n e Issue 45, Summer 2013 NCO w s www.newchamberopera.co.uk

FORTHCOMING DATES & TICKET INFORMATION

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

Recitals TICKET DETAILS April 26 - Lucy Cox, soprano May Lunchtime Vocal 3 - James Carter, countertenor Recitals 10 - Alex Brett, bass 1.15pm 19 - Domnhall Talbot, tenor 24 - Amrit Gosal, soprano New College Antechapel 31- Daniel Tate, bass £2/£1 concessions on the door

Alessandro Scarlatti: La Giuditta Scarlatti Musical Director: Edmund Whitehead La Giuditta

5 June 2013 5 June 2013 8.00pm New College Chapel, 8.00pm New College Chapel

Tickets June £10 / £5 concessions 7 - Wilfrid Jones, countertenor on the door 14 - Jake Barlow, countertenor

Summer Opera: Handel Summer Opera 3 (Preview), 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 July 2013 Wednesday 3 (Preview) The Warden’s Garden, New College Sunday 7 & Tuesday 9 New Please download forms from New Chamber Opera - N ew Chamber Opera Ensembl e h t tp : / / w w w. n e w c h a m b e ro p e r a . c o. u k The Band of Instruments - Phoenix - Cutting Edge Saturday 6 & Friday 12 Singing Pa t r o n James Bowman New College Development Office D i rector of Pro d u c t i o n s M i chael Burden (01865) 279 337 D i re c t o r, the Summer Opera S t even Devine Tuesday 9 D i re c t o r, The Band of Instruments Roger Hamilton . D i re c t o r, Opera Studio H a rry Seve r OXPIP (01865) 778 034 R epetiteurs H a rry Seve r, Edmund Whitehead . Company Secre t a r y C l a re Atkinson Wednesday 10 C o m p t ro l l e r G raham Midgl ey . Wa r d ro b e Diana Lintott, Fiona Hodge s Friends of the Botanic Garden Recitals Administrator Wilfrid Jones (07722) 605 787 Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 New Chamber Opera . 4 Mansfield Road . Oxford OX1 3TA Friends of WNO (01865) 408 045 Tel: 01865 281 966 . Fax: 01865 279 590 . Email: info @ n ewch a m b e ro p e ra . c o.uk Web pages: http://www. n ewch a m b e ro p e ra . c o. u k C o m p a ny No 3502769 . Charity No 1095069 page 4 n The New Chamber Opera Newsletter e Issue 45, Summer 2013 NCO w www.newchamberopera.com New Chamber Opera s

Asteria: Kate Semmens; Irene: Joanne Edworthy; Andronico: Joseph Bolger; Tamerlano: Andrew Radley; Bajazet: Daniel Auchincloss; Leone: Giles Davies

3 (Preview), 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 July 2013 The Warden’s Garden, New College

a n d e l ’s Ta m e r l a n o was written drew on the libretto of Bajazet, a text after for London’s Royal Academy of Nicolas Pradon’s Tamerlan, ou La Mort HMusic, and premiered there on 31 de Bajazet. October 1724. This premiere was close to The opera’s story revolves round the the annual performance at Drury Lane of Ottoman Emperor, Bazajet, one of the first Nicholas Rowe’s Tamberlane, a tradition major tenor roles in opera. He has just that lasted into the 19th century. The been defeated by Tamerlano. The central opera was successful; there were twelve tension is provided by Tamerlano’s love performances that season, and more, for Bazajet’s daughter, Asteria. Asteria when it was re-staged for the 1731-32 appears to agree to Tamerlano’s desires, season. It come from one of the most but is, in truth, plotting to murder him. productive periods in Handel’s opera Tamerlano himself is engaged to Irene, career; not only was it composed in the who now finds herself betrothed to astonishingly short time of 20 days, but it Andronico. After a wild tale of revenge, was also the year in which he wrote both attempted revenge, and betrayal, Bajazet Giulio Cesare, and Rodelinda. takes poison, and Asteria asks Tamerlano The libretto, which exploits for death. Tamerlano, having been the then-contemporary fashion for affected by the human emotions revealed t u rq u e r i e , was by Nicola Francesco by these events, pardons Asteria, Haym, who adapted the story from Andronico, and Bajazet. The penultimate Agostin Piovene’s Ta m e r l a n o; he also number of the opera is a love duet between Irene and Tamerlano.

