Das Rheingold Programme - Fulham Opera

Recommendations

Info

FULHAM OPERA presents RICHARD WAGNER’S Das Rheingold The preliminary evening in the tetralogy of Der Ring des Nibelungen CAST: (In order of appearance) Woglinde: (soprano) Zoë South Wellgunde: (soprano) Elizabeth Capener Floβhilde: (mezzo-soprano) Sara Gonzalez Alberich: (baritone) Robert Presley Fricka: (mezzo-soprano) Elizabeth Russo Wotan: (bass-baritone) Ian Wilson-Pope Freia: (soprano) Elizabeth Capener Fasolt: (bass-baritone) Peter Brooke (30 th & 31 st Aug) Oliver Hunt (2 nd & 4 th Sept) Fafner: (bass) John Woods Froh: (tenor) Stuart Laing Donner: (baritone) Stephen John Svanholm Loge: (tenor) Brian Smith-Walters Mime: (tenor) Ian Massa-Harris Erda: (mezzo-soprano) Sara Gonzalez Stage Director: Fiona Williams Musical Director: Benjamin Woodward Lighting Designer: Rob Dyer Stage Manager: Cat Tyler Movement: Naomi Said Costumes Assistance and the River Rhine: Gaynor Woodward Make-up Jae Goldie from Circle Creatif 2 Cat Tyler – Stage Management: Cat has recently graduated from the Stage Management and Technical Theatre course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she specialised in Stage Management. Recent productions include the rarely performed La Spinalba (Guildhall – DSM); a double-bill of Rita and Iolanta (Guildhall – SM); and Opera Holland Park’s Rigoletto (ASM – rehearsals). After Das Rheingold, Cat intends to work with the backstage team at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, whilst working towards becoming a DSM within the Opera community. Rob Dyer – Lighting: Rob recently graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied Technical Theatre, specialising in Lighting. His recent lighting designs include: ‘Summer Opera Scenes’ (Guildhall); ‘The Blue Room’ (Guildhall) for which he was reviewed as “a talent to watch out for”; and a world premiere production of 'Unknown Doors', written and directed by Iain Burnside which was performed in the Barbican’s Pit Theatre. Rob was lucky enough to shadow Tony Award winning Lighting Designer Rick Fisher for several weeks, has spent a week at the Prince of Wales Theatre (Leicester Square) working with the lighting team on ‘Mamma Mia!’ and is soon to accept the Michael Northen Bursary from the Association of Lighting Designers for his Lighting Designs throughout his time at Guildhall. After ‘Das Rheingold’, Rob will be taking up the role of Dayman Electrician with Delfont Mackintosh. Naomi Said – Movement: Naomi's work so far this year includes Lord of the Flies at Regents Park Open Air Theatre and Le Nozze di Figaro at Opera Holland Park, both as assistant movement director to Liam Steel. She has also performed at the Olivier Awards live on BBC with physical theatre company ThickSkin, created and performed in The Children of Modernity (Bristol Old Vic Ferment) and The Guild of Cheesemakers (Bristol Mayfest) both for immersive theatre company Stand+Stare, co-directed and choreographed 60 Hugs for Frantic Assembly's Ignition Company, performed in W Hotel (Punchdrunk Theatrical Events) and performed in the development workshop for Hamlyn (Young Vic). As Creative Learning Practitioner for Frantic Assembly, Naomi runs workshops and directs residencies across the UK and abroad and next year will assistant direct on Little Dogs (Frantic Assembly/National Theatre Wales). Naomi's other credits as a choreographer include Cinderella (Fairgame Theatre) and as a performer include productions for Stephen Joseph Theatre, RSC/Compagnia Pippo Delbono, Cheltenham Everyman, The Bush, Theatre Centre, Warwick Arts Centre and Coventry Belgrade. She has also performed in The 24 Hour Plays (The Old Vic) and the Sam Wanamaker Festival (Shakespeare's Globe). Her first piece as a writer/performer, The Wedge, is currently in development with Theatre Absolute and will feature in the First Bite Festival at mac, Birmingham later this year. FULHAM OPERA: Fulham Opera is West London's Premier Independent Opera Company. Affiliated with Music@theHeartofFulham, we exist to produce great opera in a fantastic space. Fulham Opera is based on a co-operative business model. After production expenses, all cast and crew will receive equal shares of ticket takings. Please feel free to give a further donation if you have enjoyed tonight’s performance. It will go to the cast and crew! Our past productions (all with director Fiona Williams and Musical Director Ben Woodward): December 2010: Amahl and the Night Visitors October 2010: Parsifal (Act II) September 2009: Die Walküre (Act I) St. John’s, Fulham: St. John's has been at the heart of Fulham for 180 years. Situated on the corner of the Fulham Broadway and North End Road, famous for its daily market, St. John's continues to be a center for the community. St. John's is the home of Music@theHeartofFulham, where we house a concert series of recitals and concerts. For more details see www.stjohnsfulham.org/music 15
