n e Issue 34, Winter 2008 NCO w s www.newchamberopera.com

FORTHCOMING DATES & TICKET INFORMATION

Calendar Listing Those events marked with an asterisk * are University events

January 18 Friday Lunchtime Vocal Recital - Taya Smith, soprano* TICKET DETAILS 25 Friday Lunchtime Vocal Recital - David Mahoney, tenor* Lunchtime Vocal Recitals 1.15pm New College Ante-chapel £2/£1 concessions on the door The Fall of the House of Usher Conductor: Christopher Borrett; Director: Michael Burden Philip Glass 30, 31 January, 1 February 2008 The Fall of the February 1 Friday Lunchtime Vocal Recital - Nancy Cole, contralto* House of Usher 8 Friday Lunchtime Vocal Recital - George Coltart, baritone* 15 Friday Lunchtime Vocal Recital - Robyn Parton & Bethan Moore* 22 Friday Lunchtime Vocal Recital - Charlotte Denham, soprano* 29 Friday Lunchtime Vocal Recital - Rory McCleery, counter-tenor* Tickets: £10 (£5 concessions) March from Tickets (01865) 305 305 3 Pergolesi: Stabat Mater, 8.30pm, New College Chapel or on the door

8 Friday Lunchtime Vocal Recital - Christopher Borrett, bass* Pergolesi: Stabat Mater Forthcoming Events 8.30pm New College Chapel Summer Opera : £4/£2 concessions on the door 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 July 2008

New - N ew Chamber Opera Ensembl e The Band of Instruments - Phoenix - Cutting Edge Summer Opera Pa t ro n H a r vey McGregor . Singing Pa t ro n James Bowman D i rector of Pro d u c t i o n s M i chael Burden . Musical Dire c t o r G a ry Cooper For tickets for Summer Opera S t even Devine . D i r e c t o r, The Band of Instruments Roger Hamilton The Preview 2 July D i re c t o r, Opera Studio . Christopher Borre t t and for R epetiteurs Alice Newton, Timothy Motz (on leave 2007-8), Mat t h ew Haw ke n Company Secre t a r y C l a re Atkinson . C o m p t ro l l e r G raham Midgl ey . Wa r d ro b e Diana Lintott 8 July 2008 P r oduction administrator Christine Murray .Recitals Administrator Dominic Burnham please ring: New Chamber Opera . 4 Mansfield Road . Oxford OX1 3TA 01865 281 966 Tel: 01865 281 966 . Fax: 01865 279 590 . Email: info @ n ewch a m b e ro p e ra.com or Web pages: http://www. n ewch a m b e ro p e ra . c o m i n fo @ n ewch a m b e ro p e ra.com C o m p a ny No 3402769 . Charity No 1095069 page 4 n The New Chamber Opera Newsletter e Issue 34, Winter 2008 NCO w www.newchamberopera.com New Chamber Opera s

New Chamber Opera Studio presents Summer Opera Philip Glass: The Fall of the House of Usher

homas Arne’s opera Artaxerxes was the surprise hit of 1762. T‘Surprise’, because the English did not like recitative, and the last thing that should have appealed to them was an opera in English based on an Italian libretto by Metastasio. The London public’s initial reception was cool; but after the first season, it was revived, and went on being performed well into the 19th century. It held its popularity partly because the role of Mandane became - in the hands of two or three great sopranos, such as Elizabeth Billington and Gertrud Mara - a testing ground for new sopranos some of whom made their debut in the role. The piece contains Italian-style arias with the greatest number of ‘divisions and difficulties which had ever been heard at the opera’. Three of these Roderick: Tom Raskin; William: Steffan Jones; Madeline: Robyn Parton; spectacular display pieces were Servant: Maxim Jones; Physician: Stefan Hargreaves included in the Proms in 2004. 30, 31 January, 1 February 2008 8.30pm New College Ante-chapel

he story of Philip Glass’s opera extent to which the story is in their own The Fall of the House of Usher is imaginations is left vague. The central Tbased on the Poe ghost story of the c h a r a c t e r, Roderick has hyperesthesia same name by Arthur Yorinks. It was (extreme hypersensitivity to light, commissioned by the American sounds, smells, and tastes); the plot turns Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA and on Roderick’s death from shock at the the Kentucky Opera and premiered in reappearance of his ‘dead’ (and perhaps 1988. As with much Gothic fiction, the murdered) sister. As one commentator extent to which the audience should has remarked: ‘Poe hints at much, but believe what they’re watching and the states hardly anything at all’. n e Issue 34, Winter 2008 NCO w s www.newchamberopera.com

