Every Friday, New College Ante-chapel
1.15pm, £2/£1 concessions
20th Jan – Tiago Rito bass
27th Jan – Simon Grange bass
3rd Feb – Jake Barlow countertenor
10 Feb – Guy Cutting tenor
17 Feb – Tal Katsir soprano
24 Feb – Thomas Stell tenor
2 Mar – Patrick Edmond bass
9 Mar – Domhnall Talbot tenor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4 (Preview), 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15 July 2012.
While Il re pastore – written when Mozart was only nineteen years old – may not be as well-known an operatic work as Così fan tutte or Le nozze di Figaro, it is nonetheless a substantial work in its own right that provides a glimpse into the themes and stylistic devices employed in his subsequent works. Originally a pastoral opera seria, the libretto by Pietro Metastasio was compressed from three to two acts in Mozart’s serenata version, and the plot places emphasis on benevolence and appreciation of the royal archetype during the time of Alexander the Great.
Tickets
4 July (Preview) Download form here
7 July and 13 July New College Development Fund Call (01865) 279 337
8 July Download form here
10 July Download form here
11 July Friends of the Oxford Botanic Garden Call (07722) 605 787
14 and 15 July 2012 Friends of Welsh National Opera Call (01865) 408 045 or [email protected]
Credits
Conductor – Steven Devine
Director – Michael Burden
Aminta: Kate Semmens
Elisa: Rachel Shannon
Tamiri: Merryn Gamba
Alessandro: Adam Tunnicliffe
Agenore: Tom Raskin
Plot
Act I
Alessandro, King of Macedonia, has freed the kingdom of Sidon from the grasps of the tyrant Straton. He does not assume the throne himself, but intends to restore the legitimate heir to the kingdom. Thus, together with Sidonian nobleman Agenore, they approach the shepherd Aminta who, unbeknownst to himself, is Abdalonimo, rightful heir to the throne. Aminta declines their offers nobly, being contented with his plans to tend to his flock and marry the nymph Elisa. The daughter of the overthrown Straton, Tamiri, is in love with Agenore but has too much pride to ask Alessandro for forgiveness. Before Aminta can ask Elisa’s father for a marriage blessing, he is informed by Agenore of his true royal identity, and is commanded to appear before Alessandro.
Act II
In a bid to secure peace within Sidon, Alessandro decides that Aminta should marry Tamiri, and this results in series of emotional conflict when Agenore carries out Alessandro’s orders obediently and secretly. Elisa is enraged by Alessandro’s decision, and calls for a public confession on Aminta’s part for betraying his love and commitment to her. Tamiri is displeased with Agenore, who has been torn between his love for Tamiri and his patriotism for Sidon. Aminta resolves to abdicate the throne to be with Elisa, but Alexander, moved by the sincerity of the lovers’ pleas, allows the lovers to be reunited. In a final grand gesture of magnanimity, Alessandro declares Aminta and Elisa as the rulers of Sidon, while Agenore and Tamiri are granted another kingdom to rule.