Ian Massa-Harris – Mime: Since October 2009 Ian Massa-Harris has been retraining as a tenor continuing his work with Arwel T Morgan, having previously studied with Mary King. He made his tenor debut in May 2010 at Opera Holland Park. He trained, as a baritone, on The Knack at the ENO in 2000/01 and subsequently at Birkbeck University. Whilst at ENO he created the role of Rev Joshua Grippe in On Thee We Feed by Richard Chew and Rufus Norris. Ian has appeared at ENO, Opera Holland Park, The Lyric Theatre, The Bloomsbury, The Warehouse, Rome (Italy) and many other venues both in the UK and abroad. Previous baritone roles include Dulcamara, Don Alfonso, Leporello (TellTale Opera), Bartolo, Tarquinius, Dandini, Lescaut, Forester, Pelleas, Figaro, Count, Melisso, Antonio, Morales, Pritsch Merry Widow, Mozart Mozart's Ladies and Donna Basil (Don Basilio) for Unexpected Opera. Ian has appeared in a myriad of operas as chorus soloist to include Don Pasquale, L'amico Fritz, La Wally, Forza del Destino, Francesca Da Rimini, Pique Dame, Jenufa, La Traviata, Roberto Devereux, Rigoletto, Macbeth, to mention a few. TV credits include the premiere of Children In Need, The Musical and ensemble in Jonathan Doves TV Opera Death of a Princess (When She Died). Ian has also worked as assistant director for Susan Stacey's London Opera Vocal at the National Opera Studio on staged scenes to include Die Walküre, The Beggars Opera, Manon, Albert Herring and Carmen. Ian recently created the role of Operatic Tenor in Benjamin Till’s Pepys Motet which was recorded in October 2010 and performed in concert version in November 2010. The piece was featured together with Benjamin Till on Radio 3. Future engagements include: a return to Holland Park for 2011 summer season where he will appear in Don Pasquale, L’amico Fritz, Rigoletto and La Wally. Other engagements include Dido and Aeneas as the Sorcerer in a concert tour of Southern Spain and will feature as one of 4 tenor soloists in a new composition by Shane Cullinan with Sir Derek Jacobi as narrator (Winter 2011). Fiona Williams – Stage Director: Fiona trained on ENO’s performance skills course, The Knack. Her credits include title role Carmen, Third Lady, Second and Third Boy The Magic Flute, Dorabella Cosi fan tuttè, Suzuki Madama Butterfly, Ino Semele, Mrs Peachum Beggar’s Opera, Second Witch Dido and Aeneas and Thisbe Cenerentola. Fiona has also worked as a recitalist; spent three summers with the Opera Holland Park Chorus; appeared as a nun in BBC One’s Murphy’s Law; performed as alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah; recorded the background music for Terrence Rattigan’s The Browning Version at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre; and formed part of Opera North’s Education team. She now mainly works as a director. Her directorial credits include La Cenerentola and Don Giovanni for TellTale Opera and Amahl and the Night Visitors, Parsifal (Act 2) and Die Walküre (Act 1) for Music at the Heart of Fulham. Fiona has just finished working as Assistant Director to Liam Steel on Le Nozze di Figaro for Opera Holland Park where she has previously assisted Olivia Fuchs on Kat’a Kabanova and Fidelio. Ben Woodward – Musical Director: Ben was born in Staffordshire, and was educated at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, and was then Organ Scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge. His operatic experiences began in New York when he was asked to repetiteur for Salome for the One Wolrd Symphony, just three days before rehearsals began. After this baptism of fire, he was then asked back to repetiteur and chorus-master Peter Grimes and Elektra. He returned to London in 2007, and on meeting Fiona Williams, conducted La Cenerentola in St John’s Fulham. He has since worked with Opera de Baugé as repetiteur on La traviata and chorus master for Rigoletto and Die Zauberflöte, English Chamber Opera as assistant conductor on Cosi fan tutte, Focus Opera as assistant conductor on Don Giovanni and Opera Links as pianist for a workshop performance of Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has recently completed his MMus at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and whilst doing that worked on Parsifal Act II with Fulham Opera and conducted L’elisir d’amore for Chelmsford Opera. As Artistic Director of Music @ the Heart of Fulham, he has instituted a recital series at the church, which has included playing a Brandenburg 5 and the Goldberg Variations, has recently conducted the Brahms Deutsches Requiem, St John Passion, Mozart Requiem, two performances of Tallis’s 40-voice motet “Spem in Alium”, and the British premere of J.D. Heinichen’s Mass in F, which he himself edited from source. There is still some argument whether it was Ben or Robert Presley’s idea to do Rheingold, though now we are both claiming it! With the grateful help of Zoe South and Ian Wilson-Pope, we seem to have spawned the idea of doing the full Ring Cycle, and look forward to presenting Die Walküre in summer 2012. 14 DAS RHEINGOLD Running Order Scene 1: In the River Rhine Orchestral Interlude Scene 2: Wotan & Fricka’s temporary home Orchestral Interlude beginning 15 Minute Interval (In Berlin in 1881 a performance of Das Rheingold had an interval. Wagner was in the audience, and approved of the break. Although generally performed without any interval, we have, due to the nature of the performance venue, decided to break the performance to allow for and to facilitate a lighting and scenic change.) Orchestral Interlude conclusion Scene 3: Mime’s workshop Orchestral Interlude Scene 4: Wotan and Fricka’s temporary home 3
Page 1: Thanks and Acknowledgements: Fulham
Page 5 and 6: Psalms; Schubert’s Mass in G; Ros
Page 7 and 8: BIOGRAPHIES - (In order of appearan

Das Rheingold Programme - Fulham Opera

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?