THEVENTURES Y - Trinity Laban · WELCOME Welcome to this performance of Rossini’s colourful comic...
Transcript of THEVENTURES Y - Trinity Laban · WELCOME Welcome to this performance of Rossini’s colourful comic...
Music by Gioachino RossiniCAST:Count Ory: Nicholas SharrattRaimbaud, a friend of Ory: Benedict NelsonOry’s Tutor: Steven PageIsolier, Ory’s brother: Kate HowdenTwo cavaliers, friends of Ory: Benjamin Ellis*and Guy Elliott*Countess Adele: Anna DevinRagonde , a friend of the Countess: Louise WinterA lady, another friend of the Countess: Claire Barton*Alice, a villager: Zoe Freedman**Vocal student at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
Blackheath Halls Opera ChorusBlackheath Halls OrchestraPupils from Greenvale SchoolPupils from Charlton Park AcademyPupils from Year 5 at St Margaret’s Primary SchoolPupils from Year 4 at Lee Manor Primary School
BLACKHEATH HALLS TEAM: General Manager: Keith MurrayCommunity Engagement Manager: Rose BallantyneOperations Manager: Hannah BentonTechnical Manager: Malcolm RichardsMarketing and Box Office Co-ordinator: Kyle JarvisDevelopment Officer: Helma ZebregsBookkeeper: Debra SkeetAdministrator: Caroline Foulkes
PRODUCTION:Musical Director: Nicholas JenkinsDirector: Harry FehrDesigner: Max DoreyLighting Designer: Christopher NairneAssistant Director: Jack FurnessAssistant Musical Director: Jeremy CookeProduction Manager: Rene (Freddy) MarchalCostume Supervisor: Felicity LangthorneCostume Assistant: Jo Ray Hair and Make-Up: Maisie PalmerProduction Assistant: Sophie HoranSenior Stage Manager: Sasja EkenbergDeputy Stage Manager: Marian SharkeyAssistant Stage Managers: Mimi Palmer-Johnstonand Rosanna GrimesCommunity Stage Manager: Sarah SouthertonTechnical Assistant Stage Manager: Oliver BallantyneProject Manager: Rose BallantyneAssistant Project Manager: Alice MurrayPublicity and Programme Designer: Colin DunlopTRINITY LABAN PROJECT TEAM: Programme Manager: Anna Wyatt and Helen HendryProject Leader: Joe TownsendRunning time: 2hrs and 30mins
ADVENTURES COUNT ORYADVENTURES COUNT ORY
THE
WELCOMEWelcome to this performance of Rossini’s colourful comic opera The
Adventures of Count Ory – a tale of intrigue, disguise and seduction,
performed in a brand new English translation by David Parry. This is the
eighth fully staged community opera to be presented by Blackheath Halls,
led by a professional production team and with a stunning professional cast.
As in previous years, the opera brings together so many different sections
of the local community – an adult chorus, local school children, including
students from two local special schools, and the Blackheath Halls Orchestra, working
alongside students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and six highly
acclaimed professional opera singers.
We are delighted to welcome back to Blackheath Halls Nicholas Sharratt, who plays the
title role of Count Ory, and who was last seen here as Lensky in the 2011 Blackheath Opera,
Eugene Onegin. Two other singers making a welcome return to the Halls are Kate Howden
as Isolier and Louise Winter as Ragonde, both of whom will be remembered for their great
comic performances in the 2012 opera Cendrillon. The role of Countess Adele is performed by
Anna Devin, with Benedict Nelson as Raimbaud and Steven Page as Ory’s tutor.
Blackheath Halls is an integral part of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and
benefits greatly from its close association with them. The involvement of Trinity Laban
students is a very important part of the annual community opera, regularly winning excellent
reviews. This year a number of individual roles within the opera are performed by vocal studies
students, including Zoe Freedman, Claire Barton, Guy Elliott and Benjamin Ellis. We also have
vocal students from Trinity Laban performing as our mini chorus.
The Adventures of Count Ory is directed by Harry Fehr, with musical direction by Nicholas
Jenkins, both of whom have previously worked together on the Blackheath Halls highly
successful productions of Elixir of Love, Eugene Onegin, and Cendrillon. Stage and Costume
Designs are by Max Dorey, with Lighting Design by Christopher Nairne.
Previous Blackheath Operas have received great critical acclaim. Anna Picard, in The
Independent on Sunday described the Halls’ opera project as ‘one of the calendar’s most
heartening events’ and Graham Rogers in The Stage said ‘there can few more worthy uses of
Arts Council England grants’.
The success of this project is very much due to the dedication and support of so many
people who freely give of their time and energy in so many different ways. The community
opera epitomises exactly what the Halls were originally built for, as it is at the heart of the
local community.
We are most grateful for the generous financial support that we have received for the
community opera from Arts Council England, the London Borough of Lewisham, the Samuel
Gardner Memorial Trust and the Hearn Foundation, as well as the many individual members
of the local community, who have supported this project.
I hope that you will enjoy watching our extremely talented company of performers in
The Adventures of Count Ory, and that you may be inspired to join us in next year’s
community opera.
Thank you for your support, and I look forward to welcoming you to the Halls again in the
near future.
Keith Murray General Manager T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y 3
We have been staging community operas at Blackheath Halls since July 2007. This will be our eighth summer opera. We have also staged 2 children’s operas in February 2013 and April 2014.
Matthew Rose as Banquo in Macbeth, July 2013.
‘I am forever encouraging people to join in the following year and experience what we have all experienced.’ Macbeth Chorus member
Charne Rochford as Macduff with members of the community chorus in Macbeth, July 2013.
‘The whole atmosphere was very inclusive; it brought home to me what “community” really meant.’
Community Chorus member
Jack Schwab as Sammy in The Little Sweep with the children’s chorus, April 2014
‘I have been inspired so much by working with such talented people. I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity, and do hope that I will be part of some more in the future.’
Performer in The Little Sweep
Children’s Chorus sing the finale in The Little Sweep, April 2014
‘In her own words she is now more confident in interacting with people and expressing herself. She also said the project helped her to truly appreciate teamwork.’
Parent of participant in The Little Sweep
Blackheath Halls Opera blog http://blackheathhallsopera.wordpress.com/ tells the story about our opera with contributions by the creative team and the performers, lots of photographs and reviews. Blackheath Halls Opera can be followed on Twitter @Blackheathopera.
