Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

CAST:

Idomeneo: Mark Wilde

Idamante: Sam Furness

Ilia: Rebecca Bottone

Electra: Kirstin Sharpin

Arbace: Will Davies

Voice of Neptune: Pauls Putnins

Blackheath Halls Opera Chorus

Blackheath Halls Orchestra

Pupils from Greenvale School

Pupils from Charlton Park Academy

Pupils from Year 5 at Beecroft Garden Primary School

Pupils from Year 5 at Mulgrave Primary School

BLACKHEATH HALLS TEAM:

General Manager: Keith Murray

Community Engagement Manager: Rose Ballantyne

Operations Manager: Hannah Benton

Technical Manager: Malcom Richards

Marketing and Box Office Co-ordinator: Heather Stephenson

Development Officer: Fiona Sanderson

Bookkeeper: Debra Skeet

Administrator: Caroline Foulkes

Communications Consultant: Clare Fisher

PRODUCTION:

Musical Director: Nicholas Jenkins

Director: James Hurley

Designer: Rachel Szmukler

Lighting Designer: Ben Pickersgill

Assistant Director: Laura Attridge

Assistant Musical Director: Jeremy Cooke

Production Manager: Isolde Nash

Costume Supervisor: Laura Rushton

Costume Assistant: Evelien Coleman

Community Costume Assistant: Rita Craft

Senior Stage Manager: Sasja Ekenberg

Deputy Stage Manager: Jean Hally

Assistant Stage Managers: Matthew Carlisle

and Emily May Sions

Community Stage Manager: Sarah Southerton

Project Manager: Rose Ballantyne

Assistant Project Manager: Isabel Jeakins

Publicity and Programme Designer:

Colin Dunlop

TRINITY LABAN PROJECT TEAM:

Project Manager: Elizabeth Green

Project Leader: Joe Townsend

Running Time: 2hrs and 50mins

Welcome to Blackheath Halls! This year’s community opera performances of Mozart’s Idomeneo, bring to a

close another wide-ranging and lively season here at Blackheath Halls. We offer

audiences a chance to hear world class performers alongside up and coming

talent in a programme of recitals, concerts and events. In addition to this we

showcase many successful comedy and family events throughout the year; there

really is something for everyone! We have exciting plans for our 2015/16 season

and beyond, working with a range of new and existing artistic partners.

The Community Engagement team run a thriving programme of events which embraces musical

styles from Gospel to Broadway and Classical. Our aim is to engage people of all ages from the

diverse local community and beyond, in high quality music making and performance at this

wonderful historic venue. I would like to thank Rose Ballantyne, our Community Engagement

Manager, and indeed all of the Blackheath Halls’ staff, for their hard work and enthusiasm, and we all

look forward to celebrating the community opera programme’s 10th birthday in 2016.

We could not put on a project of this scale without financial support. We are very grateful to Arts

Council England for their very generous support for our year round “Opera for All” Programme. We

would also like to thank The Royal Borough of Greenwich, The London Borough of Lewisham, The

Hearn Foundation, The Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust, The Ingles Charitable Trust and The Fischer

Fund for their support. We would also like to offer special thanks to the many individuals who

donate to the opera, and a variety of other projects within the Halls.

We enormously appreciate the fundraising efforts of The Friends of Blackheath Halls. They have

generously supported the installation of fans in the Great Hall which will enhance the audience

experience. We have ambitious plans for the future development of the facilities at the Hall and as

part of this we are collaborating with the Friends to refurbish and redecorate the Café Bar.

Thank you for coming to watch the remarkable achievements of all those involved in Idomeneo. We

hope you enjoy the performance and look forward to welcoming you back to Blackheath Halls soon.

Keith Murray General Manager

I D O M E N E O 3

Welcome to Blackheath Halls Opera’s production of Mozart’s Idomeneo.

It is the ninth year of our Community Opera programme and I am thrilled

that it continues to grow and develop year on year offering people

of all ages from the local community and neighbouring boroughs,

including primary school children and students, a rare opportunity to

rehearse and perform in a full stage opera. We are very proud of what

we have achieved so far and are so grateful for the unstinting efforts and

commitment of all who have been involved in any way.

Blackheath Halls Opera aims to be inclusive, creative, challenging and fun. It nurtures

an interest in opera and offers wider opportunities in terms of learning about the

skills required to perform and sing and the importance of working as part of a cross-

generational community. Each year we consciously try to extend the reach of our

engagement with neighboring boroughs. This year we are joined by pupils from Beecroft

Garden, Lewisham and Mulgrave Primary School, Woolwich. It has been a delight to

continue working with students from two special schools with whom we have a long-

standing relationship, Charlton Park Academy and Greenvale School.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance support our efforts too through their

talented vocal students who perform in the opera and Blackheath Halls Orchestra and

through this year’s special composition project led by Joe Townsend which offers another

opportuntity for students to creatively engage with the opera.

Blackheath Halls Opera started in 2007. Our first production was arguably one of the most

popular operas of all time, Bizet’s Carmen. We have a small number of participants who

have been part of Blackheath Halls Opera since the beginning so congratulations to those

for returning year after year.

Next year, it will be our 10th Birthday! Plans are already being made so watch this space.

We invite all of you to join us for the celebrations and, if you’ve been an enthusiastic

member of the audience then why not consider joining the cast for what we hope will be

another wonderful production from Blackheath Halls Opera.

Thank you for coming to tonight’s performance. All at Blackheath Halls Opera, hope you

have a wonderful evening enjoying this magical opera and this special production; the

result of so many people’s hard work and dedication.

