1Orpheus in the Underworld

3Orpheus in the Underworld

H U M P E R D I N C K ’ S C L A S S I C O P E R A

A D E L I C I O U S L Y G O R Y T A L E F O R A L L T H E F A M I L Y

Thurs 24 – Sat 26 November 2011, 7.30pm Grand Opera House, Belfast

Tickets from £11.75

Welcome

Good evening and welcome to this new production

of Offenbach’s classic comic opera, Orpheus in the

Underworld, which we’re pleased to be presenting

with a new script by Rory Bremner, in partnership

with Scottish Opera.

NI Opera is a year old this month: in our 2010-11

season, our first, we produced a Christmas concert

with Camerata Ireland and Barry Douglas, a touring

production of Menotti’s The Medium, and our first

large-scale production - Tosca, in three different

venues in Derry-Londonderry. All of our productions

have shown our commitment to high standards, local

talent - and range. We are determined to produce

work of the highest quality in all parts of the region,

and touring is an essential part of this, especially

with the combined resources offered by co-producing.

In times of economic contraction, opera faces

particular challenges: with all its elements of set,

costumes, singers, orchestra and stage crew, opera is

an expensive art form, and increasingly companies

are having to collaborate to drive down costs,

sustain quality - and even to survive. Collaboration

also entails a sharing of expertise and experience,

to everyone’s mutual benefit - and we are already

planning many more such partnerships in the months

and years to come.

I would like to thank David Lan for inviting us to

the Young Vic in London for nine performances of

Orpheus in December this year. There can be few

companies with such a progressive, creative ethos

as the Young Vic, and NI Opera are delighted to be

appearing at this great venue.

The rest of our 2011-12 season is busy: not least with

a concert on Sunday 30th October with Dame Kiri

Te Kanawa at the Ulster Hall the final night of the

Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s (another

crucial partner). Dame Kiri is performing alongside

the winner of our inaugural vocal competition, Ben

McAteer, from Newry: we’re pleased that this exciting

event will be yet another collaboration, this time with

the brilliant Ulster Orchestra.

We will also be working with The Ulster

Orchestra  on our first ever appearance at the Grand

Opera House in Belfast for Humperdinck’s classic

fairy-tale opera, Hansel and Gretel in November.

With music and story suitable for all the family, our

production features internationally-renowned singer

Graham Clark as the Witch alongside a cast from

Northern Ireland and further afield - and a whole

chorus of Gingerbread Children! The show also

travels to the Millenium Forum on 12th January -

book soon, as tickets are selling fast.

Finally, spring 2012 sees our production of Britten’s

classic ghost story, The Turn of the Screw, which tours

Northern Ireland in March before two performances

at the Buxton Festival in July. Leading Irish soprano

Fiona Murphy stars as the haunted Governess, while

Omagh-born Annemarie Woods designs. We do hope

you can catch one or more of these events - your

support is absolutely crucial to the future of the

company.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland for their unstinting

and essential support for the company and all that

we are trying to achieve. We welcome support from

individuals, and would be delighted if you felt able

to support us in other ways - do take a look at our

website, www.niopera.com, to find out more. 

We hope you enjoy the show!

Oliver Mears

Oliver Mears Aritstic Director, NI Opera

New Co-Production with Scottish Opera

supported by

A comic opera in two acts

Music by Jacques Offenbach

Libretto by Hector Cremieux

and Ludovic Halevy

Sung in a new English translation

by Rory Bremner

Orchestrial reduction by Tony Burke

First performed at the Theatredes

Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris on

21 October 1858

The performance will last approximately

2 hours and 5 minutes

There will be an interval of 20 minutes

after Act 1 Scene 2

Orpheus in the Underworld (Orphee aux enfers)

7Orpheus in the Underworld

NI Opera Season 11/12

PerformancesNorthern IrelandThe Great Hall, Downpatrick

Thursday 27 October 2011

The Marketplace, Armagh

Friday 28 October 2011

Theatre at the Mill, Newtownabbey

Monday 31 October 2011

The Millennium Forum, Derry

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Strule Arts Centre, Omagh

Friday 4 November 2011

LondonYoung Vic

Thursday, December 1 – Saturday, December 3

Tuesday, December 6 – Saturday, December 10

Tel 028 9027 7734 www.niopera.com

Festival of Voice September 2011Glenarm, Belfast and Derry

Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach New translation by Rory Bremner27 October - 4 November 2011NI tour, various venues