Schools’ involvement in Blackheath Halls OperaYou will have the delight of seeing lots of local children and young people
performing in The Adventures of Count Ory tonight. These children and
young people have been working hard on their performance since the
beginning of June.
Our performers this year are Year 5 from St Margaret’s Lee Primary School
(15 and 18 July), Year 4 from Lee Manor Primary School (16 and 20 July) and
students from Greenvale School (15 and 18 July) and Charlton Park Academy (16 and 20 July).
We began our work with the schools by gathering them all together for an introductory
session. The day started by introducing the team and explaining everyone’s responsibilities.
Harry Fehr, our Director, then told the story of the opera. The children were asked to form
‘tableaux’ of some of the crucial scenes and displayed some excellent acting ability. Harry
then described his staging concepts along with Max Dorey, our Designer this year. The
children and young people were particularly interested in what they were going to have to
wear for their performances. The introductory session ended with Nick Jenkins, our Musical
Director, warming up their voices and singing a few snippets of the opera.
Throughout June Harry, Nick and I, along with Jeremy Cooke on piano and Jack Furness
supporting Harry visited each school 3 times and rehearsed with each class individually.
We were so impressed with how much the children retained from session to session and
how involved they were in the rehearsals. Their teachers also gave us tremendous support
with this and backed up lots of our work in the time between sessions.
Then the fun really started!! The schools came to Blackheath Halls for a full day on Tuesday
8 July to practice everything that they had learnt on the real stage with the real principal
singers. The children also watched the other school performing their exact moves which is
an invaluable part of the learning process.
At the final two rehearsals the children came together with the adult chorus and put on
their costumes for the first time. Tonight they are getting a chance to perform everything
they have learnt demonstrating how hard they’ve worked. I’m sure they will make you feel
really proud. We are so lucky to have such wonderful teachers, schools and pupils in our
area and it is a great privilege for Blackheath Halls and our opera team to work with them.
Our particular thanks go to the class teachers from the primary schools, Claire Soares and
Emily Hall, and the two coordinating teachers from Greenvale and Charlton Park Academy,
Rachel Dunlop and Elizabeth Whittick. However, we know that there are so many other
people supporting us with the schools’ involvement in the opera: all the other staff at the
participating schools and of course all the hard working parents and carers who ferry
their charges back and forth on so many occasions and work so hard behind the scenes.
We were so impressed with the clothes that the children managed to source for the
production and are very grateful for the hard work that has clearly gone in to this. We very
much hope that seeing the performance tonight will make it all feel worthwhile.
Please take some time this evening to look at all the wonderful art work around Blackheath
Halls that has been produced by the children. I know you will learn lots about the opera
from the displays. Thanks again to the teachers for this and to Liz Glasser who supports
the schools for us with this aspect of the project.
Community Engagement Manager
T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y 5
New Sussex Opera is a registered charity no. 279800
OBERONnso
www.newsussexopera.org
Romantic opera in 3 acts in the original English
Lewes Town HallWednesday 19 November 7.30pm Devonshire Park Theatre, EastbourneSunday 23 November 3pmCadogan Hall, London SW1Tuesday 25 November 7pm
New Sussex Opera’s 2014 production is Weber’s Oberon. The magnificent overture is frequently played, but the neglected opera itself contains some of his most delightful music.
The story is a sequel to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Oberon, King of the Fairies, guides Sir Huon of Bordeaux on his epic quest to seek the hand in marriage of the beautiful Reiza, daughter of the Caliph of Baghdad.
NSO Chorus, St Paul’s Sinfonia, conductor Nicholas Jenkins, director Max Key. Cast includes Sally Silver Reiza, Adrian Dwyer Sir Huon.
“First class singing by any standards” - Rupert Christiansen
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BIOGRAPHIESClaire Barton A Lady
Claire Barton (mezzo-soprano) is from Dunedin, New Zealand and studied
Performance Voice at Otago University. She was an Emerging Artist with New
Zealand Opera in 2008-9 and moved to London in 2011 to take up a Kathleen
Roberts Scholarship at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. In 2013, she sang the
role of the Third Lady in Brent Opera’s production of The Magic Flute, was a
chorus leader in Macbeth with Blackheath Halls Community Opera, appeared
as a soloist in a concert of Ivor Novello songs with Oxbridge Opera Company
at the Buxton Gilbert and Sullivan Festival and was a chorus member for British Youth Opera’s
production of Paul Bunyan. Previous roles include: Mrs Slender, Salieri’s Falstaff (Opera Otago),
Katisha, Mikado and Mad Margaret, Ruddigore (Really Authentic Gilbert and Sullivan Performance
Trust). Claire will be singing the role of Mrs Partlet in The Sorcerer in August for the Oxbridge
Opera Company. This will be Claire’s first performance since she and her husband welcomed
the arrival of her first child in March. In what little spare time she now has, Claire enjoys losing at
chess, visiting castles and arguing about politics over tea and cake.
Anna Devin Countess Adele
A former member of the Jette Parker Young Artist programme at the Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden, the Britten-Pears YAP and the National Opera
Studio, Irish soprano Anna Devin is fast becoming established as one of today’s
brightest young sopranos.
Opera appearances in 2013/14 have included a return to Scottish Opera
as Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and to the Royal Opera House as Flowermaiden
(Parsifal) as well as Anna’s debut at the Handel Festival Göttingen as Clotilde in Faramondo and
her critically acclaimed performances of Bedford’s Through His Teeth at the ROH Linbury Studio.
Further ahead, she returns to the ROH main stage as Nanetta (Falstaff) in 2014/15, joins the
English Concert under Harry Bicket as Oberto (Alcina) on tour in London, Madrid, Vienna, Paris
and Michal in a new production of Saul with Glyndebourne Touring Opera.
An alumna of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and
National Opera Studio, Anna Devin has garnered awards including the Maggie Teyte and Miriam
Licette Scholarship, Stuart Burrows International Voice Award, Singers’ Prize at the Gerald
Moore Awards and the Audience Prize in the London Handel Singing Competition. She is also an
Associate Artist with Classical Opera.
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 is very pleased to
be working with Blackheath Halls Community Opera.
Max Dorey Designer
Max is currently one of two Assistant Designers at the RSC. He trained in
Theatre Design at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has a BA English Literature
and Theatre Studies at Leeds University. In 2013 he was a finalist in the Linbury
Prize for Stage Design, held biannually by the National Theatre, during which he
worked with the National Theatre of Scotland.