Curtain up!

 Community Engagement Manager

2 I D O M E N E O

I D O M E N E O 54 I D O M E N E O

A selection of wonderful design and costume images from Idomeneo. This year’s production marks the ninth year of Blackheath Halls Opera!

Blackheath Halls Opera can be followed on Twitter @OperaBH

Mozartian myths – Idomeneo comes to Blackheath By Nicholas Jenkins

2015 marks the 9th Blackheath Halls Community Opera

project, and we are delighted to be presenting a Mozart

opera for the first time in this series. Idomeneo is based on

a Greek myth that tells of two nations at war, and a father

who has to sacrifice his own son to the god Poseidon.

Idomeneo was apparently Mozart’s own favourite among

his operas, and years after his death his widow Constanze said that he was never happier than when

he was writing it. Of all the Mozart operas it is the one with the greatest involvement of the Chorus,

a vital part of the Blackheath Halls operatic experience.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was an Austrian composer who is widely considered to be

one of the greatest geniuses that ever walked this earth. Born in Salzburg, he was a child prodigy

who learnt to play the harpsichord aged 3, and started composing aged 5. In the 36 years of his

life he wrote more than 600 pieces of music, of which a good number are masterpieces that are

regularly performed to this day. Towards the end of his life Mozart had a run of bad luck and was

in debt. He became ill in late 1791, died 2 months before his 36th birthday, and was buried in a

common grave outside Vienna. But Mozart is still with us 250 years after he lived because of great

tunes we can never forget, and harmonies that surprise and touch the soul. Mozart could imitate

any musical style he had heard, from popular songs of his day to the most spiritual masterpieces of

Baroque composer J.S. Bach, yet in a voice that is always inimitably his own. In his operas he creates

characters whose music is so striking and varied that listeners believe they are hearing the drama

and emotions of the story in sound, in a way that goes beyond words.

Mozart achieved celebrity during his own lifetime in a way that had not been possible for any

composer before him. He gave concert tours as both composer and performer, where symphonies

and concertos were heard. He composed to order for noble employers, wrote religious music for

the Church, as well as chamber music and sonatas which were published largely for the benefit of

bourgeois amateurs to play at home. In the late 18th Century most composers lived like servants

and were dependant on a wealthy patron or the Church. J.S. Bach (1685-1750) was a Church

organist and composer in Leipzig all his life, working a punishing schedule; the successful career of

George Frederic Handel (1685-1759) had a lot to do with the support of the English Royal Family.

Mozart had an important patron in Archbishop Collaredo of Salzburg (1732-1812) but annoyed the

Archbishop with his frequent absences freelancing in Vienna and lost his job in Salzburg in May

1781 - incidentally just a few months after the first performance of Idomeneo in Munich. Had Mozart

lived slightly later, or been better at getting on with his employers, he might have had a more stable

existence. Even the older composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) - who worked much of his career

at the court of Count Esterházy in Eisenstadt, a remote part of Austria - outlived Mozart, and had

some big freelance successes at the end of his life with big concert tours that yielded up the famous

“Paris” and “London” Symphonies. If Mozart could come back from the dead and claim royalties on

all of the music that has been performed and recorded since, he would be a billionaire.

6 I D O M E N E O

New Sussex Opera is a registered charity no. 279800www.NewSussexOpera.org

Lewes Town HallWednesday 11 November 7.30pm

Devonshire Park Theatre, EastbourneSunday 22 November 3pm

Cadogan Hall, London SW1Tuesday 24 November 7pm NSO Chorus, St Paul’s Sinfonia

conductor Nicholas Jenkins director Harry Fehr designer Eleanor Wdowski

Following their remarkable Oberon, NSO reunites director Harry Fehr and conductor Nicholas Jenkins for one of the most-performed operas of the late 19th Century, Mignon by Ambroise Thomas. This delectable 1866 opéra-comique, inspired by Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister, tells the story of the enigmatic and waif-like Mignon, tormented in captivity and longing for freedom, peace, and love. Thomas’ music, composed at the high noon of romanticism, abounds in radiant melody, and paraphrases a great Goethe poem in the celebrated aria “Connais-tu le pays?”

One of the UK’s most touching and eloquent operatic artists, mezzo Victoria Simmonds plays Mignon. Dazzling young coloratura soprano Ruth Jenkins-Róbertsson plays her feisty rival Philine. Don’t miss it!

OPÉRA-COMIQUE by AMBROISE THOMASSung in English

nso

Mozart’s achievements have given

rise to many legends, not least Peter

Schaffer’s 1979 play and 1984 film

Amadeus, about a largely-imagined

rivalry between Mozart and the more

old-school composer Antonio Salieri

(1750-1825), court composer to Holy

Roman Emperor Joseph II. The movie

is still well-worth watching even if

the historical facts are very much

elaborated upon.