Kiri Te Kanawa at Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s30 October 2011Ulster Hall

Hansel & Gretel by Humperdinck24 - 26 November 2011Grand Opera House, Belfast 12 January 2012Millennium Forum, Derry

Turn of the Screw by BrittenMarch 2012NI tour, various venues

Season 2011/12

Principal Funder

Unforgettable Opera

8 Orpheus in the Underworld 9Orpheus in the Underworld

The CastOrpheus Jupiter Juno

Nicholas Sharratt Brendan Collins Olivia Ray

Eurydice Diana Mercury

Jane Harrington Daire Halpin Christopher Diffey

Public Opinion Aristaeus (aka Pluto)

Máire Flavin Gavan Ring

Mars/John Styx Venus

Ross McInroy * Marie Claire Breen †

* The Robertson Scholarship Trust Scottish Opera Emerging Artist, 2011/12

† Scottish Opera Emerging Artist, 2011/12

Creative TeamConductor Director Set and Costume Designer

Derek Clark Oliver Mears Simon Holdsworth

Movement Director Staff Producer Lighting Designer

Anna Morrissey Danielle Urbas Kevin Treacy

Northern Ireland Opera Orchestra

Technical StaffProduction Manager Technical Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager

Darren Joyce Amy Burkitt-Harrington Emma Butchart (Wardrobe)

Costume Supervisor Deputy Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager

Gloria del Monte Hannah Boustred Kenneth Kelly (Props)

Lighting Supervisors Touring Manager Assistant Stage Manager

Andrew Burnside Stephanie Collier John Crawford (Technical)

Stephen Powlesr

The Company

8 Orpheus in the Underworld

Born: Cologne-Deutz, 1819

Died: Paris, 1880

Offenbach’s father was a minor German Jewish

composer who in 1808 changed the family’s surname

to that of his birthplace. Young Jacob (later Jacques)

trained at the Paris Conservatoire as a cellist but ran

out of money after a year. Fortunately he found a job

as cellist in the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique. Here

he made his name as a virtuoso, even appearing on

the concert platform variously alongside Rubinstein,

Liszt and Mendelssohn.

Returning to Paris after the violence of the 1848

revolution, Offenbach became conductor of the

Théâtre Français but found it difficult to promote

his own compositions, so in 1855 he founded his

own theatre on the Champs-Élysées, Les Bouffes-

Parisiens. Here he developed the Offenbach style

of operetta – witty and satiric with clever parodies

of grand opera. Licensing laws initially limited

Offenbach to single-act operettas, but after these

restrictions were lifted in 1858 he was able to stage

full-length works such as the subversive Orphee aux

enfers (1858), La belle Helene (1864), the hedonistic La

vie parisienne (1866) and La Perichole (1868).

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 wrecked Offenbach’s

popularity. He was suspected of being a German spy

and fled to Spain, Italy and Austria. Returning to

Paris after the fall of Napoleon III, Offenbach was

accused of having undermined the Second Empire by

‘turning royalty into a farce and the army into a joke’.

By 1875 he was bankrupt but he remade some of his

fortune touring the USA in 1876.

Offenbach’s last opera, Les contes d’Hoffmann, was

left unfinished when the composer died in Paris

in 1880. It was premiered the following year at the

Opéra-Comique, an act of rehabilitation for this most

Parisian of composers.

Adrian Mourby

Jacques Offenbach

Violin

Alan McClure

Alys Jackson

Viola

Sally Butler

Cello

Andrew Sinclair

Double Bass

Martina Masterson

Flute

Colin Irvine

Clarinet

Damian Frame

Double Bass Clarinet

Gillian McCutecheon

Trumpet

Hugh Carslaw

Percussion

Malcolm Neale

10 Orpheus in the Underworld 11Orpheus in the Underworld

ACT I Scene 1 – EarthOrpheus, a famous composer, lives unhappily

with his wife, Eurydice, who has married him

for his money and fame, but not for his music

(which she detests).

Eurydice sings a song to, and prepares for, her lover:

she is having an affair with Aristaeus. Orpheus

arrives, initially mistaking Eurydice for his own lover,

Maquilla. They argue, Orpheus enraging Eurydice by

playing his new work for violin. Orpheus explains that

while he would love to divorce Eurydice, he is afraid

for his reputation.