Every Friday, New College Ante-chapel
1.15pm, £2/£1 concessions
14 October – Henry Jones – countertenor
21 October – Lucy Cox – soprano
28 October – Olivia Clarke – soprano
4 November – Oliver Longland – bass/baritone
11 November – Esther Brazil – soprano
18 November – Will Roddy – tenor
25 November – Johanna Harrison – soprano
2 December – David Lee – tenor
Every Friday, New College Ante-chapel
1.15pm, £2/£1 concessions
Friday May 13: Anna Sideris, soprano
Friday May 20: Simon Grange, baritone
Friday May 27: Amrit Gosal, soprano
Friday June 3: Esther Mallett, soprano
Friday June 10: Rachel O’Malley, mezzo soprano
Friday June 17: Nick Pritchard, tenor
Friday June 24: Ben Lewis, baritone
Summer Oratorio 2011
8 June 2011, New College Chapel, 8.00pm
Tickets £10/£5 on sale on the door
Cast
Acis: Guy Cutting
Galatea: Julia Sitkovetsky
Polyphemus: George Coltart
Damon: Paola Cuffolo
Conductor: Benjamin Holder
Variously described as a masque, serenata, pastoral opera, or a “little opera†(as Handel wrote in a letter while it was being composed), Acis and Galatea was first performed during the summer of 1718 at Cannons, the seat of James Brydges, Earl of Carnarvon (later Duke of Chandos), at Edgware, a short distance north-west of London. As resident composer, Handel supplied his patron with church music, as well as two dramatic works, Esther (the first English oratorio – and recently performed by the NCO Studio) and Acis and Galatea. The oratorio illustrates the story of the love between Acis, a shepherd, and Galatea, a semi-divine sea-nymph. The two lovers seek each other, enlisting the counsel of another shepherd, Damon. However, the amorous, pastoral mood of the oratorio darkens with the approach of the jealous “monster†Polyphemus, a hideous giant. He threatens force, but another shepherd, Coridon, advises him to woo Galatea more gently. Acis militantly decides to resist Polyphemus, and the lovers swear their eternal devotion to one another, until they are interrupted by the enraged Polyphemus, who intrudes and crushes Acis with a rock. Galatea laments the loss of her lover, but the chorus reminds her of her deity – she exerts her powers and transforms him into a fountain, and they all celebrate Acis’s watery immortality.
Gioachino Rossini
He knows nothing of the letter, nothing of the whole affair…
Friday 4 and Saturday 5 February 2011
8pm
Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street
Tickets £20/15/10 and £10/8/6 available from Tickets Oxford (01865 305 305, also at: http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/ticketsoxford/?event=12315), or via www.barberinoxford.co.uk, or on the door
Let us know you’re coming and invite your friends via Facebook. Visit our event page.
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Creatives:
Conductor…………….Jonathon Swinard
Director…………………..Michael Burden
Repetiteur/Chorus Master..Ben Holder
Cast:
Rosina……………….Esther Brazil
Count Almaviva…Nick Pritchard
Figaro……………..Dominic Bowe
Don Bartolo……….Sam Glatman
Don Basilio………..Tom Bennett
Bertha………….Julia Sitkovetsky
Fiorello……..Matthew Silverman
Chorus:
Edmund Bridges
Andrew Hayman
James Andrewes
Sam Poppleton
Patrick Edmond
Jack Noutch
Orchestra:
Violins: Cecilia Stinton (Leader), Emily Benn, Henry Chandler, Becca Considine, Cameron Millar
Violas: Gina Emerson, Louise Hill, Emily Woodwark
Cellos: Dominic Oldfield, Dan Benn, Alexia Millett, Sophie Sayer
Basses: Grace Jackson, Sophie Wragg
Flute: Alex Leese
Oboe: Rachel Becker
Clarinets: Beth Allen, Joe Norris
Bassoon: Sam Brown
Horn: James Ash
Percussion: Christopher Little
Guitar: Stefan Schwarz
Harpsichord: Ben Holder
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The Barber of Seville
Gioachino Rossini
Rossini’s sparking comedy The Barber of Sevile is based on Pierre Beaumarchais’s play of the same name, first performed in 1775 in Paris at the Comédie-Française at the Tuileries Palace. It was first performed on 20 February 1816, and is one of Rossini’s most popular operas.
Plot
Act 1, scene i opens outside Dr Bartolo’s house. The elderly Bartolo is guardian to the young Rosina. A band of musicians serenade (unsuccessfully) the window of Rosina’s room; they are in the employ of a poor student, Lindoro who is deeply in love with Rosina. Lindoro, however, is Count Almaviva in disguise, hoping to persuade Rosina to love him for himself and not his money and position. The famous ‘Largo al factotum della città ’ heralds the arrival of the Count’s former servant, Figaro, now the town barber. He is also barber to Dr Bartolo, the Count engages his services in order that he might meet Rosina. After a moment or two, Figaro comes up with a plan. The Count should disguise himself as a solider to be billeted with Bartolo; if he also pretends to be drunk, it will make gaining access easier.