Mozart wrote some 22 operas of which 7 are mature masterpieces that are frequently performed

today. Idomeneo is the first of these mature operas, composed by the 24-year-old Mozart for court

performance in Munich in early 1781. It was commissioned by the Elector of Bavaria, who had brought

to Munich the famous Mannheim Court Orchestra, described by Mozart’s father Leopold as being

the finest orchestra he had ever heard. For them Mozart wrote orchestral music in Idomeneo that

is astonishing in its drama and detail. The libretto (words) of the opera are by Giambattista Varesco

(1735-1805), who adapted an early 18th-Century French play Idomenée by Antoine Danchet (1671-

1748). Mozart drove Varesco to distraction by repeatedly asking for the operatic customs of the time

to be overturned, so that certain scenes took place not as arias or duets but as recitatives (sung

speech with harpichord accompaniment). Scholars and performers admire in Idomeneo the way in

which musical numbers and recitatives blend into one another, and the extensive use of orchestrally

accompanied recitative. The crucial scene of the sacrifice between Idomeneo and Idamante in the

Temple of Poseidon Act 3 takes place in an orchestral recitative that is more dramatic than any

duet could have been in 1781. Mozart’s blending of styles, breathtaking orchestration, and his ever-

changing musical fabric paves the way for the arch-Romantic Richard Wagner (1813-1883), creator of

through-composed “music-dramas”.

Idomeneo was given just four times during Mozart’s lifetime – a big disappointment to him: there

were three performances in Munich in 1781 with a stellar cast, and then one concert performance in

Vienna in 1786 performed by aristocratic amateurs. Even in 1781 Idomeneo was considered to be an

old-fashioned opera, in the “opera seria” (literally “serious opera”) style of Italian librettist Metastasio

(1698-1782) - an operatic genre defined by strict conventions; but Idomeneo owes just as much

in form and style to the very dramatic and theatrical French operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck

(1714-1787), most notably his 1779 masterpiece Iphigénie en Tauride (a ‘must-hear’ piece if you have

enjoyed Idomeneo). After 1786 Idomeneo seems to have languished unperformed for much of the

19th Century, but in 1931 there were notable revivals in Munich and Vienna, though in both of these

cases Mozart’s music was partially re-written by composers Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and Richard

Strauss respectively. The 1951 Glyndebourne Festival production of Idomeneo was a crucial turning

point in the opera’s fortunes, causing a substantial re-appraisal of Mozart’s great score, and giving

rise to a wave of productions throughout the world. But it still took some people time to get to grips

with it – the Metropolitan Opera in New York only performed Idomeneo for the first time in 1982, in a

production starring Luciano Pavarotti that can now be seen on DVD.

Creating a performing version for a production of Idomeneo is both a joy and a challenge. Mozart

lavished huge care on its composition, and wrote far more music for the piece than it is ever possible

to include a single performance, not least as certain numbers exist in more than one version. Mozart

himself was obliged to make extensive cuts to the monumental Act 3 before the first performance.

A vital decision for today’s performers concerns the casting of Prince Idamante. In 1781 Idamante

was sung by a castrato (an adult singer who had been castrated before puberty to preserve his

treble voice); in 1786 Mozart re-worked the role for a tenor and made other changes and cuts to

the score. Modern performers can choose the 1781 version with a either a high mezzo-soprano or

counter-tenor Idamante (though counter-tenor is rare as the role sits high in the voice); or one can

opt for a tenor Idamante as in Mozart’s 1786 version, though it is quite usual to combine elements

of his 1781 score with the 1786 reworkings. Here in Blackheath we have gone for a tenor Idamante

but kept to the structure of the 1781 original. An epically long Idomeneo in Blackheath would not be

appropriate, but James Hurley and I have made a few bold textual choices, and like King Idomeneo

himself have wielded the knife only when we felt it was really necessary to do so.

In recent weeks I have been bowled over by the reactions of our Blackheath performers to Mozart’s

music. And I wish that the critics who once dismissed Idomeneo as old-fashioned could have

been present at the rehearsals at Charlton Park Academy and Greenvale Schools, where Mozart’s

power to thrill, shock and inspire seemed very real. It is worth noting that a fair number of the

children performers involved said that they had never heard of Mozart before this project began – a

humbling fact for those of us who are lucky enough to take his genius for granted. The Blackheath

Halls Community Opera is all about getting people involved in opera who might have never seen or

performed in one before. We seek to break down the notion that opera is for the privileged, yet to

work on Idomeneo with all of these wonderful and talented people I think that I must be among the

most privileged individuals on the planet!

I D O M E N E O 98 I D O M E N E O

James Hurley Director

James is a stage director working in both opera and theatre. He read English at

Cambridge University before completing an MPhil in American Literature, specialising

in dramatist David Mamet. Directing includes l’Ospedale (Aldeburgh Music);

Brundibar, The Little Sweep, Noye’s Fludde (Blackheath Halls); La Rondine (Factory 7/

Bristol Paintworks); Aida (Epsom Playhouse); Semele (Upstairs at the Gatehouse).

He has directed revivals for Opera North and English Touring Opera, and worked on

the directing staff at the Royal National Theatre, Edinburgh International Festival,

English National Opera, and Glyndebourne, assisting directors including Deborah Warner, Tom Cairns,

Jonathan Kent, Martin Duncan, David Alden, and Tim Albery. Recent highlights include Between Worlds

(ENO/Barbican), La Traviata (GFO & GOT), Minetti (EIF), Scenes from an Execution (NT), and Death in

Venice (ENO/Amsterdam). He has also directed opera scenes for the Royal College of Music and Trinity

Laban Conservatoire, as well as workshop rehearsals on David Mamet’s rarely performed play, The

Woods, at the National Theatre Studio.

James is passionate about bringing opera to new audiences. In 2012-13 he was creative director of

Opera di Peroni, a year-long touring performance campaign which brought site-specific operatic

performances to unconventional locations in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool,

and Glasgow. This summer he created the premiere staging of a new children’s opera, based on

music by Handel and Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant, for the Opera North Children’s Chorus (Leeds &

Aldborough). His production of L’Italiana in Algiers is currently touring to venues of all shapes-and-sizes

across the UK with Pop-Up Opera.