Theatre includes: I Can Hear You (RSC/Royal Court) This Is Not An Exit (RSC/
Royal Court) Black Jesus (Finborough); The School for Scandal (Waterloo East); The Duke in the
Darkness, Marguerite (Tabard Theatre. Both nominated for an Off West End award for Best Set
Design); Oedipus (Blue Elephant); Disco Pigs (Tristan Bates); The Good Soul of Szechuan (Bristol
Old Vic Studio); Macbeth (Redgrave Theatre); Phaedra’s Love, Bad House (NSDF); Black Comedy,
Playhouse Creatures (Stage@Leeds). Max has also made puppets for Travelling Light’s Peter Pan
(Bristol Old Vic); Cinderella (St James Theatre); Pinocchio (Tobacco Factory); Birmingham Rep
Young Company’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; Ravenrock Theatre’s Phaedra’s Love and The
View From Down Here, which he wrote and directed (Carriageworks).
Max was a student at St Margaret’s, Lee (Lee Church of England as was) between the years 1990 -
1994, when his family moved away to Oxford when he was 7. His dad used to run the Gladiator stall
at the summer fete and put up the Blackheath christmas lights. He is thrilled to be working again
with his childhood school and home.
Sasja Ekenberg Senior Stage Manager
Sasja is 32 years old and was born and raised in Denmark. She trained in Stage
Management at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and graduated in
July 2013. She has previously worked for Wexford Festival Opera, Royal Opera
House of Copenhagen and ITV. This is her first production at Blackheath Halls.
Besides her work she is a big boxing fan and she is convinced that the Danish
boxer Mikkel Kessler will beat the English boxer Carl Froch at their hopefully
next re-match.
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BIOGRAPHIESGuy Elliot Cavalier
Guy’s recent opera performances include; Belshazzar (Belshazzar/Handel) for
Trinity Laban Opera, Chorus Leader (Macbeth/Verdi) for Blackheath Opera, Don
Ottavio (Don Giovanni/Mozart) & El Remandado, (Carmen/Bizet) for Puzzle
Piece Opera, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte/Mozart) & Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus/
Strauss) for G&T Opera Scenes.
As a concert soloist, Guy has performed; Mass in B Minor & St. John Passion
(Bach) with the ORNC choir and Southern Sinfonia, The Creation (Haydn) with Trinity Laban
Chorus and Orchestra, Messiah (Handel) with the Stoneleigh Choral Society and Stimmung
(Stockhausen) at the Queen Elisabeth Hall.
Guy is currently in 2nd year at Trinity Laban and holds a choral scholarship at the chapel of the Old
Royal Naval College.
Current and upcoming projects include the role of Aladdin in The Jinnie by Louis Mander for Tête à
Tête Opera Festival. Guy is also looking forward to receiving the Leith Hill Award for 2015.
Benjamin Ellis Cavalier
Having recently moved to London from Edinburgh, Ben currently studies with
Peter Knapp and Helen Yorke at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and
Dance where he is completing his first year of postgraduate study.
Opera roles have included Morales in Carmen (Bizet), Masetto in Don Giovanni
(Mozart), and Dr. Grenville in La Traviata (Verdi) with Edinburgh Grand Opera,
Duncan in The Okavango Macbeth (Tom Cunningham) as part of the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe, and various solo characters in the edited production of King Arthur (Purcell)
with Edinburgh Studio Opera. Ben has also sung a varied selection of concert roles, including
baritone soloist for Edinburgh Grand Opera’s Verdi Bi-Centenary Gala, baritone soloist in
Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, (also an Edinburgh Festival Fringe performance), and in various
capacities with the Edinburgh-based Rose Street Ensemble and the Quadlibet Chorale. Solo
recitals have included performances of Scottish songs both traditional and contemporary at St
Mary’s Cathedral (Edinburgh), and several concerts at the Edinburgh Society of Musicians. Since
moving to London he has given recitals in the Old Royal Naval College Chapel (Greenwich) and
St Martin’s–within-Ludgate, and has been involved in the development of contemporary opera It
Makes No Difference by Simone Spagnolo.
Harry Fehr Director
Harry studied philosophy at the University of Nottingham and was a member of
the Royal Opera’s Young Artists Programme. While there, he directed productions
of Die schöne Müllerin and La serva padrona in the Linbury Studio Theatre.
Since leaving the programme, he has directed Der fliegende Holländer,
Orlando, Il matrimonio segreto and La cenerentola (Scottish Opera), the world
premiere of Craig Armstrong’s The Lady from the Sea (Edinburgh International
Festival/Scottish Opera), Così fan tutte (Opera Holland Park), La finta giardiniera (Buxton
Festival), La clemenza di Tito (Teatru Manoel, Valletta), Stephen McNeff’s Gentle Giant (ROH2 in
the Linbury Studio Theatre), Henry Fielding’s The Lottery (Bury Court Opera/L’Avventura), Così
fan tutte (Diva Opera at Wilton’s Music Hall) and Cinderella, Eugene Onegin and The Elixir of Love
(Blackheath Halls Community Opera). He has directed students in productions of Die lustigen
Weiber von Windsor (GSMD), Le nozze di Figaro (RWCMD) and Rinaldo (Trinity Laban), and
in several programmes of scenes (GSMD and RCS). He has been revival, associate or assistant
director on over twenty productions for the Royal Opera, most recently reviving its production of
La traviata in Guangzhou, China.
Plans include further work for Scottish Opera and his debut production for Welsh National Opera.
Zoë Freedman Alice
Zoë began her Master’s at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in
September 2012, studying with Alison Wells. Part of her studies has included a
Mentor Scheme with the ENO Chorus.
Recent operatic performances include Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto with Hampstead
Garden Opera, in opera scenes at Trinity: Nanetta (Verdi - Falstaff), Countess
(Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro), Sophie (Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier), and Madame
Herz (Mozart - Der Schauspieldirektor); also 2nd Boy in Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Brent Opera,
and various scenes on the Birkbeck opera course.
She was a finalist in the Elisabeth Schumann Lieder Competition at Trinity in 2014. She has also sung
in masterclasses with Joan Rodgers, Ryland Davies, Matthew Rose, Brindley Sherratt and Ian Page.
Before studying singing she achieved a First from the University of Warwick in English and Theatre
Studies. She is a TCM Scholar and is also grateful for the support of the Kathleen Trust, the South
Square Trust, the Split Infinitive Trust, Trinity Laban Postgraduate Bursary Fund and her parents.