Company Profile Repetiteur Award

Jonathon Swinard to be new Tom repetiteur

Raskin ew Chamber Opera elected Jonathon Swinard to be one of the Nrepetiteur scholars; he will start in October 2008; he will join Matthew Hawken, and Tim Motz, whom we hope to welcome back from Israel next October. Jonathon began his musical education as a pianist with the Stanborough Chorus, before being awarded a music scholarship ew Chamber Opera audiences taken him to St Mark's Basilica, Venice, to Exeter Cathedral School where he will know Tom from his roles of to Siberia for Messiah in the studied for two years. Since then, he has Don Polidoro in Mozart’s L a Novisibirsk Festival, and Malta. In the N performed as a pianist, singer and finta semplice and the Count in Le comte UK he has sung regularly for the accompanist and from 2003-2006, was the Ory; he will sing Roderick Usher in the London Handel Festival at St George’s, Musical Director of the Kingsbridge Youth coming staging of The Fall of the House Hanover Square, and in concerts around Theatre; he has also worked with the of Usher. Tom was born in Bath and the country, most recently Let God Kingsbridge Amateur Theatrical Society studied at the RNCM with Anthony Arise with the Choir of King’s College, and spent a season accompanying ‘Take Roden, and New College, Oxford. He Cambridge and the AAM in King’s Note’. Additionally, he is noted for a studies with Justin Lavender. To m ’s Chapel. In 2008, he will perform repertoire of comic songs and has plagued recent roles include Patacha L’ E t o i l e Mondonville and Handel at the London many a concert programme with the works (Chabrier), Opera de Nimes To m Handel Festival, Purcell and Blow with of Tom Lehrer. He has also performed in Rakewell Rake’s Progress (Stravinsky), the Parley of Instruments in Cambridge, numerous college productions, including Iford Festival, L’Athelète Castor et and Handel’s L’Allegro for the Milton My Fair Lady (2006) in which he played P o l l u x (Rameau) ORR & John Eliot Celebrations in December 2008. Tom Prof. Henry Higgins. He is an organist at Gardiner, Salle Pleye, Ralph Rackstraw was awarded the Anne Ziegler Prize in the Kingsbridge Methodist Church and HMS Pinafore Opera della Luna, Fenton 2000, the Freckleton Prize for singing in provides monthly pianoforte music for Falstaff ( Verdi), Belle-Ile Festival, 2001, and is a Britten-Pears Yo u n g Saturday dinner at the Buckland-To u t - France, Appolonia Artist, having studied there with Saints Hotel – combining his two great (Haydn) for New Chamber Opera. In Andreas Scholl in 2005 and Richard loves: music and food. 2008 he will sing Oebalus Apollo and Egarr in 2004, He has been the very H y a c i n t h (Mozart) for Bampton grateful recipient of a major Classical Opera and Don Ramiro La Scholarship from the Peter Moores Cenerentola (Rossini) for the Isle of Man Foundation since 2000, which has Festival. International engagements have funded study in Italy and in London.

Mailing Lists. Each hard copy and electronic mailing returns out of date addresses; it would be helpful if Mailing members of the electronic mailing could keep their address up to date. Would members of the hard copy mailing list List who would like to join the electronic mailing list - used for reminders of forthcoming events - please let us know?

page 2 n Issue 34, Winter 2008 e NCO w www.newchamberopera.com s University Events

OPERA STUDIO

Studio Concert 2008 Report Thomas Arne: Judgment of Paris Pergolesi: with a libretto by William Congreve Stabat Mater Conductor: Christopher Borrett; Director: Michael Burden Musical director: Paris: Nick Scott; Mercury: Alastair Little;Pallas: Charlotte Denham; Juno: Esther Brazil; Venus: Rebecca Lea Dominic Burnham

Emily Bradley: soprano Henry Jones: counter-tenor

New College Chapel 8.30pm 3 March 2008

Pergolesi (1710-1736) is best known today as a writer of opera, and as the composer of this setting, which was written about 1735. It was first printed 16, 16, 17 November 2007 in London in 1749 and became the 8.30pm most frequently published single work New College Ante-chapel of the 18th century. It was composed at the end of Pergolesi’s life, a period which he spent in Pozzuoli’s n 1700, the playwright Wi l l i a m a new lease of life. Given that the Franciscan monastery, and was Congreve, wrote the masque T h e central idea of the masque was a beauty intended as a replacement for the then IJudgement of Paris for a competition contest, the current formula for reality dated version of Allesandro Scarlatti ‘for increase of good musick’. In fact, it TV competitions such as the ‘X Factor’ used at Maria dei Sette Dolori, Naples. seems that this was a smokescreen, and and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (the cast that members of Kit-Kat Club were was asked to watch both during the running a competition based around the rehearsals) it seemed appropriate to cast beauty and integrity of Mrs Bracegirdle, the three goddesses as the competitors, the singer who sang the role of Venus in with Mercury as the Bruce Forsythe the performances. The masque is figure and Paris as the hapless stooge. essentially a beauty competition to be The chorus was divided in to the panel judged by the god Paris; the prize will be of judges (one set out to imitate Simon a golden apple. Mercury presents him Cowell) and some off-stage (but in- with Juno, Pallas, and Venus, who audience) supporters. It has to be said compete with each other; Paris, overcome that the cast quickly warmed to their by Venus’ beauty presents her with the roles, even if it was not quite what they prize. Congreve’s text was re-discovered might have been expected to be doing in by Thomas Arne in the 1740s, and given an 18th-century opera.

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