Nicholas Jenkins Musical Director

Nicholas Jenkins studied at Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College of Music,

and the GSMD. He is Music Director to New Sussex Opera and the University of

Greenwich, and was recently Interim Chorus Master to Dutch National Opera,

Amsterdam (Die Zauberflöte, La traviata, Armide, L’Étoile). He began his career

as a singer and chorus master, and has trained choirs including Eltham Choral

Society, ENO Chorus (Benvenuto Cellini), Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir,

Grange Park Opera Chorus, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Netherlands Radio Choir,

and Philharmonia Chorus. He has regularly assisted conductor Marc Minkowski at Paris Opera,

Théâtre du Châtelet, La Monnaie, Aix-en-Provence Festival and elsewhere, and has also assisted

Sir Mark Elder, David Parry and Sir Simon Rattle.

He has conducted many operas including Cendrillon, Count Ory, Elixir of Love, Eugene Onegin,

Macbeth, Noye’s Fludde (Blackheath Halls), Don Quichotte (La Monnaie), L’Ile de Tulipatan, Der

Jasager (Opéra de Lyon), Turn of the Screw (Dartington Festival), Edgar, L’Étoile, Hugh the Drover,

Idomeneo, Mireille, Oberon, Poisoned Kiss, Die Rheinnixen (New Sussex Opera), as well as a staged

Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle (Berlin, Bregenz Festival, Paris Opéra-Comique).

Current and upcoming projects include conducting Mesdames de la Halle (Opéra de Lyon),

Mignon (New Sussex Opera); Chorus Master for Aïda (Opera Holland Park), Platée (Paris Opera);

Assistant Conductor to Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic for Der Rosenkavalier and

Tosca (Baden-Baden).

Rebecca Bottone IliaOriginally from Derbyshire, Rebecca Bottone is a graduate of the Royal

Academy of Music. Recent and future engagements include Peter Pan and

Pelléas et Mélisande (Welsh National Opera)‚ Yum Yum The Mikado‚ Clorinda

La Cenerentola, and Mabel The Pirates of Penzance (Scottish Opera).

Further appearances include First Niece Peter Grimes and the world premiere of

Birtwistle’s Minotaur (Royal Opera House‚ Covent Garden)‚ Cricket and Parrott

in the world premiere and subsequently the USA premiere of Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of

Pinocchio (Opera North and Minnesota Opera)‚ the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s Prima

Donna (Manchester International Festival) Blonde Die Entfürung aus dem Serail (Aix-en-Provence,

France)‚ Tytania A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Garsington Opera)‚ Amanda in Ligeti’s Le Grand

Macabre (English National Opera)‚ Anne Egerman A Little Night Music‚ Johanna Sweeney Todd‚

Liesl The Sound of Music and Carrie Carousel (Théâtre du Châtelet‚ Paris)‚ Rosmene Imeneo

(Barbican)‚ Semira Artaxerxes and the Maid in Ades’ Powder Her Face at the Linbury Studio.

Rebecca has worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras‚ and her recordings include Cis

Albert Herring with Richard Hickox and EMI and two Rossini roles for Opera Rara‚ Eurice Adelaide

di Borgognia and Cleone Ermione. She has made appearances in BBC2’s Television documentary

The Genius of Beethoven with the English Chamber Orchestra‚ David Starkey’s Music and Monarchy

and the role of a singer in Steven Poliakoffs acclaimed film Capturing Mary.

William Davies Arbace

William Johnston Davies studied at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and

Dance with Neil Baker, generously supported by the Kathleen Creed Scholarship

and the Savile Club Scholarship. Before beginning his professional training he read

Geography at Hatfield College, Durham University, where he was a choral scholar.

Recent highlights include Pedrillo Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Pop-up Opera);

Albert Albert Herring (Hampstead Garden Opera); and the title role in a new

staging of Handel’s Belshazzar under Nicholas Kraemer (Trinity Laban Opera).

Other roles include Don Ottavio Don Giovanni (Holbourne Opera); Don Basilio Le nozze di Figaro; Mr

Rushworth Mansfield Park (both Hampstead Garden Opera); Orphée Orphée aux enfers (Trinity Laban

Opera); Aeneas Dido and Aeneas; Damon Acis and Galatea; Eisenstein Die Fledermaus; The Mayor

Albert Herring (all Durham Opera Ensemble); and Monsieur The Dancing Master (Malcolm Arnold

Festival, world premiere).

Future engagements include Remendado Carmen for Young Opera Venture; Ruggiero La liberazione

di Ruggiero dall’isola di Alcina for Ursula’s Arrow; and recitals of chamber music by Schumann,

Brahms and Françaix with the Peacock Ensemble.

William is delighted to return to Blackheath after shoving innocent children up chimneys as Clem in

2014’s The Little Sweep!

Biographies

I D O M E N E O 1110 I D O M E N E O

Sam Furness Idamante

Welsh tenor Sam Furness first started singing as a chorister in Llandaff

Cathedral at the age of 8.

He went on to be a choral scholar at St John’s College Cambridge and then to

the Royal Academy of Music where he studied on the opera course with his

fellow Welshman Ryland Davies.

Since graduating from college two years ago Sam has sung major operatic

roles for English National Opera, Garsington Opera, Toulouse Opera, National Opera of Chile

and Scottish Opera as well as singing many concerts and recitals around the world. Highlights

this year so far have included Steva (Jenufa) for Scottish Opera, Baron Lummer (Intermezzo)

for Garsington Festival Opera and a recital at the Wigmore Hall. Future projects for Sam include

major roles with English Touring Opera and in Finland and Madrid.