T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y 1110 T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y
BIOGRAPHIESJack Furness Assistant Director
Herald Angel Award winner Jack Furness studied music at Cambridge
University, where he received double first-class honours. Whilst at University,
Jack founded Shadwell Opera. As Artistic Director, Jack has directed In the
Penal Colony; Albert Herring; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Siren Song; The
Magic Flute (RBS Herald Angel Award 2009); and Cosi Fan Tutte. Other work
includes Falstaff for Opera Integra, I Found My Horn by Jasper Rees with the
Marlowe Society, and Eugene Onegin for the Ryedale Festival Opera.
More recently, Furness directed two short opera films for Shadwell Opera, broadcast on Channel 4,
which were watched by over 400,000 people. After Blackheath Opera, Jack has been selected by
National Theatre Wales for their two week Summercamp residency.
Jack has assisted at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera,
Wexford Festival Opera, and at Bard Summerscape Festival in New York State, assisting directors
including Sir David McVicar and Yoshi Oida.
When not directing opera, Jack doesn’t know what to do with himself. He generally tries to avoid
that eventuality at all costs. Before he discovered opera, Jack sang, ran a jazz night, and once
represented Fiji in the Disarmament Commission of the Model United Nations in The Hague.
Kate Howden Isolier
Australian mezzo-soprano Kate Howden was awarded a BMus (Hons) from
Trinity College of Music, where she studied with Ameral Gunson and Alistair
Young, and an MA with DipRAM from the Royal Academy of Music, where she
continues to study with Elizabeth Ritchie and Jonathan Papp on the Royal
Academy Opera course. She is supported by the Matthew and Sally Ferrey
scholarship and the Jennie Blythe scholarship.
Opera credits include Cendrillon (Cendrillon, Royal Academy Opera), Bianca (The Rape of
Lucretia, RAO), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel, Opera Holloway, Edinburgh Fringe), Cherubino (The
Marriage of Figaro, Harrow Opera) and Annio (The Clemency of Titus, Hampstead Garden Opera
and Riverside Opera).
Kate is grateful for support from the Australian Music Foundation (with the Riddiford Trust), the
Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Tait Memorial Trust, the Josephine Baker Trust and the
Opus 50 Charitable Trust. This year she was the winner of a Help Musicians UK Licette Award for
French song.
Kate looks forward to roles in Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi at RAO next year. She is excited
to be returning to Blackheath after playing an ugly sister in their Cendrillon, this time in the much
more glamorous role of….a teenage boy.
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 Netherlands
Opera, Amsterdam. He began his career as a singer and chorus master, and
has trained choirs including Eltham Choral Society, ENO Chorus, Estonian
Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Grange Park Opera Chorus, Choeur des
Musiciens du Louvre – Grenoble, Netherlands Radio Choir, and Philharmonia
Chorus. He was also regularly assistant conductor to Marc Minkowski, at Paris Opera, Paris
Châtelet, La Monnaie, Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Festivals.
He has conducted many operas including Cendrillon, 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,
Poisoned Kiss, Die Rheinnixen (New Sussex Opera), as well as a staged Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle
(Berlin, Bregenz Festival, Paris Opéra-Comique).
Plans include conducting Oberon (New Sussex Opera), Petite Messe Solennelle (Nimes, Perpignan);
also Chorus Master for Benvenuto Cellini (ENO), L’Étoile (Netherlands Opera), Mazeppa (Netherlands
Radio Choir), Die Fledermaus (Opéra-Comique); and Assistant Conductor to Sir Simon Rattle for
Manon Lescaut and Der Rosenkavalier (Baden-Baden).
Felicity Langthorne Costume Supervisor
Felicity graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2012. Costume
Supervision work includes Sister Act (Pimlico Opera), Dancing at Lughnasa
and Hard Times (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School); Costume Assisting includes
Holy Warriors, Antony and Cleopatra and Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe),
L’Ormindo (Royal Opera House) A Midsummers Night Dream and A Much
Ado About Nothing (White Horse Theatre); Costume making work includes
Dark Woods and Deep Snow, Tallest Tales from the Furthest Forest (Northern
Stage), Scottsboro Boys (Young Vic Theatre).
Felicity is currently trying to knit a Doctor Who Scarf for her brother’s birthday in May, which has
been on the back burner for so long it’s now a Christmas present. She also loves to make strange
sock monsters and sells them at markets whenever she gets the time.
René ‘Freddy’ Marchal Production Manager
René Marchal has spent 29 years as a workshop manager at English National
Opera (ENO). He has toured productions throughout the UK as well as in Russia,
Norway, Spain, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Greece and North and South America.
He has also toured a Production Manager of A Diary of One Who Vanished
directed by Deborah Warner.
He designed for the ENO Baylis Programme production of Hansel and Gretel
as well as Jazz Rigoletto and other Baylis Community projects. He also taught
prisoners to build the set for a production of Street Scene at HMP Brixton where ENO principals
and prisoners performed side by side. René is now a freelance Production Manager.
Christopher Nairne Lighting Designer
Having decided 5 years ago to cast off his life as a Maths teacher in order to
turn his theatre lighting hobby into a full-blown career, Christopher has since
designed for plays, musicals, opera and cabaret all over London and the UK (and
occasionally further afield). Most recently, he was LD for Handel’s Belshazzar for
Trinity Laban, here at Blackheath Halls.
Other operas he has lit include: Vivienne (Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House),
La Calisto (Hampstead Garden Opera), In the Penal Colony (Arts Theatre), The
Crocodile (Riverside Studios), Albert Herring (Surrey Opera), The Cunning Little Vixen (Ryedale
Festival Opera) and OperaUpClose’s La Bohème, which won the 2011 Olivier Award for Best New
Opera Production.
Recent theatre work includes: Sense and Sensibility (Watermill Theatre), Johnny Got His Gun, Our
Ajax, The Busy Body and Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Southwark Playhouse), Desdemona: A Play
About a Handkerchief and The School for Scandal (Park Theatre), Dracula (for Theatre Royal Bath),
The Ghost Hunter (UK tour), Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises and Celebrity Night at Café Red (Trafalgar
Studios) and Boy in a Dress (UK tour). He was also Re-lighter for Complicite’s 2013 UK tour of Lionboy.