Act 1, scene ii opens in Bartolo’s house. Rosina is writing to her lover ‘Lindoro’. As she leaves the room, Bartolo and Basilio enter. Bartolo is suspicious of the Count (who he only knows in his true guise), but the wiley Basilio advises that the way to deal with him is to destroy him with rumours. Rosina re-enters with Figaro, who asks her to write to Lindoro, but she is surprised by Basilio.
Berta, Bartolo’s housekeeper, leaves only to be met by the ‘drunken’ Count, now in disguise as a solider. Berta calls Bartolo, but he is no more effective at removing the Count. In the confusion, the Count manages to tell Rosina that he is Lindoro, and passes her a letter. Seen by the Bartolo, he demands to know what is on the paper; Rosina responds by giving him her laundry list. An argument breaks out between Bartolo and the Count, who are then joined by Basilio, Figaro, and Berta. The noise attracts the Officer of the Watch, his refusal to arrest the drunken solider (the Count quietly reveals his true identity, making arrest impossible) causes mayhem.
Act 2 opens with Almaviva appearing again at Bartolo’s house in disguise, this time as a singing teacher replacing the supposedly ill Basilio, who usually teaches Rosina singing. The disguised Count gains Bartolo’s immediate trust by giving him Rosina letters and revealing that he believes ‘Lindoro’ to be one of the Count’s servants. Figaro arrives to shave Bartolo, who does not trust the replacement music teacher, and is shaved in the room while Rosina is given her lesson.
The supposedly ill Basilio appears; he is bribed to pretend to be ill, and disappear. In the end, though, Bartolo discovers the trick, and resolves this situation by deciding to have a marriage contract drawn up between himself and Rosina. He also convinces Rosina that ‘Lindoro’ is not a student, but someone working at the wicked Almaviva’s behest.
The Count and Figaro arrive to rescue Rosina from the unwanted marriage via a ladder at the window. Believing Bartolo’s story of betrayal, Rosina rejects Almaviva; he, however, reveals his true identity, and they are reconciled. However, they are delaying the departure; Figaro tries to get them to depart but fails, and then they discover the ladder has been removed (by Bartolo)! Basilio enters with notary; the notary has arrived to marry Rosina and Bartolo. However, Almaviva bribes Basilio to witness his (Almaviva’s) marriage to Rosina, and by the time Bartolo arrives, it is too late! All agree that removing the ladder was a ‘Useless Precaution’.
Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri’s setting of Falstaff, is an operatic version of Shakespeare’s play, The Merry Wives of Windsor. The knock about comedy of Shakespeare’s original – it is his only small-town drama – which has caused Shakespeareans to look down on the play are the very things that make for an excellent opera buffa. Central to both works is the scene in which Falstaff, hiding from Mr Ford in laundry basket, is carried out under his nose.
Conductor – Steven Devine
Director – Michael Burden
Repetiteurs – Jonathon Swinard, Benjamin Holder
Leader – Caroline Balding
Cast
Sir John Falstaff – Giles Underwood
Master Ford – Kevin Kyle
Mistress Ford – Rachel Shannon
Master Slender (6, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17) – Thomas Kennedy
Master Slender (9, 10) – George Coltart
Mistress Slender – Merryn Gamba
Bardolf, Falstaff’s servant (6, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17) – Thomas Kennedy
Bardolf, Falstaff’s servant (9, 10) – George Coltart
Betty, Mistress Ford’s maid – Kate Semmens
Cover Cast
Sir John Falstaff – Dominic Bowe
Master Ford (6, 9, 10, 16) – Nick Pritchard
Master Ford (12, 13, 15, 17) – William Blake
Mistress Ford – Robyn Parton
Master Slender – Tom Bennett
Mistress Slender – Esther Brazil
Bardolf, Falstaff’s servant – Tom Bennett
Betty, Mistress Ford’s maid – Julia Sitkovetsky
Act I
‘Sir’ John Falstaff arrives uninvited at a party given at Mr and Mrs Slender’s home in Windsor. He is broke, and sees the opportunity to replenish his resources and improve his lifestyle by wooing his hostess, Mrs Slender, and her friend, Mrs Ford, as a way to their husband’s fortunes.