When he is not singing Sam enjoys playing golf, walking his dog Poppy and living in Peckham. As

well as classical music he is a big fan of 70s disco and Drum and Bass.

Pauls Putnins The Voice of Neptune

After studying conducting in Riga and Jerusalem, Latvian-born Pauls

subsequently studied singing at Trinity College of Music where he was

awarded the 1998 Opera Prize. His international opera appearances include

La Bohème (ENO, Opéra de Nancy), Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera Colorado,

Denver and Russian National Orchestra, Moscow), Carmen (New Zealand

Opera), Don Giovanni (Latvian National Opera), Boulevard Solitude (Teatro

Carlo Felice, Genoa and Gran Teatr del Liceu, Barcelona), The Rape of Lucretia

(St Petersburg and Riga), Tannhäuser (Barcelona), I Capuleti e i Montecchi

(Moscow Philharmonic). Opera appearances in UK include Idomeneo and Die Zauberflöte

(Glyndebourne Festival Opera), Fidelio (Garsington), Madama Butterfly and Aida (Royal Albert

Hall), Flavio (Early Opera Company), Ariadne and La Traviata (Birmingham Opera Company).

Pauls also has an international concert and recording career and has sung with orchestras

including the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel, Moscow and Bucharest

Philharmonics and Russian National Orchestra.

Most recent engagements include Le nozze di Figaro (Riga), Petite Messe Solennelle (Germany,

France and Bregenz Festival), Tosca and Idomeneo (ENO), Puccini Edgar (New Sussex Opera),

Eugene Onegin (Barbican) and Die Schöpfung (Kanazawa, Japan).

Biographies

Kirstin Sharpin Electra

Kirstin read English in New Zealand before returning to her Scottish roots

at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, graduating Master of Opera with

Distinction. Further study followed at the Cardiff International Academy of

Voice with Dennis O’Neill, as an Independent Opera Fellow and Samling Artist.

Recent engagements include the title role in Weber’s Euryanthe and Ada Die

Feen (Wagner) in concert (Chelsea Opera Group), and Mutter Hänsel und Gretel

(Garsington Young Artists). Other operatic performances include Samaritana

Francesca da Rimini (Opera Holland Park), Helmwige Die Walküre (St Endellion Festival), Donna Anna

Don Giovanni (Regents Opera), Vitellia La Clemenza di Tito (Opus Opera), Angelica Suor Angelica

(Beethoven Ensemble), Magda (cover) La Rondine (British Youth Opera). For the RCS Kirstin sang

Tatyana Eugene Onegin, Fiordiligi Cosí fan Tutte, Nella Gianni Schicchi, and covered Armida Rinaldo.

Concert and oratorio work ranges from Vivaldi to Poulenc, and includes Vier Letzte Lieder,

Ravel’s Shéhérazade (cond. Denève), Nuits d’été in St Petersburg, and several appearances with

the RSNO, including excerpts from La Voix Humaine.

Kirstin is the Wagner Society of Great Britain’s nominee for the Richard Wagner Stimme

International Competition, and a semi-finalist in the Elizabeth Connell Prize. A childhood career

plan to be the first opera-singing astronaut was scuppered when it dawned that getting an

orchestra into a spaceship would be tricky, and the acoustic could be problematic!

Mark Wilde Idomeneo

Born in Scotland, Mark Wilde was a chorister at Dundee Cathedral before

studying at the University of East Anglia and the Royal College of Music.

In opera, he has established a particularly close relationship with English Touring

Opera, and has also appeared with the Netherlands Opera, English National

Opera, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Opera North and Welsh

National Opera.

Mark Wilde sings regularly in concert, his engagements including performances with the Aalborg

Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Britten Sinfonia, the City of Birmingham

Symphony Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, the Hanover

Band, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, the Odense Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic

Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony

Orchestra and the Ural Philharmonic.

His recordings include Britten Complete Scottish Songs, Corp Country Matters and Handel Ode for St

Cecilia’s Day (Naxos), Pia de’Tolomei, Alesandro nell’Indie, Corrado d’Altamura, Adelaide di Borgogna,

La donna del lago and Rossini Songs (Opera Rara), The Adventures of Pinocchio (Opus Arte Blu Ray

/ DVD), Elgar Songs (Avie), Sullivan The Golden Legend and The Prodigal Son (Hyperion), Ancient

Melodies (Docker Records) and Fame’s Great Trumpet – Songs by Britten and Norris (EM Records).

He lives on Lincoln with his wife and family.

12 I D O M E N E O I D O M E N E O 13

Laura Attridge Assistant Director

Laura Attridge is a young director and writer of opera and theatre. Since obtaining

a Graduate Diploma in Vocal Performance from the Royal College of Music (RCM) in

2014, following First Class Honours in English Literature from Newcastle University,

Laura has been an Assistant Director for Opera Holland Park, British Youth Opera and

the Royal Academy of Music. She has also directed for a variety of theatre companies

which champion new writing, joining Theatre Renegade for Courting Drama (Southwark Playhouse),

Paperback Pictures for A Foot In The Door (The Arts Theatre) and The Pensive Federation for their

Collective Project (Camden People’s Theatre) and Significant Other Festival (Tristan Bates Theatre).

This summer Laura will be directing La Boheme for Opera Loki’s France/UK tour.