Mimi Palmer-Johnston Assistant Stage Manager
Mimi has just finished her degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,
specialising in Stage and Costume Management. During her time at Guildhall, she
has successfully stage managed Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio,
as well as a Baroque Double Bill (Arne’s The Cooper and Stradella’s San Giovanni
Battista) in the new Milton Court Theatre. She was also Deputy Stage Manager
on Marathon ‘33 and has assisted on several shows, including Mozart’s Le nozze
di Figaro and The Laramie Project. Outside Guildhall Mimi has had the pleasure of
working on Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and with Birmingham Royal Ballet, both at Sadler’s Wells,
as well as working at The Globe and The Almeida. Mimi is very excited to be joining the team at
Blackheath Halls Opera, and is looking forward to a summer of opera!
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BIOGRAPHIESBenedict Nelson Raimbaud
Benedict Nelson studied at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and
the National Opera Studio. He was an inaugural Harewood Artists at English
National Opera where his roles included the title role Billy Budd, Belcore L’elisir
d’amore, Figaro Barber of Seville, Valentin Faust, Demetrius A Midsummer
Night’s Dream and Evangelist/Watchful/First Shepherd The Pilgrim’s Progress.
Recent engagement in 13/14 included recital appearances with Roger Vignoles and
Graham Johnson in Madrid and Leeds, Brahms’s Requiem with the Hallé, Weill’s
Das Berliner Requiem with L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Bach’s B Minor Mass with the
Aurora Orchestra respectively and Ned Keene Peter Grimes for Opera North and Opéra de Lyon,
Other recent highlights include the role of Algernon Moncrieff in the UK stage premiere of
Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest at the Royal Opera House, the staged Britten Canticles
at Aldeburgh and the ROH, Brander Damnation de Faust with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
under Dutoit, Helmsmann Tristan und Isolde with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and
Stranger The Lady from the Sea for the Edinburgh International Festival and Scottish Opera.
In recital he has recorded Britten songs with Malcolm Martineau to critical acclaim and made his
solo debut last season at the Wigmore Hall.
Next season Nelson will make role debut as The Count in The Marriage of Figaro at ENO. Other
forthcoming highlights include Britten’s Noye’s Fludde with La Maîtrise de Radio France, Orff’s
Carmina Burana with the Gulbenkian Orchestra and Handel’s Messiah with Orchestra de Cadaqués.
Steven Page Ory’s Tutor
Steven already had a career as a Trade Mark Attorney and was studying singing
privately‚ when he was awarded a Scholarship to study at the National Opera
Studio in London.
He has appeared as Don Alfonso Cosi fan tutte (Welsh National Opera and ENO‚
Speaker The Magic Flute (ENO)‚ Pirate King Pirates of Penzance and Nick Shadow
The Rake’s Progress (Scottish Opera)‚ Sir Richard Cholmondeley The Yeomen of
the Guard with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Captain Corcoran HMS
Pinafore with Carl Rosa, and the title role in a highly acclaimed production of Sondheim’s Sweeney
Todd for Opera North‚ where he has also sung Sir Roderick Murgatroyd Ruddigore, Sharpless and
Benoit/Alcindoro. For the BBC Proms at the Albert Hall he has performed in Tippett’s The Mask of
Time and in Elgar’s The Apostles.
Engagements abroad include Sweeney Todd in Australia‚ Papageno (Dublin)‚ Pizarro Fidelio (Paris)‚
Prus Makropoulos Case (Lyon‚ New York and Berlin) and Candide (Paris‚ Milan and Japan).
Steven took part in the film Tomorrow La Scala, which appeared at the Cannes Film Festival, playing
an opera singer, singing the role of Sweeney Todd in a prison. Theatre work includes Parade (Donmar
Warehouse), Oedipus (National Theatre with Ralph Fiennes) and After Aida (Old Vic with Ian
Charleson and Richard Griffiths).
Louise Winter Ragonde
Louise Winter studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. She made her
début in 1982 with Glyndebourne Touring Opera as Dorabella Così fan tutte
and subsequently sang Tisbe La Cenerentola, Zerlina Don Giovanni, and Rosina
Il barbiere di Siviglia for the company. Roles for Glyndebourne Festival Opera
have included Sesto La clemenza di Tito, Edwige Rodelinda, Varvara Katya
Kabanova, Pauline Queen of Spades and Olga Eugene Onegin, which she sang
with the Royal Opera House and Canadian Opera Company. Her roles for
English National Opera include the title role Carmen and Marguerite La Damnation de Faust. For
Frankfurt Opera she has sung Brangäne Tristan und Isolde, Venus Tannhäuser, Preziosilla La Forza
del Destino and Lady Macbeth in Ernst Bloch’s Macbeth for Frankfurt Opera. She has performed
with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including the CBSO with Sir Simon
Rattle, the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Sir Andrew Davis, the Hallé Orchestra with Mark Elder,
and the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras. Plans include Marcellina Le Nozze di
Figaro at the Royal Opera House and Madame Larina Eugene Onegin for Garsington Festival.
T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y 1514 T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y
BIOGRAPHIESNicholas Sharratt Count Ory
Born in Nottingham, Nicholas studied Commerce at Birmingham University,
and singing at the RNCM and the National Opera Studio.
He has been a guest artist for Glyndebourne, Grange Park, Garsington, English
Touring Opera, Early Opera Company, Music Theatre Wales, Scottish Opera
and Opera North; and worked with Sir Mark Elder, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Andrew
Davis, Christian Curnyn, Richard Hickox, John Wilson, Nicholas McGegan,
Stuart Stratford and David Parry.
He has sung Parry Jones A Serenade to Music at the BBC Proms (LSO); Tirsi La Danza at
Wigmore Hall; Hotel Porter Death in Venice (QEH/Philharmonia); Messiah at Cadogan Hall;
Sam/Ghost Patrol (Stuart Macrae) at the Edinburgh Festival and Camille/Merry Widow (RFH/
Philharmonia). Current plans include Fernando/Il furioso all’isola di San Domingo for ETO,
Lucano/Coronation of Poppea for Opera North and his debut for WNO as John in the UK
premiere of Richard Ayres’ Peter Pan.
Nick has been lucky enough to be involved in two previous productions at Blackheath, Nemorino
in The Elixir of Love and Lensky in Eugene Onegin, and is properly made-up to be back again this
year. He lives in the Essex countryside with his wife and 2 children.
Marian Sharkey Deputy Stage Manager
Marian is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, with a BA
in Technical and Production Arts, and has had a passion for music since
childhood. Working with her local youth theatre led to studying at the RCS,
where she was Deputy Stage Manager on the plays Twelfth Night and Tartuffe,
and on the operas Die Zauberflöte and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Marian
has also worked with the Buxton Opera Festival on a community production of
James and the Giant Peach, was DSM on British Youth Opera’s 2012 production
of The Bartered Bride, and recently worked with Scottish Opera as DSM on their production of
Macbeth. Future plans include a return to RCS as an employee to work on one of their operas,
and a return to Scottish Opera for a tour of Scotland’s Highlands and Islands again with Macbeth.