Before leaving, he warns that there could be a

fatal surprise in store for his wife’s lover. Eurydice

leaves to warn Aristaeus, just missing her lover who

arrives and reveals that he is really Pluto, God of the

Underworld, in disguise. Eurydice returns, having

failed in warning Aristaeus: instead, she falls for

Orpheus’s trap herself, and dies – all to the good for

Pluto, who wants both revenge on Orpheus for trying

to trap him and have Eurydice for himself.

Pluto takes Eurydice down to Hades, allowing

her to write her husband a note saying she’s been

unavoidably detained. Orpheus rejoices at the news of

Eurydice’s demise. However, Public Opinion appears

and chastises him: Orpheus must be seen to be setting

an example of marital responsibility to the world.

She persuades a reluctant Orpheus to go to Olympus,

to persuade Jupiter, King of the Gods, to release

Eurydice, and to return her to him.

ACT I Scene 2 – OlympusThe gods are bored of their luxurious life on Olympus,

and long for some excitement. Venus and then Diana

arrive, telling of their exploits, but nothing can rouse

the other gods from their torpor. They complain to

Jupiter, but their appeals fall on deaf ears: he cares

only about appearances and his own power.

Juno and Jupiter argue about the latter’s infidelity

– infidelity which Jupiter hotly denies. Juno accuses

him of the recent abduction of Eurydice, before

Mercury arrives and clarifies: it is actually Pluto who

is guilty of the crime.

Pluto arrives from the Underworld, and Jupiter scolds

him. However, Jupiter now has another problem on

his hands – bored of being bored, the other gods are

finally revolting, and chastise Jupiter for both his

hypocrisy and his many sexual encounters. Mercury

announces the arrival of Orpheus and Public Opinion.

Pressured by Public Opinion, Orpheus asks Jupiter for

permission to go down to Hades to retrieve Eurydice.

Jupiter, nervous of Public Opinion’s judgements,

agrees to this and more – he will accompany Orpheus

to Hades himself. The gods, desperate for a change of

scene, beg Jupiter to take them too. He agrees and all

the gods excitedly make off for the Underworld.

≈ Interval ≈

The Story

ACT II Scene 1 – HadesEurydice is being kept locked up in Hades, and is tired

of it. Her dim-witted jailer, John Styx, is not helping:

he has the hots for Eurydice,and at the slightest

provocation tells the story of how he used to be a great

man. Obeying Pluto’s orders to conceal Eurydice

from visitors, Styx ushers her out just as Pluto

arrives to show Jupiter that he’s concealing no one.

Pluto thinks he has managed to hoodwink Jupiter,

and they leave. But Jupiter has detected Eurydice and

quickly returns in his new guise: a giant fly. Eurydice

is delighted someone has arrived to rescue her from

boredom. They make a plan: when Pluto throws the

depraved party he plans for later in the evening, they

will use it as a cover for their elopement. They leave,

just missing Pluto, who rages that John Styx has

managed to lose his prisoner. He determines not to let

Eurydice escape.

ACT II Scene 2 – HadesAll the gods, together with Eurydice disguised as a

Bacchante, arrive at Pluto’s party and quickly get

into the spirit of Hades. Everyone joins in the infernal

galop, or ‘cancan’. Jupiter seizes this moment to

escape with his lover – but Pluto has spotted them,

and confronts Jupiter.

Public Opinion and Orpheus arrive: reluctant as ever,

the composer has come to claim his wife. Jupiter

agrees, but on one condition: Orpheus must leave

Hades first, and not look back – if he does, he loses

Eurydice forever. Orpheus agrees, monitored by

Public Opinion, but at the last moment Jupiter throws

a lightning bolt which startles Orpheus and he looks

back. Neither Jupiter nor Pluto has won, however: a

delighted Eurydice will now be a Bacchante forever.

All the gods celebrate this happy turn of events.

PROLOGUE

Public Opinion explains her role as guardian of public morality.

12 Orpheus in the Underworld 13Orpheus in the Underworld

Marie Claire Breen is a Scottish Opera Emerging

Artist. She is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy

of Music and Drama Master of Opera course and was

the recipient of the 2009 Governors’ Recital Prize for

Singing. In 2008 she was awarded the Norma Greig

Prize for French Song and was the winner of the Hugh

S Roberton Prize for Scots Song. She made her BBC

Proms debut in 2010 with the BBC Scottish Symphony

Orchestra in Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music.

