prestigious concert venues to central London audiences and establish name identification, brand affiliation and image transfer with London’s new opera company. Contact Lara at lara@ londonlyricopera.com for a personally tailored sponsorship package.
34 London Lyric Opera
Cadogan Hall Etiquette and information
Etiquette Smoking All areas of Cadogan Hall are non-smoking areas. Food & Beverages You are kindly requested not to bring food and other refreshments into Cadogan Hall. Cameras and Electronic Devices Video equipment, cameras and tape recorders are not permitted. Please ensure all pagers, PDA’s and mobile phones are switched off before entering the auditorium. Dress Code There is no dress code for the majority of performances. If a particular dress is requested you will be informed at the time of booking by the box office. Interval and timings Intervals vary with each performance. Some performances may not have an interval. Latecomers will not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Consideration We aim to deliver the highest standards of service. Therefore, we would ask of you to treat our staff with courtesy and in a manner in which you would expect to be treated. Food and Beverages Oakley Bar Concert goers may enjoy a wide selection of champagnes, spirits, red and white wines, beers and soft drinks from the Oakley Room Bar. There are also some light refreshments available. Access Free Companion/Assistance Scheme Cadogan Hall has a range of services to assist disabled customers including a provision for wheelchair users in the stalls. Companions of disabled customers are entitled to a free seat when assisting disabled customers at Cadogan Hall.
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Wheel Chair Users If you use a wheelchair and wish to transfer to a seat, we regret we may not be able to provide a member of staff to help you physically. However, we will arrange for your wheelchair to be taken away and stored. A Lift is located to the right once inside the box office reception allowing access to a lowered box office counter. Foyer areas are on the same level as the box office and the foyer bar (Caversham Room) is accessed via a wide access lift. A member of staff will help you with your requirements. Stalls within the auditorium are via a wide access lift as are adapted toilet facilities. Customers with hearing requirements The auditorium is fitted with an Infra-red Amplification System. This is not the same as a Loop System so switching your hearing aid to ‘T’ is not sufficient. You will need to use an amplification aid. There is a choice of aids depending on the nature of your hearing impairment. A member of staff will be happy to explain the use of the system and there is an opportunity to check that your equipment is working prior to curtain up.
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Customers with sight impairment: Working / Guide dogs are welcome to access the hall and auditorium but please do let us now prior to arriving at the hall so we may make any special arrangements if necessary. We produce large print (20 point) brochures upon request as well as audiocassette versions of season brochures. To request a free copy please call the box office and ask to be added to our regular lists.
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Philharmonia Chorus Conducted by Madeleine Lovell at Cadogan hall, sung in English Cadogan Hall 5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1 9DQ Tickets £39, £32, £25, £20, £12 Box Office 020 7730 4500
‘Touch / Familiarisation’ tours can be arranged and we have Unisex accessible toilet on all levels except Gallery.
www.londonlyricopera.com
Passion feeds perfection. Whether it’s music, or words and design. At Wardour we’re passionate about every piece of work we do, big or small. From strategic planning through to delivery of high-quality finished projects – in print or online – we ensure you have support and input from some of the best brains in the communications business. However you want to reach your audience, Wardour can help you to hit the right note.
For further information, please contact Shelley Murdoch on 020 7016 2550 or shelley.murdoch@wardour.co.uk
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