Outside of theatre Marian also enjoys playing the piano, buying more books than she has shelves
for, sitting in the sun reading some of those books and is currently attempting to develop an
interest in running...
COSTUMEDESIGNS
16 T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y
While her brother is away at war, the Countess has shut herself inside her
castle, refusing any contact with men. With their husbands also fighting,
her women friends and their children have joined her.
Excited by the challenge, Count Ory has set his sights on the Countess,
and is determined to get inside the castle by whatever means possible.
ACT 1
Raimbaud, in disguise, calls the local people together; a religious hermit
is coming that way, and will hear their prayers. Ragonde explains that her
friend, Countess Adele, is suffering from some inexplicable melancholy,
and hopes that this holy man will be able to help her.
The hermit appears; it is Count Ory in disguise. Ragonde asks that he
might see the Countess later that day.
Ory’s brother, Isolier, arrives in the village with Ory’s tutor. The tutor is
irritated that, yet again, his pupil has given him the slip. On hearing that
the hermit arrived in the village at just the time that Ory went missing, he
grows suspicious that this holy man might be none other than his charge.
He leaves to get backup.
Isolier is in love with the Countess but, like all men, has been spurned by
her. Not realising he is Ory, Isolier asks the hermit for help in winning her
over. He tells him of a plan he had to disguise himself as a pilgrim, asking
for shelter in the Countess’s castle. The hermit quietly takes note of this
idea, then promises to tell the Countess that she must abandon her vow
renouncing men.
Ory, still in disguise, listens to the Countess as she tells of her mysterious
sorrow. As promised, he tells her she should give herself to love. However,
as she turns to Isolier, the hermit reveals that this man is the brother of the
infamous Count Ory. Wanting nothing to do with that family, the Countess
rejects Isolier.
As Ory and the Countess are about to go inside together, the tutor returns
with a group of Ory’s friends. Not understanding the situation, they
inadvertently give Ory away, and his disguise is revealed.
T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y 17
As the Countess considers her lucky escape, news arrives that her brother
and the soldiers are on their way home. Ory has just two days to plot
another way to get into the castle.
INTERVAL
ACT 2
That evening, inside the castle, the Countess and her friends reflect on
their lucky escape from Ory. Suddenly, a storm rises. A group of women
pilgrims are heard outside, asking for sanctuary, and they are invited in.
The first to enter is Ory, in a new disguise. He fervently thanks the
Countess for her kindness and hospitality.
Refreshment is brought in for the pilgrims, who are none other than Ory’s
friends and his reluctant tutor. They are enjoying their disguises, but are
disappointed to discover there is no wine laid on. Suddenly Raimbaud
enters; he has explored the castle and found the wine cellar. They drink
and make merry until the return of the Countess obliges them to resume a
pious air. The pilgrims are shown to their rooms.
A noise is heard at the gate. It is Isolier, bringing news that the soldiers will
be home by midnight. On being told that a group of women pilgrims have
been offered shelter in the castle, Isolier deduces that they must be Ory
and his friends – having taken his idea. The Countess is terrified, but Isolier
promises to protect her until her brother returns.
Isolier turns out the lights, and Ory gropes his way into the Countess’s
room. By pretending to be the Countess, Isolier manages to keep Ory
away from her until, at last, the sound of the returning soldiers is heard.
Fearful of her brother, Ory begs for mercy from the Countess for him and
his friends. She grants it, and Isolier leads them to a secret passage. They
leave just in time for, almost immediately, the Countess’ brother and the
other soldiers arrive. The women give thanks for their safe return.
SYNOPSIS
Greenvale School Teachers
Liz Whittick
Marie Dixon
Pupils
Tiffany Martin
Becky Simpson
Jack Clow
Tiffany Farley
Samantha Farley
Charlie Kebell
Judy Challo
Charlton Park AcademyTeachers and
Support Staff
Rachel Dunlop
Katie Toal
Pupils
Claire Carroll
Ketlin Namaganda
Osio Orororo
Charlie Torrison
Year 5 St Margaret’sLeeTeacher
Claire Soares
Pupils
Francisca Aidoo
Eddie Bingham
Rollo Crispin
Josie Critchley
Emily Davis
Bethany Dixon
Great Eriata
Clodwell Gap Gaupool
Katie Godden
Jessica Lane
Eddie Lindsey
Lucas Loveday
Aisha Mannah
Joshua Mannah
Jareth Maynard
Lucy McCrone
Lucas Murtagh
Dearenee Nelson-Brandford
Daisy O’Leary-Pye
Olga Pasternak
Stefan Pasternak
Olivia Popiolek
Emmie Proctor
Rachel Rajkumar
Caitlin Reeves
Brodrick Rigg
Hettie Shaw
Neo Walters
Julianna Wane
Year 4Lee Manor SchoolTeacher
Emily Hall
Pupils
Adisa
Angie
Ruby
Hattie
Kayin
Joseph
Rufus
O’Mari
Lucian
Safiya
Matthew
Lia-May
Harrison
Jade
Richie
Luca
Bobby
Vicky
Leon
Jadesola
Lily
Sebahat
Daisy
James
Oscar
Luke
Mashal
Noura
Ruby
Romain
Ashleigh
18 T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y
20 T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y
OrchestraFirst ViolinLucia D’Avanzo-LewisMiriam CarreraAlex CoupeSarah FraserAnn LorekValeria RisoAmy Smith
Second ViolinGemma DickinsonPeter DempseyNahum CahounaEmma FrySarah MansfieldPhilip Smith
ViolaSarah MalcolmMalcolm SentanceJosie AstonNim Di Ricci
CelloSteffan ReesMeg DinkeldienMarianne HardistyPaul MeinsMarco Russo
Double BassChristina CooperTerry HeardKeith Pinnock
FlutePauline SavagePenny Gunstone
OboeLydia BrookesAnne Sykes
ClarinetChris HattonLiz Glasser
BassoonHannah BentonSue Rayner
French HornJon FrankHannah KeyAlex JoyceStefan Mather
TrumpetPhilip SmithDeb Browne
TromboneRichard MillerJohn BellMartin McHugh
TimpaniNico Metten
PercussionAnel le BruynAndrew Latta
Count Ory ChoirSopranoAdele HarrisAlice RobinsonAyeesha WallerCaroline FosterCarolyn WilliamsonCas MagillDiane GassonDoreen GrandonDoris NegrierFiona GardinerFiona SandersonGillian SmithHelen WarnerKathleen BoyleMaggie MullarkeyMaureen WoodMona BagheriRebecca SwannRosie TaylorRuth DevineSarah BulfordSheila TwitchettVicky Smith
