Summer 2020 OPERA DOUBLE BILL Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell La bella dormente nel bosco by Ottorino Respighi Dominic Wheeler conductor Olivia Fuchs director takis designer Jake Wiltshire lighting designer Victoria Newlyn movement director Guildhall School of Music & Drama Guildhall School Movement Founded in 1880 by the Opera Course and Dance City of London Corporation Victoria Newlyn Head of Opera Caitlin Fretwell Chairman of the Board of Governors Studies Walsh Vivienne Littlechild MBE JP Dominic Wheeler Combat Principal Resident Producer Jonathan Leverett Lynne Williams AM Martin Lloyd-Evans Language Coaches Vice-Principal & Director of Music Coaches Emma Abbate Jonathan Vaughan Lionel Friend Florence Daguerre FGS DipRCM (Perf) DipRCM (Teach) Alex Ingram de Hureaux Anthony Legge Aurelia Jonvaux (guest) Johanna Mayr Please visit our website at gsmd.ac.uk Michael Lloyd Emanuele Moris Elizabeth Marcus Lada Valešova Linnhe Robertson Peter Robinson Opera Department Stephen Rose Manager Elizabeth Rowe Steven Gietzen Susanna Stranders Jonathan Papp (guest) Guildhall School Vocal Studies Drama Department Martin Lloyd-Evans Victoria Newlyn Head of Vocal Studies Armin Zanner Deputy Head of Vocal Studies Samantha Malk Guildhall School is part of Culture Mile: culturemile.london Guildhall School is provided by the City of London Corporation as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nation Dido and Aeneas Music by Henry Purcell Libretto by Nahum Tate La bella dormente nel bosco Music by Ottorino Respighi Libretto by Gian Bistolfi Dominic Wheeler conductor Olivia Fuchs director takis designer Jake Wiltshire lighting designer Victoria Newlyn movement director Will Sharma & Josh Ridley assistant conductors and chorus masters Liam Sayer & Rin Akiyama assistant lighting designers First online performance 10 June 2020, 7pm #GuildhallOpera Welcome Welcome to Guildhall School’s Summer Opera performance. I am full of gratitude, admiration and praise for the entire team behind this performance, coming as it does, in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. The students and staff have responded magnificently to the many challenges presented by the lockdown and the Director, Olivia Fuchs, and our own Head of Opera, Dominic Wheeler, describe some of the issues they have faced later in this programme. The School has a strong reputation for imaginative innovation and this team’s resourcefulness and invention have never been more urgently required, nor more self-evident. My thanks to every single member of the cast, crew and orchestra for pulling together, in the most inspiring way, to push the boundaries of possibility and produce such an exciting online encounter. I hope you enjoy the experience. Jonathan Vaughan Vice-Principal & Director of Music Characters (in order of singing) Elissa Street La rana Dido and Aeneas Amanda Frisendahl The Frog Alexander Hutton Faryl Smith Dido Hector Bloggs Elsa Roux Chamoux Charles Secombe Il gatto Ema Nikolovska The Cat Elissa Street Aeneas La bella dormente Tom Mole nel bosco La principessa The Princess Belinda L’usignolo Katherine McIndoe Lara Marie Müller The Nightingale Laura Lolita Perešivana Ellie Neate Sorceress Il principe/Il buffone Collin Shay Il cuculo/Il fuso/La fata The Prince/The Jester Nils Wanderer verde/Mister Dollar Damian Arnold The Cuckoo/The Spindle/The Spirit Green Fairy/Mister Dollar Chorus Jack Lindberg Nils Wanderer Honor Wines Florence Cain Attendant/Second Woman L’ambasciatore/Il boscaiolo Charlotte Potter Olivia Boen The Ambassador/A Woodcutter Andrea Manuel Adam Maxey Jacob Cole First Witch Thomas Lidgley Kirsty McLean La fata azzurra Jonathan Xie The Blue Fairy Zoe Jackson Second Witch Lara Marie Müller Daniela Croston Alexandra Meier Elissa Street Il re Amanda Frisendahl Alexander Hutton Chorus The King Hector Bloggs Honor Wines Chuma Sijeqa Florence Cain Charles Secombe Charlotte Potter La regina/La duchessa/ Andrea Manuel La vecchietta Ella Bodeker The Queen/The Duchess/ Jacob Cole The Old Woman Thomas Lidgley Ema Nikolovska Jonathan Xie Elsa Roux Chamoux Zoe Jackson Synopsis(in order of singing) Dido and Aeneas Dido has heard that Aeneas is leaving. When he enters to explain she reacts furiously, Act 1 accusing him of betrayal. He immediately After her husband’s death Dido, Queen of retracts, offering to stay with her. Deeply Carthage, swore never to take another lover, hurt and appalled by his hypocrisy Dido yet she has developed feelings for Aeneas, sends Aeneas away. a Trojan hero, who has been ship-wrecked Left behind she plans her death and dies. on the shores of Carthage. She is in turmoil and her trusted friend Belinda urges her to accept his advances and to be happy. La