As a writer, Laura collaborates frequently with emerging composers. Her first opera, Now, written with

Glyndebourne Young Composer in Residence, Lewis Murphy, premiered in 2014, in association with

Tête-à-Tête Festival. May 2015 saw a site-specific song cycle of Laura’s, The Avian Eye, performed at

the National Gallery. Laura is also founder and Artistic Director of And So Forth, a new opera and

theatre company dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration, which launched recently to great acclaim.

Jeremy Cooke Assistant Musical Director

Jeremy Cooke was born in Colchester, Essex. Educated at Oxford University and the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he has subsequently worked extensively in

the world of opera and vocal music generally. He had a wonderful time working on

Count Ory last year and is looking forward to seeing old friends again and getting to

know this marvellous work.

Sasja Ekenberg Stage Manager

Originally from Denmark, Sasja trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,

graduating in 2013. Since then she has been riding her pink motorbike to work on all

kinds of productions including the Alan Titchmarsh Show, and the 2013 Royal Variety

Performance, as well as spending the past 8 months with Royal Danish Opera.

After working on The Adventures of Count Ory last year Sasja has been really looking

forward to returning to Blackheath Halls for Idomeneo!

Jean Hally Deputy Stage Manager

Jean comes from Dublin where she undertook a BA Degree in Philosophy, followed

by a Masters in Directing both at University College Dublin. Intending to pursue

a career in directing, she fell into stage management by accident after moving to

London and hasn’t looked back since!

She is now based primarily in Dublin, often working at venues such as the Abbey

Theatre. Jean particularly enjoys contemporary opera and is about to set off on tour with a

production of The Last Hotel, an exciting new opera presented by Wide Open Opera, and

Landmark Productions.

Biographies

Laura Rushton Costume Supervisor

Laura graduated in 2004 with a BA (hons) in Costume for the Performing Arts from

London College of Fashion. Since then she has worked extensively at Shakespeare’s

Globe Theatre, on touring productions such as King John, Hamlet, As You Like It, King Lear and The Taming of the Shrew, as well as productions including Blue Stockings on the main stage, and Knight of the Burning Pestle and Thomas Tallis in

the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Further Shakespeare productions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night for the all-male Propeller

Theatre Company.

Laura’s highlights from the last year include working on a tour of Saturday Night Fever (Bath

Theatre Royal), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Royal and Derngate), and The Roof, a dance production for

Fuel Theatre. Most recently she has been working on the live shows for Britain’s Got Talent.

Laura’s opera credits include Werther (Les Azuriales Opera Festival), Barber of Seville and

Rigoletto (Diva Opera).

Ben Pickersgill Lighting Designer

Ben is a lighting designer, programmer and technician for theatre and opera. When not

working, he likes to enjoy the great outdoors and, if it’s raining, play the piano!

He is currently based in the lighting department at the Royal Shakespeare Company in

Stratford-upon-Avon. Recent projects with the RSC include programming the lighting

for a new play, Oppenheimer, which tells the story of the atomic bomb. The production

was a hit with critics and audiences alike and came to the West End for a limited run in early 2015. He

has also worked with Chichester Festival Theatre on shows such as Singin’ in the Rain, Sweeney Todd

and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.

Ben thoroughly enjoys the Blackheath Halls’ community projects. Idomeneo marks his fourth

production, having lit the Children’s Operas for the past three years; Brundibar (2015), The Little Sweep (2014) and Noye’s Fludde (2013).

Other recent lighting designs include the musicals Into the Woods and Legally Blonde at the Bridewell

Theatre and Footloose at Watford Palace Theatre. As well as pursuing his own projects, Ben often

works with technical theatre students at Mountview Academy of Performing Arts, mentoring the next

generation of theatre practitioners.

Rachel Szmukler Designer

Rachel has designed all three of the children’s operas here at Blackheath Halls

(Brundibar, The Little Sweep and Noye’s Fludde), and has been looking forward

to the even bigger challenge of the community opera; i.e. how do you fit over 100

people on stage?!

Rachel trained at the Motley Theatre Design Course in London, and has a first class

degree in Fine Art from the Glasgow School of Art. Opera productions include set and costume

design for L’Ospedale (Aldeburgh Music), Semele and Orfeo (Hampstead Garden Opera), The Cunning Little Vixen (Co-Opera Co), and set design for La Rondine (Go Opera). Design for theatre

includes The Lost Martini (Accidental Theatre), The Kitchen, the Bedroom and the Grave (Baby

Grand, Belfast), Limbo (Citizens, Glasgow), Saturday Night Fever (Old Vic Tunnels/Everyman

Cinema), Oklahoma! (A&O at Opera Holland Park), and costume design for FOG and Blue Surge

(Finborough Theatre).