Scottish Opera appearances: A Page Rigoletto,

Opera Highlights 2011 tour, 1st Bridesmaid The

Marriage of Figaro.

Operatic engagements: Dunyasha War and Peace, Naiad

Ariadne auf Naxos, Rowan The Little Sweep, Susanna

Le nozze di Figaro (RSAMD); Vixen The Cunning Little

Vixen (RSAMD/Scottish Opera). During the 2011/12

Season she will also appear as Dew Fairy Hansel and

Gretel and Shepherd Boy Tosca, and cover Gretel Hansel

and Gretel.

Best known for his impressions and topical comedy in

the long-running Channel 4 satire series Bremner, Bird

and Fortune, this is Rory Bremner’s fourth translation,

having previously completed Der Silbersee (Georg

Kaiser/Kurt Weill) and Carmen (Bizet) for Broomhill

Opera, and the Bertolt Brecht comedy A Respectable

Wedding for the Young Vic. He studied French and

German at King’s College London and comedy on the

London cabaret circuit and the Edinburgh Fringe.

After seven years at the BBC he moved to Channel 4,

where his collaboration with the two Johns (Bird and

Fortune) ran for nearly 20 years, including the specials

Between Iraq and a Hard Place, My Government and I

and Silly Money. He is therefore personally responsible

for preventing the invasion of Iraq, bringing down Tony

Blair and putting off another financial meltdown for at

least two years. He recently moved back to Scotland.

Derek Clark was born in Glasgow and studied at the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Durham

University and London Opera Centre. He joined Welsh

National Opera’s music staff in 1977 as a repetiteur and

staff conductor, and joined Scottish Opera as Head of

Music in 1997. Scottish Opera appearances: Samson,

The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro,

Cosi fan tutte, Il barbiere di Siviglia, The Italian Girl in

Algiers, Fidelio, La traviata, Rigoletto, Falstaff, Carmen,

Manon, La boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Eugene

Onegin, Hansel and Gretel, Ines de Castro, Five:15

(2008–10), Sounds of Singing.

For Scottish Opera he has re-orchestrated Hansel

and Gretel, Die Fledermaus, Cinderella and Carmen.

He has also acted as assistant to many eminent

conductors, including Sir Richard Armstrong,

Sir Charles Mackerras, Raymond Leppard and

Sir Roger Norrington.

Brendan Collins trained at the Cork School of Music

and at the DIT Conservatory in Dublin, and in 2007 was

granted a scholarship to study at the opera studio of La

Monnaie in Brussels with José van Dam. In 2005 he took

part in the first Wexford Young Artists programme

with Dennis O’Neill.

Operatic engagements: Marcello La boheme,

Escamillo Carmen, Giorgio Germont La traviata

(Glasthule Opera); Count Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro

(Taidhbhearc Opera); Masetto Don Giovanni (Orchestra

St Cecilia); Notare Don Pasquale (English Touring

Opera); Yamadori Madama Butterfly, Dottore Macbeth

(Opera Ireland); Marullo Rigoletto (Anna Livia

Festival); Fiorello The Barber of Seville, Aeneas Dido

and Aeneas (Cork Opera House); Count Gil Susanna’s

Secret (Bijou Opera).

Christopher Diffey was born in Melbourne, Australia.

He trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London,

graduating from the Opera course with a DipRAM.

In 2010 he received the English Touring Opera Young

Artist Prize.

Operatic engagements: Fenton Falstaff (Longborough

Festival); Talus Icarus (Tête à Tête); Count Almaviva

The Barber of Seville (Opera Brava, Garden Opera,

Dartington International Summer School); Paris

La belle Helene (Merry Opera Company); Ramiro

Cinderella, Rodolfo La boheme (OperaUpClose);

Borsa Rigoletto (Bury Court Opera); Alfredo La

traviata (Garden Opera); 2nd Priest The Magic Flute

(Opera Holland Park); Cyril Princess Ida, Fairfax The

Yeomen of the Guard (Buxton International Gilbert &

Sullivan Festival); Lensky Eugene Onegin (Opera By

Definition); title role Dardanus, Pane La Calisto (Royal

Academy Opera).

Máire Flavin, having recently completed her studies

at the National Opera Studio, studying with Janice

Chapham, represented Ireland at Cardiff Singer of the

World 2011 and reached the Song Prize Final. She was

previously on the Opera course at the Guildhall School

of Music and Drama, and received a Masters from the

Royal Irish Academy of Music. She is an alumna of

the Opera Theatre Company Young Artist and Britten

Pears Young Artist programmes.