bella dormente nel bosco When Aeneas arrives to woo her, Belinda rejoices in the fact that Dido is beginning to Act 1, Scene 1 reciprocate. Dido accepts his advances and they make love. It is 1620. On a star-lit night the Nightingale and the Cuckoo compete Act 2 in song, while a group of Frogs laugh at Jealous of Dido’s fame and happiness, a them. Having searched for seven days, the Sorceress summons her companions to help Royal Ambassador and a Herald arrive to destroy Dido and the whole of Carthage. She announce the birth of the Princess and to decides to send a Spirit disguised as Mercury invite all the Fairies to her christening. The to tell Aeneas that he must leave immediately Blue Fairy and her companions appear and to fulfil his destiny and found Rome. The agree to be the Princess’s godmothers. witches plan to create a storm to spoil the Act 1, Scene 2 lovers’ fun and send everyone back home. In the palace the Blue Fairy is welcomed Act 2, Scene 2 by the King and Queen. As she blesses the Dido and Aeneas have made love, yet Dido Princess in her cradle she is interrupted by senses the approaching storm. Belinda, ever the arrival of the angry Green Fairy who practical, organises the trip back to town lays a curse on the baby, announcing that at while Aeneas is told by the false Mercury to the age of twenty the Princess will prick her pack his bags and leave Carthage immediately. finger on a spindle and fall asleep forever. Reluctantly, Aeneas accepts the order, worried The King orders all the spinning-wheels in about how to break the news to Dido. the kingdom to be destroyed immediately while the Blue Fairy calls forth an ethereal Act 3 chorus of singing stars to keep a watchful The Sorceress and her witches are pleased to eye over the Princess. see that their plot is working. Once Aeneas Act 2, Scene 1 has sailed they will conjure up another storm. They delight in their plan to destroy Twenty years later an Old Woman, with Dido and everything she stands for. only her Cat and Spindle as companions, is spinning in a forgotten part of the kingdom as she sings of her loneliness. While the Act 3, Scene 1 Old Woman goes to get some more wool Three hundred years later a Woodcutter the Princess enters singing of the joys of is working in the woods near the Palace. spring. She greets the suspicious Cat, who Prince April arrives, together with his introduces her to the Spindle and when companions the Duchess and Mister Dollar the Old Woman returns she agrees to teach Cheques, having lost their way in the forest. the Princess how to spin. The Cat expresses The Woodcutter tells them the legend of her worries, but it is too late as the Princess the Sleeping Princess waiting for the kiss pricks her finger and falls slowly asleep. The of April to break the spell. The Prince is Old Woman calls for help, while the Spindle intrigued and tells his companions to go starts to whirl around the Green Fairy’s home as he feels he must solve this mystery victim in triumph. alone. The Duchess is consoled by Mister Dollar, who offers to buy the Sleeping Act 2, Scene 2 Beauty, whatever she may cost. The Prince In the Palace four famous Doctors examine makes his way to the castle. the Princess only to tell the King that her illness is unknown. Furious, the King Act 3, Scene 2 dismisses the incompetent physicians and A great Spider, the Green Fairy in disguise, together with the Queen they mourn their tries to stop the Prince from entering the loss. A funeral procession enters with the palace. The Prince fights and destroys her mourners declaring that nothing can rouse before seeing Sleeping Beauty lying on her the Princess. The Blue Fairy appears to cast bed. Entranced, the Prince kisses her and she a spell of sleep over everyone. She predicts wakes from her deep sleep. The Blue Fairy that the Princess will one day be woken by a appears to wake the rest of the court and kiss of love. everyone rejoices. Director’s note As I write this note we are half-way added to my idea of a collage of home-made through what would have been our usual films, and, in collaboration, we have evolved rehearsal period for this double-bill, but a way of combining these two strands of nothing has been ‘usual’ about the process digital performance. The realisation of this we have all been involved in over the last event is at this moment of writing still not few weeks. The first thing we all had to quite clear, but I am trusting in the process do was let go of what could have been and and my wonderful collaborators – takis, the embrace the new. A sense of uncertainty, set and costume designer, Jake Wiltshire, surprise and dealing with the unknown is our lighting designer, and the most recent part of every creative endeavour.