14 I D O M E N E O I D O M E N E O 15

SYNOPSIS SYNOPSIS

16 I D O M E N E O

Greenvale School

Teachers

Liz Smith

Carol Murrell

Pupils

Tiffany Martin

Becky Simpson

Jack Clow

Tiffany Farley

Samantha Farley

Charlie Kebell

Abigail Ayoola

Charlton Park Academy

Teachers and

Support Staff

Rachel Dunlop

Ben Peters

Katie Toal

Pupils

Ketlin Namaganda

Osio Orororo

Lindsey Tchangoun

Charlie Torrison

Hope Torrison

Ella Williams

Beecroft Garden

Teachers

Alison Carter

Carla Crosbie

Sophie Lanfear

Year 5 pupils

Victoria Abiodun

Karine Agbodji

Nasradin Ahmed

Kasifat Akadi

Ayomide Akinade

Mudiaga Alawuru

Samuel Amadi

Arena Antonenko

Al-Matin Arolwolo

Eloghosa Asemota

Samantha Butler

Gemar Donaldson-Mbolokele

Wintana Gebre-Hannes

Lucy Grund

Jamal Haibe

Brooke Humpherey

Jessyca Ibalet

Miguel Jardim

Vladimira John

Stella Kaerger

Lauretta Lawrence-Ehiemua

Queenette Merenini

Joseph Ojo

Emerine Omoyi Wanya

Ricardo Pereira

Angel Powell

Shari Smith

Stanley Smith

Nathan Spaulding

Priya Thavarasa

Mulgrave Primary School

Teacher

Rob Evans

Year 5 pupils

Adrian Amegavie

Daniel Ibironke Alvarez

Adam Orlov

Danielle Corr

Amalia Ewonkem

Albasit Folawiyo

Juste Sadaunikaite

Terri Mitchell

Jerome Mccormack-Mills

Simon Da Silva

Dylan Igbinoba-Boisot

Stephanie Okeke

Jessica Nguyen

Charisma Gurung

Jennifer Iwunze

Joshua Nyaku

Sherif Karatu

Keren-Happuch Agyemang

Nazeem Mohamed

Tharmithan Tharmarasa

Katie Morris

Alix McGuiness

Romeysa Rruci

Emilie Homes

Whitney Nnamani

Abdullahi Ahmed

Connor Pearce

Phi Nguyen

Amy Hoang

18 I D O M E N E O

OrchestraFirst ViolinAisling ManningSarah FraserAmy SmithValeria RisoRosie JudgeElizabeth MarsenKatherine SavageMiriam Carrera

Second ViolinLucia D’Avanzo-LewisAlex CoupePhilip SmithPeter DempseyNahum CouronaSarah Mansfield

ViolaVirginia SlaterMalcolm SentanceJohn StrangeNim de RicciGemma Edwards

CelloSteffan ReesJim UrpethMeg DinkeldeinMarco RussoPaul Meins

Double BassKaty FurmanskiKeith PinnockTerry Heard

FlutePauline SavagePenny Gunstone

OboeLydia BrookesAnne Sykes

ClarinetSara MorrisLiz Glasser

BassoonDan Andrei BosinceanuSue Rayner

French hornHannah KeyLucy Gray

TrumpetPete Athans Deb Browne

TimpaniNico Metten

ChorusSopranoAlice RobinsonAmabel BarlowCaroline FosterCarolyn WilliamsonDoreen GrandonDoris NegrierFiona GardinerFiona SandersonGeorgi Thorburn*Gillian SmithHelen WarnerJess Thayer*Jo KeoghKirsty Mclean*Lara BullfordMaggie MullarkeyMarie Stella Polloni-Watson Patty KostkovaPhillippa KeoghRebecca Swann Rebekah Smith*Rosie Taylor Ruth DevineSarah BulfordSheila TwitchettValerie GrantVicky Smith

AltoAnna BailyBeatrice JacksonElizabeth GoldmanGill GrantHelen Rotchell*Jackie RiceJane CookeJane FergusonJay HassanJudith StephensonKate BoneKate LomasLaura Sparkes

Leslee DrylandLiz KingLucy Bray*Lyndsay ThwaitesMaggie EllisMilda Fontanetti*Nina Angelova Pauline ShimellRae BroomSusan HoweSuzi Clements

TenorAdam HiggsAlix AdamsAlun ButlerCherry PottsHenriette RaisonRichard WhitfieldSusanne AlbertTom Holland*Tony Valsamides

BassBen Ellis*David CulpanJames Lomas*John BaldwinJohn BellMartin McHughNicholas SimpsonRobert McKinnon Simon PhillipsTerence Cowling

Stand Out SoloistsKirsty Mclean*Rebeka Smith*Suzi ClementsMilda Fontanetti*Alun ButlerTom Holland*David CulpanBen Ellis*

Costume SupportRobin BrewerRita CraftJane Ferguson

Set SupportDavid Culpan

* Vocal Student at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance

20 I D O M E N E O

Idomeneo – Schools Composition Project

A ‘modern take’ on the opera by pupils from Bonus Pastor Catholic College and Plumstead Manor School.

Inspired by the Blackheath Halls Community Opera’s performance of Mozart’s

Idomeneo, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance has been working closely

with Plumstead Manor School and Bonus Pastor Catholic College to create a new

composition. Led by Creative Director Joe Townsend and Trinity Laban students

Kristin Sofroniou, Aisha Meade, Tom Holland and Kirsty McLean, talented musicians

in years 7-9 from both schools have been exploring the narrative and musical themes

of the opera.

During the 5 week project, comprised of 2 full group sessions and 3 sessions in

each school, participants have responded to the opera through music, drama,

song, poetry and spoken word and have also explored visual techniques involved

in Japanese theatre. Themes drawn from the opera that have inspired their ideas

have included the sea and storms, the Greek Iliad and the impossible love triangle

between Ilia, Electra and Idomante.