AltoBarbara KolatorElizabeth GoldmanGill GrantJackie RiceJane CookeJane FergusonJagruti HassanJo NewmanJudith StephensonKate BoneKate LomasLaura SparkesLeslee Dryland
Liz KingLyndsay ThwaitesMaggie EllisPamela KarantonisPauline ShimellRae BroomRebecca SharmanRita CraftRose BallantyneSonia EnnalsSusan HoweSuzi Clements
TenorAdam HiggsAlix AdamsAlun ButlerCherry PottsLukasz WajdaSusanne AlbertTony ValsamidisGuy ElliottChristopher SeadenRichard WhitfieldTony Brewer
BassAndy LayneBenjamin Ellis David CulpanDavid MearsGeorge LustyJohn BaldwinNick SimpsonPaul BoltonSimon PhillipsTerence Cowling
Mini ChorusSopranoMarrianne Town SmithKirsty McLeanJessica Thayer
AltoMilda FontanettiEva RibbingGeorgina Thorburn
Costume supportRobin BrewerRita CraftJane Ferguson
Set supportDavid Culpan
22 T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y
Ory’s StoryTrinity Laban’s Composition Project as part of Blackheath Halls
Community Opera 2014
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance has been working
closely with musically talented pupils from Addey & Stanhope School to
compose modern-day responses to the opera Count Ory. Project leader
Joe Townsend and two Trinity Laban students have visited the school
for five creative sessions in which the young musicians worked on their
compositional, vocal and drama skills in order to create a unique ten minute
performance. Ranging from a new love song composed in response to the
Countess’ melancholic disposition to a reggae band’s jam composed in
response to the games of Count Ory and his friends – this project really
has seen no boundaries!
Addey & Stanhope participants
Saezar Omer
Sheila Mansaray
Raisa Aly
Musatu Kargbo
Alana Morritt
Emma Falola
Khoi Bawmkhai
Jamilah Sesay
Jamila Mohammed
Aneeka Burgess
Shaun Nketiah
Yen Hoang
Jheymili Mendoca
Britney Aulestia
Marien Addo
Alex Fevrier
Ines Proenca
Esther Kudou
Tito Ogunsakin
Callum Malcom-Kelly
Jacob Taiwo
Micah Mugalu
Kemi-Louise Moore
Nicole Vi
Matthew Aguilar
Andres Valencia
Teacher: Matthew Teager
Student leader: Claire Habbershaw
Dinu-Mihai Stefan
24 T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y
From Paris to Blackheath – the adventures of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory The composer Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) was born in Pesaro in North-East Italy,
and became the most successful opera composer in the world during his lifetime. He is
famous for composing 39 operas, and for his love of food, which inspired several well-
known recipes. Most importantly, he wrote music that is gloriously tuneful and witty,
often described as the musical equivalent of Champagne, and he made a speciality of
the so-called ‘Rossini crescendo’, where a passage of music starts extremely softly and
gets gradually louder in an exciting way. Rossini was unpretentious about his talent,
once apparently stating “Give me a laundry list and I will set it to music”. Rossini, along
with Donizetti and Bellini, is one of the defining figures in a period of Italian opera from
the early 19th Century now known as ‘Bel canto’ (beautiful singing), which is noted
for very florid vocal writing. The scrumptious 1828 comic opera Le Comte Ory - here
re-styled for Blackheath Halls as The Adventures of Count Ory - dates from a period in
Rossini’s career when he was achieving major success at the Paris Opera.
Count Ory is an irrestible score, worthy of being ranked alongside Rossini’s best-loved
comedies The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola, and provides a strong contrast
to his ‘opera seria’ (serious opera) masterpieces such as Ermione and Semiramide.
However, the comic subject matter of Count Ory is not what one would have expected
from a piece intended for Paris Opera, which in the 1820s was the home of ‘Grand
opera’, where works based on high-flown episodes from history or mythology were
the norm. In that sense two other of Rossini’s Paris Opera pieces - Moïse et Pharaon
(Moses and Pharoah) and Guillaume Tell (William Tell) - were more in keeping with
Parisian expectations. Count Ory’s plot, despite its origins in a French medieval tale, is
a romp, given a veneer of respectability by the involvement of distinguished librettist
Eugène Scribe, who wrote the sung text in collaboration with Charles-Gaspard
Delestre-Poirson (rendered here in David Parry’s brand new English translation).
But Rossini’s music in Count Ory is often magnificent in scale in a way that certainly
was appropriate to the Paris Opera, and he provided a star vehicle for tenor Adolphe
Nourrit - celebrated for his high Cs and Ds. Count Ory’s combination of broad farce
with extraordinarily inspired and uplifting music invites comparison with Mozart’s
Così fan tutte. The ‘three-in-a-bed’ trio which brings Act 2 of Count Ory to its
ecstatic climax is without a doubt among the finest pages in Rossini. And we in
Blackheath are proud to be presenting the first British performances of the original
Act 2 Finale of Count Ory, one of the revelations of Damien Colas’ new critical
edition of the piece published by Bärenreiter.
Rossini and many other opera composers of his day regularly plagiarised themselves
by re-using music from earlier pieces that might otherwise have been forgotten.
About half of the music of Count Ory is taken from Il Viaggio a Reims (The Journey
to Reims), an opera written to commemorate the coronation of King Charles X of
France in 1825. After its 1825 performances, Il Viaggio a Reims was thought to be lost
entirely, until scholars re-discovered its manuscript sources in the 1970s, leading to a
triumphant revival at the 1984 Pesaro Festival under the baton of Claudio Abbado.
It is remarkable that although Count Ory contains several numbers re-cycled from
Il Viaggio a Reims, the music feels absolutely right in its new dramatic context.
After its 1828 première, Count Ory maintained a toe-hold in the repertoire of the
Paris Opera throughout the second half of the 19th Century, but then largely
disappeared from the world’s stages in the early 20th Century. However, revivals in
Florence and at the Glyndebourne Festival in the 1950s led to a change in the opera’s
fortunes, and it is now a firm favourite with opera companies worldwide, whose
popularity seems to increase with every passing year. A 1988 Kent Opera production
at Dartford’s Orchard Theatre, starring Neil Jenkins and directed by Richard Jones,
made a great impression on the writer of this article.