Operatic engagements: Tisbe La Cenerentola (Clonter

Opera); title role Cherubin, Aurelio L’assedio di Calais,

The Queen of England The King goes forth to France by

Sallinen, Clarina La cambiale di matrimonio (GSMD);

Clarice La pietra del paragone, 1st Witch Dido and

Aeneas (RIAM); Cathleen Riders to the Sea (Anna Livia

Fringe Festival).

Biographies

Marie Claire Breen Venus

Rory Bremner Librettist

Derek Clark Conductor

Brendan Collins Jupiter

Christopher Diffey Mercury

Máire Flavin Public Opinion

12 Orpheus in the Underworld

14 Orpheus in the Underworld 15Orpheus in the Underworld

Daire Halpin is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin.

She also studied at the DIT Conservatory of Music and

Drama, the Conservatorio Statale ‘Luigi Cherubini’

in Florence and on the Opera course at the Guildhall

School of Music and Drama, London. She is a regular

recitalist and ambassador of contemporary music, and

recently gave both the British and Belgian premieres of

Nico Muhly’s The Adulteress.

Operatic engagements: Adina L’elisir d’amore

(Pavilion Opera); Julia The Duchess of Malfi (world

premiere – English National Opera); Susanna Le nozze

di Figaro, Despina Cosi fan tutte (Candlelight Opera);

title role Theodora (Yorke Trust); Belinda Dido and

Aeneas (Endellion Festival); Galatea Acis and Galatea

(Sussex Baroque); Amor Orfeo ed Euridice, Jano

Jenufa (Opera Ireland).

Jane Harrington initially trained as an actress, then

graduated from the Opera course at the Royal Academy

of Music with a distinction in performance.Scottish

Opera appearances: Susanna The Marriage of Figaro,

Little Moon A Night at the Chinese Opera.

Operatic engagements: Susanna The Marriage of

Figaro, Cupid Orpheus in the Underworld (Opera

Holland Park); Morgana Alcina (Opera Theatre

Company); Varvara Katya Kabanova, Belinda Dido

and Aeneas, Figlia Jephtha by Carissimi, Jano Jenufa

(English Touring Opera); Virtu/Amor L’incoronazione

di Poppea (English National Opera); Musetta La boheme

(Santa Eulalia, Spain); Brigomedie/The Angel/Minna

Three water plays by Detlev Glanert (Almeida Opera);

Adele Die Fledermaus (Opera Project).

Simon Holdsworth has worked with Oliver Mears on

Tosca, The Medium (Northern Ireland Opera), The Bear

(Nationale Reisopera, Netherlands), Hansel and Gretel

(Opera North), Trouble in Tahiti, Fade, A Hand of Bridge,

The Two Blind Men, Rothschild’s Violin, Tears of the

Knife, The Impresario, The Medium (Second Movement).

Other operatic engagements: Die Fledermaus, The Merry

Widow (Japan); Don Giovanni (Ekaterinburg, Russia);

Gianni Schicchi, The Night of the Insomniac by Rota

(Magdeburg); Der Freischutz (Salzburg Landestheater);

Orlando (Buxton, Opera Theatre Company, Ireland);

Bluebeard (Buxton Festival).

He has designed for theatre productions in Edinburgh,

London (Messiah at the Old Vic), Derby and Denmark,

and The Waltz King for BBC TV.

Ross McInroy is The Robertson Scholarship Trust

Scottish Opera Emerging Artist, 2011/12. He was born in

Arbroath, Scotland. After gaining his BMus(Hons) at the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he went on

to graduate with distinction from the Royal Academy of

Music and the Royal College of Music International Opera

School. Most recently he was a trainee at the National

Opera Studio, studying privately with Peter Savidge. In

2010 he was a member of English National Opera’s Opera

Works programme, and made his BBC Proms debut the

same year with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Operatic engagements: Leporello Don Giovanni (Opera

della Luna); Sarastro Die Zauberflote (RCMIOS);

Collatinus The Rape of Lucretia (Royal Academy Opera).

During the 2011/12 Season he will also appear as Keeper

of the Madhouse The Rake’s Progress and Sciarrone Tosca.

