Spring/Summer Newsletter 2011
Mutual Appreciation Society
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and The Opera Group join forces
Luke Bedford's long awaited first opera Seven Angels premieres next month at Birmingham's CBSO Centre (17 June) after which the The Opera Group/Birmingham Contemporary Music Group production tours to Cardiff, Glasgow, Brighton, Oxford and London culminating in a performance at the Latitude Festival.
Inspired by Paradise Lost, the opera interprets the themes of John Milton's masterpiece bringing to it pertinent resonances for a modern audience facing up to the urgent challenges of a changing climate and ever-depleting resources.
Featuring seven singers and chamber orchestra, Luke Bedford's music is dark but seductive, tense but lyrical, integrating both solo voices and choral textures.
Further information from www.theoperagroup.co.uk www.bcmg.org.uk
College opens its doors to the Public
The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in our home city of Cardiff will be opening its doors to a state of the art suite of facilities this June comprising an intimate 160-seat courtyard theatre, a 420 seater recital hall and a stunning glass-walled public café bar overlooking the beautiful grounds of Bute Park.
The opening season includes a residency by Welsh National Opera, a recital by the winner of the 2005 Cardiff Singer of the World Rosenblatt Recital Prize, Andrew Kenneompanied by Malcolm Martineau, The Opera Group/BCMG’s production of Luke Bedford’s Seven Angels and an eagerly awaited visit by the eccentric but unforgettable Penguin Café.
Further information from www.rwcmd.ac.uk Tel: 029 2039 1391
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A Soothing Balm - and More
It's a small phrase and it's frequently relegated to rela
tively small print, but never underestimate the importance of the words "A co-production with …" so often to be seen on websites and print in today's world of the arts. Securing such a relationship often marks the transition from the dream to stage a new work or production to the reality.
But what is the role of a co-producer? We caught up with Andy Eagle, Director of Theatr Brycheiniog to find out what the venue brings to the table as co-producer of Julie, For You and our forthcoming tour of Greek.
Glass Connections Continue
New Philip Glass Commission …
As our tour of Philip Glass’s In the Penal Colony came to an end last autumn, we were thrilled to hear that the composer has agreed to write a new chamber opera expressly for the company, based on the Kafka novel, The Trial. The opera will go into production in 2013 - the year we celebrate our 25th anniversary.
MTW’s relationship with Glass dates back to 1989 when we gave the European premiere of The Fall of the House of Usher - a production the composer greatly admired. In a BBC Radio 3 interview prior to the opening of Penal Colony Glass reiterated his affection and respect for the company.
Finding Space to Create …
Over the last few months there have been fewer sightings than usual in
the office of one of our Artistic Directors, conductor Michael Rafferty.
This is not to say that he has been shirking his duties though - far from it. Indeed he has been out and about more than ever (just not necessarily in Cardiff Bay) and this can be attributed to the decision by Arts Council of Wales last November to offer him a Creative Wales Award.
As the title of the award suggests, the purpose of these awards is to make it possible for individual artists to take time out and find space in their life to 'create'. It's the equivalent of what in many other industries is known as R&D - research and development.
An Unseen but all-seeing Presence
If opera and classical music photography has a gold standard, Clive Barda is surely its principle exemplar. For over forty years, his dynamic images have captured some the greatest names in classical music, and have provided a vivid record of successive productions by all of Britain's leading opera companies.
Clive Barda is, unquestionably, the doyen of performance photographers, and Music Theatre Wales counts itself fortunate to have him as its official photographer – a relationship which dates back to the company's production of Michael Berkeley's opera Jane Eyre in 2000 – indeed, who amongst MTWs followers will forget his moody, allusive close-ups of a tightly-corseted Natasha Marsh as the opera's eponymous heroine?
To find out what factors shaped his career and what excites him as a photographer, I meet him on a wintry February afternoon at London's Garrick Club, where he's perfectly at one with his august surroundings – immensely affable, tweed-suited and sporting the trademark bow-tie.
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