Rossini’s next and final opera after Count Ory, was the epic Guillaume Tell which
received its first performance in Paris in 1829. After that Rossini, at the age of just 37,
stopped composing operas. Over the course of the remaining 39 years of his life he was
effectively in retirement, writing very little except for a collection of miniature pieces
which he described as his Péchés de Vieillesse (Sins of old age), and his 1864 choral
masterpiece La Petite Messe Solennelle. In 1855 he moved from Italy to Paris and lived
there until his death in 1868. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
Putting on a production of Count Ory at Blackheath Halls could conceivably raise
some issues: 21st Century political correctness and Count Ory have very little in
common; and the educational element of our Community Opera is a crucial feature
of the project. I leave it to you to assess whether the plot of the opera bears any
more serious scrutiny than that of a ‘Carry On’ film. But what music! Furthermore,
Ory is very well written from the point of view of the orchestra and chorus, essential
components of a Blackheath Halls Community Opera production. Rose Ballantyne,
Harry Fehr, Keith Murray and I pondered these questions in a suitably thoughtful
manner, before abandoning ourselves to Rossini’s genius, throwing scruples to the
winds. After the bloodshed of last year’s Macbeth, I hope that we can be forgiven for
indulging in a little joie de vivre!
Enjoy the show.
Nicholas Jenkins. 1 July 2014
T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y 25
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 and The Fischer Trust
for their grants to the project;
• Matthew Rose, Ailyn Pérez, Quinn Kelsey, Kate Howden, Miriam Murphy and Steven
Maughan for launching the 2014 Blackheath Halls Community Opera with a fantastic
Gala Night on 2nd March 2014 which raised considerable funds for the opera;
• Our Blackheath Halls Community Opera Ambassadors Helena Bayliss, Geoffrey
Collens, Grant Doyle and Matthew Rose;
• Our wonderful professional opera singers for their generosity and commitment;
• 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 who have given so much time and talent
to the project;
• Jagruti Hassan, Fiona Gardiner and all the chorus members who have cooked and
baked and fed the chorus and raised considerable funds for the opera in doing so!
• Claire Soares and Emily Hall for all their help and hard work;
• The children for their energetic participation;
• The many staff and parents from Lee Manor Primary School and St Margaret’s
C of E Primary School for all the work they have put in to supporting the project;
• The young people from Charlton School and Greenvale School for their involvement;
• Marie Dixson, Elizabeth Whittick, Rachel Dunlop and Katie Hoal and all the other
staff and parents from Charlton and Greenvale Schools for all their advice, support
and involvement;
• Harry Fehr and Nicholas Jenkins for their vision, ideas, commitment and hard work;
• The design team for creating this set, costume designs and lighting with such
vision and attention to detail;
• All the other members of the team for all their support and hard work;
• Anna Wyatt and Joe Townsend for their work on the composition project with
Addey and Stanhope School;
• Liz Glasser for her work with teachers;
• The children and staff at the primary schools for their wonderful display work
around Blackheath Halls;
• All the local businesses mentioned in the programme for their financial contribution;
• Blackheath Halls staff for all their hard work and commitment to the project, in
particular Rose Ballantyne the Project Manager;
• Colin Dunlop for designing all the posters, flyers and this programme to support
the project;
• All of you for coming to watch!
Blackheath Halls is grateful to the following people and organisations who through
their generous support have made the eighth Blackheath Halls Opera possible.
Organisations who are supporting the 2014 Blackheath Halls Opera:
Arts Council England; The London Borough of Lewisham; The Fischer Fund; The Hearn
Foundation; and The Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust.
Sponsors of Blackheath Halls Opera:
John Baldwin and Barbara Kolator; Geoffrey Collens; Alex Coupe and William Phillips;
Stuart and Laura Fraser; Alasdair Neil.
Benefactors of Blackheath Halls Opera:
In memory of Tom Ivory QC; Rachel and Ray Adams; Roger and Marilyn Ballisat;
Tony Bevan and Glenys Johnson; Anne Burton; Stephen and Tina Challacombe; Peter
and Susan Colvin; Peter and Maureen Cottrell; Richard and Meg Dinkeldein;
Joanna Embling; Sonia Ennals and Jim Wintour; Derek and Fiona Gardiner; Valerie
Gordon-Walker; Jay and Bella Hassan; Mike and Judy Hildesley; Jonathan and Yvonne
Horsfall Turner; Andrew and Elizabeth McKnight; Ian and Mary Nisse; Jonathan and
Marjorie Ouvry; Nick and Alison Palmer; Steven and Mary Clare Parker; Francesca
Robinson; Mark and Cate Rowntree; David and Fiona Sanderson; Philip and
Jean Smith; Andrew Webster and Krzysztof Drutel; Richard and Ginny Williams.
Patrons of Blackheath Halls Opera:
David and Georgina Bowers; Anthony Bowne; Tom and Gill Butler; Robin and
Margaret Drummond; John and Mary Harman; Linda Hirst; Bruce and Sara Mauleverer;
Joan Ruddock; Howard and Sue Shields; Brian and Jane Sullivan.
Supporters of Blackheath Halls Opera:
Chieko Allford; Jim and Harriett Baldwin; Joe and Jean Barnard; Mirella Bartrip;
Mary Baylis; Helena Bayliss; Hugh and Cathy Bohling; Andrew Bradshaw; Tony and
Robin Brewer; Sean Briggs; Mary Bright; William Clapham; Mike and Jane Cooke;
Brian Dodsworth; Pat Doyne-Ditmas; Mike and Leslee Dryland; Mike and Rosemary
Duff; Anthony Eggleston; Elizabeth Glasser; Abigail Graham; Doreen Grandon;
Martin McHugh; Johnny Langridge; Jocelyn Lewis; Jeff Lock; Alison Marriott;
Ian Paton; Richard and Joanna Perks; Steven Randall; David and Jennifer Reckless;
Clare Roden; Frances Simpson; Frank and Karin Smith; Derek and Lieneke Thomas;
Lyndsay Thwaites; Harry Ungoed; Cyril and Amelia Weight; Eva Woloshyn; Clodagh
and Robin Woodall; Helma Zebregs and Martin Smith; and many anonymous donors.
T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y 2726 T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F C O U N T O R Y
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