Oliver Mears is Artistic Director of Northern Ireland

Opera, which was launched in September 2010, and

Second Movement. He opened the first season of

NIO with a production of Menotti’s The Medium and

followed this with a site-specific production of Tosca

in Derry, in which each Act played in a different venue.

Recent engagements: Albert Herring (Aldeburgh); My

Dad’s a Birdman by David Almond (Young Vic); The

Bear (Nationale Reisopera, Netherlands); Hansel and

Gretel (Opera North); Trouble in Tahiti, A Hand of Bridge,

Rothschild’s Violin, Tears of the Knife (also in Brno and

Prague), The Two Blind Men, The Impresario (Second

Movement); Sweeney Todd (Pimlico Opera); La Calisto

(Early Opera Company); National Opera Studio Showcase

2010; Creditors, The Lesson, Judith (King’s Head).

Opera and theatre engagements: Bus Stop (New Vic);

My Dad’s a Birdman (Young Vic); Caledonia (National

Theatre of Scotland); The Comedy of Errors (Royal

Exchange Manchester); Marat/Sade, Antony and

Cleopatra, Dunsinane, The Grain Store, The Drunks,

The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes, I’ll be the Devil, Cordelia

Dream (Royal Shakespeare Company); Hansel and

Gretel (Opera North); 101 Dalmatians (Northampton

Theatre Royal); The Barber of Seville, Manon Lescaut

(Opera Holland Park); Dr Faustus (Resolution! The

Place); Restoration (Headlong Theatre); Mother

Courage (English Touring Theatre); The Tempest, A

Warwickshire Testimony, As You Like It, Macbeth (Bridge

House Theatre); Richard III (Cambridge Arts Theatre);

Hamlet (Clifford’s Tower, York); The Arab-Israeli

Cookbook (Tricycle Theatre); Human Rites (Southwark

Playhouse); Julius Caesar (Menier Chocolate Factory);

Tamburlaine the Great (Rose Theatre); The Taming of

the Shrew (Creation Theatre Company).

Daire Halpin Diana

Simon Holdsworth Set and Costume Designer

Ross McInroy Mars/John Styx

Oliver Mears Director

Jane Harrington Eurydice

Anna Morrissey Movement Director

Biographies

16 Orpheus in the Underworld 17Orpheus in the Underworld

Olivia Ray studied at the Royal Northern College of

Music, with English National Opera’s The Knack and at

the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She received

a scholarship to Aspen, Colorado to study with Susanne

Mentzer. She currently studies with Robert Dean. She is

a winner of the Clare Croiza Prize for French Song and

John Cameron Special Lieder Prize at the RNCM.

Scottish Opera appearances: Olga Eugene Onegin.

Operatic engagements: Rosina The Barber of Seville

(Stanley Hall Opera); Curra La forza del destino, Mrs

Fox Fantastic Mr Fox, Suzy/Lolette La Rondine (Opera

Holland Park); Irene Theodora, Pulcheria Riccardo

Primo (Opéra de Baugé); Mother The Tales of Hoffmann,

Esmeralda The Bartered Bride (Mid Wales Opera); title

role (Pavilion Opera, Opera Brava, Mananan Arts

Festival).

Gavan Ring read Music at St Patrick’s College, Dublin

and later at the Royal Irish Academy of Music where

he is currently undertaking doctoral studies. He was

the winner of the inaugural National Concert Hall

Bernadette Greevy Bursary and the Cuisine de France

John McCormack Bursary 2011 at the ESB Electric

Ireland Feis Ceoil. Concert repertory includes works

by Bach, Mahler, Vaughan Williams and Fleischmann,

with orchestras such as the RTÉ National Symphony

Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Irish

Baroque Orchestra. An alumnus Young Associate

Artist with Opera Theatre Company, he has performed

with Wexford Festival Opera, Opera Ireland, Lyric

Opera Productions, Loughcrew Opera, Lismore Music

Festival and Banff Opera Festival Canada.

Nicholas Sharratt was born in Nottingham and studied

Commerce at Birmingham University, then singing at

the Royal Northern College of Music and the National

Opera Studio.

Operatic engagements: Rudolph Euryanthe

(Glyndebourne, BBC Proms); 1st Prisoner Fidelio

(Glyndebourne); Ernesto Don Pasquale (English

Touring Opera); Nemorino The Elixir of Love (Grange

Park Opera); Brighella Ariadne auf Naxos (Garsington);

Lippman Of Thee I Sing (Bregenz); Ferrando Cosi

fan tutte (Tokyo); Nero The Coronation of Poppea

(Early Opera Company); Tamino Die Zauberflote (Tel

Aviv); Camille The Merry Widow, Lamplighter/Noble

Gentleman in the British premiere of The Portrait by

Weinberg, Pedrillo Seraglio (Opera North).