Bonus Pastor Catholic College

Name Instrument

Aloka Simpson Trumpet

Alyse Appassamy-Brown Guitar

Anthony Noble Violin

Ciaran Kelly Trumpet/Guitar

Clarissa Mae Ragrag Guitar/Voice

Daisy Crisp Sax

Darren Oppong Drums

Edgar Bell Guitar

James Onyema-Matthews Piano

Jasmine Currie Trumpet/Guitar

Joel Mawejje Drums

Justice Ezi Guitar/Voice

Kate Obla Piano

Kurell Jean Trumpet

Nathan Williams-Lewis Cello

Nelson Illori Voice/Piano

Neoma Okoli Voice

Olivia Assaindey Piano

Patrycja Bordurka French Horn/Piano

Tyrese Quintyne Piano

Plumstead Manor School

Name Instrument

Ashmita Ale Violin

Emily Hudson Saxophone

Jaylene Kunaoye Bass Guitar

Rihanna Njoteh Flute

Rita Niemba Piano

Rosie Sawyers Flute

Rosie Wood Bass Guitar

Ruby Safa Piano

Scarlett Callaghan Flute

Sophia Rana Drum Kit

Blackheath Halls is grateful to the following people and organisations who through

their generous support have made the ninth Blackheath Halls Opera possible.

Organisations who are supporting the 2015 Blackheath Halls Opera:

Arts Council England: Lewisham Main Grants Fund; The Greenwich Community

Arts Fund; The Hearn Foundation; The Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust: The Ingles

Charitable Trust and the Fischer Fund

Sponsors of Blackheath Halls Opera:

In memory of Patrick Orpen; John Baldwin and Barbara Kolator; Geoffrey and Gillian

Chipperfield; Geoffrey Collins; Alex Coupe and William Phillips; Stuart and Laura Fraser,

Alasdair Neil, Anne Storm and Andrew Webster and Krzysztof Drutel.

Benefactors of Blackheath Halls Opera:

Rachel and Ray Adams, Anthony Bevan; David and Georgina Bowers; Anne Burton;

Stephen and Tina Challacombe; Peter and Maureen Cottrell; Richard and

Meg Dinkeldein; Joanna Embling; Gillian Etherton QC; Fiona and Derek Gardiner;

Valerie Gordon-Walker; John and Mary Harman; Jonathan and Yvonne Horsfall Turner;

Patricia Jordan Evans; Tim and Hilary Morgan; Sandra Orpen; Jonathan and

Marjorie Ouvry; Nicolas and Alison Palmer; Mark and Cate Roundtree; Dr Phillip and

Jean Smith, Dr Deborah Stinson, Susan and Roger Taylor.

Patrons of Blackheath Halls Opera:

Tim and Jaqueline Abbott; Helena Bayliss, Hugh and Cathy Bohling; Lydia Brookes;

Tom and Gill Butler; Sonia Ennals, Emil and Jay Hassan; Ian and Mary Nisse; Adam

Pollock; Donal and Diana Quigley, Brian and Jane Sullivan; Robin and Clodagh Woodall.

Supporters of Blackheath Halls Opera:

Harriet Baldwin MP, Cilla Bartlett; Marilla Bartrip; Tony and Robin Brewer; Mike and

Jane Cooke, Margaret Drummond, Janet Dutton; Elizabeth Glasser, Anne Groom;

Dr Linda Hirst; Jocelyn Lewis; Richard Perks, Jennifer Ramsey; Dame Joan Ruddock;

David and Fiona Sanderson; Muriel Seltman; Gerry and Virginia Shoppe;

Marrianne Town Smith; Major P H Williamson MBE and many anonymous donors.

I D O M E N E O 23

020 8318 34341 Cresswell Park

Blackheath SE3 9RDwww.jotownshend.com

24 I D O M E N E O

Grateful thanks to:• Arts Council England for their continued and generous support of Blackheath Halls

Community Opera.

• The London Borough of Lewisham for their continued support of Blackheath Halls

Community Opera.

• The Hearn Foundation, The Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust, The Ingles Charitable

Trust and The Fischer Fund for their grants to the project.

• Matthew Rose, Charlotte Baptie, Ruby Hughes, Anthony Roth Constanzo,

Nicky Spence, Ashley Riches and Anna Tilbrook for launching the 2015 Blackheath

Halls Community Opera with a fantastic Gala Night on 8th March 2015 which

raised considerable funds for the opera.

• Our Blackheath Halls Community Opera Ambassadors: Helena Bayliss,

Geoffrey Collens, Grant Doyle and Matthew Rose.

• James Hurley and Nicholas Jenkins for their commitment and hard work.

• Mark Wilde, Sam Furness, Rebecca Bottone, Kirstin Sharpin, William Johnston Davies

and Pauls Putnins our wonderful professional opera singers, for their generosity

and commitment.

• The design team for creating this set, costume designs and lighting with such

vision and attention to detail.

• The many enthusiastic members of the local community for taking part in this

project: the community chorus, the Blackheath Halls orchestra, and all the

participating students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance who

have given so much time and talent to the project.

• Rob Evans, Sanjiv Chapman, Alison Carter, Sophie Lanfear, Carla Crosbie,

Rachel Dunlop and Elizabeth Smith for all their efforts and hard work.

• The children, students, staff and parents from Beecroft Garden Primary School

and Mulgrave Primary School.

• The students, staff and parents from Charlton Park Academy and Greenvale School.

• All the other members of the team for all their support and hard work.

• Joe Townsend and the students of Bonus Pastor Catholic College and Plumstead

Manor School for their work on the composition project.

• All the local businesses mentioned in the programme for their financial contributions.

• Thanks to the Refugee Council for their kind loan of t-shirts for the aid workers in

our production. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk

• Blackheath Halls staff with special mention of Rose Ballantyne the Project Manager.

• To the Friends of Blackheath Halls and other individual donors for supporting the

installation of the fans for this performance.

• Colin Dunlop for designing all the posters, flyers and this programme to support

the project.

• All of you for coming to watch!