Retiring to the Capricorn Inn, he writes identical love letters to both women. When they compare notes, they realise his game, and plot revenge. Mr Ford is now suspicious of his wife’s fidelity.
Mrs Ford then disguises herself as a German woman, and visits Falstaff. Following in her wake, her husband, planning to catch Falstaff and his wife in flagrante, calls disguised as a ‘Mr Brook’, and furthers Falstaff’s plan to call on his wife when ‘her husband’ is out.
When Falstaff calls on Mrs Ford, the first trick is played out. As Falstaff makes a play for Mrs Ford, they are interrupted by the maid, Betty, with the (false) news at Mr Ford is at the door. They tip Falstaff into a laundry basket to ‘hide’ him, intending to tip him into the Thames. To general consternation, Mr Ford then does arrive and orders a search of the house. However, the ‘laundry’ is removed under his nose, and the women are able to mock Ford for his apparently unfounded jealousy.
Act II
Although they came near to disaster, the ultimate success of their plan has spurred Mrs Ford and Mrs Slender to further exploits, and Betty visits Falstaff to set up another assignation. But ‘Mr Brook’ also visits and finds out the truth about the laundry basket…. this time, Falstaff’s overtures to Mrs Ford are again interrupted by the return of Mr Ford. To conceal Falstaff, he is disguised as the Ford’s cook’s old aunt, someone loathed by Mr Ford. When Ford arrives, he heads straight for the laundry basket; to find it empty! And takes his wrath out on the ‘aunt’ whom he beats out of the house.
Mrs Ford and Mrs Slender decide to call a halt, and to confess all to their husbands, and together, they decide on one last trick to settle the matter. ‘Mr Brook’ and the ‘German Lady’ again visit Falstaff; they finally make a ‘cuckold’ of him, by persuading him to dress as Herne the Hunter with horns, and to meet Mrs Ford at Herne’s oak in the Windsor Forrest. Mrs Ford and Mrs Slender meet Falstaff at the tree, flatter him, and then disappear. Falstaff, frightened, imagines he is bewitched, and is so panicked that he fails to spot Mrs Ford’s true identity when she then appears as the teasing ‘Queen of the Fairies’. In the end, Mrs Ford and Mrs Slender reveal their true identities, and make Falstaff promise that he will err no more.
6 July – Download form here
7 July – Download form here
9 July – New College Old Members’ night – call (01865) 279337, or email [email protected]
10 July – The Art Fund – Call (01865) 553 912
12 July – Download form here; or, OXPIP – Call (01865) 778 034
13 July – Friends of the Oxford Botanic Gardens – (07722) 605 787, or [email protected].
15 July – New College Old Members’ night – call (01865) 279337, or email [email protected]
16 and 17 July – Friends of Welsh National Opera – (01865) 865 806
Every Friday, New College Ante-chapel
1.15pm, £2/£1 concessions
Week 1, October 15: Nick Daly – baritone
Week 2, October 22: Lucy Cox – soprano
Week 3, October 29: Dominic Bowe – baritone
Week 4, November 5: David Lee – tenor
Week 5, November 12: Rachel McCarthy – mezzo
Week 6, November 19: Laura Nakhla – mezzo
Week 7, November 26: Sarah Noyce – soprano
Week 8, December 3: Ben Sheen – counter tenor
9 June 2010, New College Chapel, 8.00pm
Tickets £10/£5 on sale on the door
Conductor: Jonathan Swinard
Various dates, New College Ante-chapel
1.15pm, £2/£1 concessions
April
30th Henry Jones – counter tenor
May
7th Alex Pullinger – counter tenor
14th William Knight – tenor
21st Peter Harris – tenor
28th – Julia Sitkovetsky – soprano
June
4th Grace Newcombe – soprano
11th Nick Daly – bass
18th Omar El-Okdah – baritone.
New Chamber Opera