His recordings include Prince Dominic The Sofa

(Independent Opera at Sadler’s Wells) for Chandos, and

Judge Schwanda the Bagpiper for Naxos.

Kevin Treacy has worked with Oliver Mears on

Tosca and The Turn of the Screw. Other operatic

engagements: Flavio, The Fairy Queen, Xerxes (English

Touring Opera), Certain Circles by Harrison Birtwistle

(Dartington); Rodelinda (Royal College of Music); The

Nose (The Performance Corporation); Il barbiere di

Siviglia, Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, Hansel und Gretel,

Les contes d’Hoffmann, Il viaggio a Reims, I pagliacci,

The Medium, Suor Angelica (Wexford Festival Opera);

La tragedie de Carmen (WFO, ETO); The Little Magic

Flute (ETO, Opera Theatre Company, Ireland); The

Kiss, Hansel and Gretel, The Barber of Seville, Xerxes

(OTC).

He has lit theatre productions at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre

and Nottingham Playhouse, as well as The George

Best Story in Belfast and on tour, and The Shawshank

Redemption in London’s West End.

Olivia Ray Juno

Gavan Ring Aristaeus (aka Pluto)

Nicholas Sharratt Orpheus

Kevin Treacy Lighting Designer

Biographies

18 Orpheus in the Underworld 19Orpheus in the Underworld

NI Opera Supporting NI OperaGenerously supported by the Arts Council of

Northern Ireland, NI Opera is a dynamic organisation

dedicated to the highest possible standards of operatic

excellence, Northern Ireland-wide.

Through an ambitious and imaginative programme

of productions and performances, NI Opera provides

high-quality opera, promotes young Northern Irish

talent, and aims to broaden the audience for the total

art form that famously combines exciting stories, big

spectacle, and great music.

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events, and brand exposure.

Support in KindAssist in providing accommodation for artists, venues

for our performances or travel arrangements.

LegaciesRemember NI Opera in your will and leave a lasting

legacy for future generations – your solicitor can

advise you on how you can support us in this way.

Trusts and FoundationsWe are seeking support from trusts and foundations

for specific projects as well as core funding. We are

also pleased to receive guidance and ideas for new

areas of support.

For more details and to discuss how you can help

NI Opera, contact Clíona Donnelly on 028 9027 7734 or

email c.donnelly@niopera.com.

NI Opera is a registered charity - XT27668

As Northern Ireland’s national opera company,

NI Opera is committed to making opera more accessible.

A crucial part of our remit is to tour the province and

through a wide range of outreach activities, we will

enhance these tours with school workshops and local

community engagement.

We are a registered charity and there are a number of

ways that you can get involved and support future tours:

StaffOliver Mears

Artistic Director

Clíona Donnelly

General Manager

Jennifer Thornton

Company Manager

Maeve Lewis/Aideen Corr

Marketing

BoardRoy Bailie

Chairman

James Hunt

Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle

Stephen Kingon

Ken Lindsay

Alice O’Rawe

AcknowledgementsArts Council of Northern Ireland

Grand Opera House

Richard McBride

Kate Guelke and Spark Opera

a remarkable achievement (Neil Fisher, The Times)

a triumphant debut (Anna Picard, The Independent)

a coup de theatre (Michael Dervan, Irish Times)

NI Opera

Grand Opera House

Great Victoria Street

Belfast BT2 7HR

Tel. 028 9027 7734

Email. info@niopera.com

www.niopera.com

“…a dazzling Onegin ” Guardian

English Touring Opera returns to the Grand Opera House with a season of two of the most popular operas in the repertoire – a revival of ETO’s 2007 production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and a new production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.

The Barber of Seville - ROSSINI (NEW production)Tuesday 13 March 2012 7.30pm: £16.00 - £36.50 Sung in English Translation

Eugene Onegin - TCHAIKOVSKY (revival of ETO’s 2007 production) Wednesday 14 March 2012 7.30pm: £16.00 - £36.50 Sung in English Translation

Combined ticket offer – Book both operas and receive £5 Discount!

Principal Sponsor

Principal Funder