Mailing Lists. Each hard copy and electronic mailing returns out of date addresses; it would be Mailing List helpful if members of both mailing lists could keep their address up to date. Anyone who would like to join the electronic mailing list - used for reminders of forthcoming events - please let us know? n e Issue 45, Summer 2013 NCO w s www.newchamberopera.co.uk

Gerard Mortier ... Humanitas Professor of Opera

Oxford University’s Humanitas Visiting Chair of Opera Events are free and open to the public To register, go to: http://www.humanities.ox.ac.uk/humanitas/

Thursday, 6th June 2013, 5.00pm Merton College T. S. Eliot Lecture Theatre, Merton College

Inaugural Address:

‘The Salzburg Festival: circa 100 years after Hofmannsthal’s idea about the festival’

to be followed by an opening reception, 6.00pm

***** th Saturday, 8 June 2013 erard Mortier was born on 25 November 1943 in Merton College Ghent (Belgium). He attended a Jesuit school, and T. S. Eliot Lecture Theatre, Merton College Gafter his secondary education, continued to study law and communication. He chose a career in the arts and became Director of the Flanders Festival. Gerard Mortier spent most 3.00pm Conversation 1 Mozart, our contemporary of the seventies in Germany. In chronological order, he was Artistic Director at the opera in Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Frankfurt. After that, he worked for a short time as a technical Gerard Mortier in discussion with Adeline Mueller, Junior adviser in setting up the programme of the Paris Opera. In Research Fellow and Mozart scholar, New College 1981, Gerard Mortier was appointed General Manager at the Monnaie Opera House in Brussels. He reformed the opera house with innovative adaptations of the repertoire, and the 4.30pm Tea, T. S. Eliot Lecture Theatre, Merton introduction of new works, as well as recruiting new College performers. After his second term, in 1992, Mortier took over the running of the Salzburger Festspiele. He received heavy criticism as well as praise for his radical and sometimes 5.00pm Conversation 2 Music theatre between opera provocative transformation of the once so traditional opera and drama - Contemporary opera, modern staging, bad festival. In 2001, Mortier was invited to develop and lead the or good public. Ruhrtriennale 2002-2004, which brought to North Rhine Westphalia an effervescent mixture of dance, opera, symphonies and theatre. At the end of 2001, he became the Gerard Mortier in conversation with Ashutosh Khandekar, editor General Director of the Paris Opera. He is the General of Opera Now magazine Director of the Teatro Real de Madrid since 2010.

5.30pm Round table Chaired by Ashutosh Khandekar, erard Mortier holds two honorary Doctorates from with Gerard Mortier the universities of Antwerp and Salzburg and was Ginvited as “fellow” of the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin in 2001-2002. He teaches political and social history to be followed by a closing reception, 6.30pm of theatre in Ghent (Belgium) and Leiden (Netherlands).

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Upcoming ...

Edmund Whitehead introduces performing, is scored for 3 voices only, La Giuditta accompanied by a string quartet with basso continuo. This version is often called the “Cambridge Giuditta”, as its manuscript is et in the 7th Century BC, The Book of kept in the Rowe Music Library at King's Judith is perhaps one of the most tragic College, Cambridge. This version is very books in the Old Testament, and features S rarely performed, and New Chamber only in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles. Opera's performance will be a landmark in Its dramatic text did not inspire just Scarlatti, the piece's history, as we will be working but countless other Italian composers from the from a brand new performing edition, same period such as Lotti, Marcello, Almeida, compiled by conductor Ed Whitehead. The and Metastasio. Judith (Giuditta) is the La small instrumental forces Scarlatti uses in protagonist, a beautiful and heroic Hebrew this version do not stand in the way of his w i d o w. Her city, Bethulia, is invaded by Giuditta innovative approach to musical texture, and Holofernes (tenor), a general of King throughout the oratorio there is a fluctuation Nebuchadnezzar II. Angry at what has (1697) between full-bodied tutti sections, with all 5 happened, Judith travels, with her maid Alessandro instruments playing, and lighter writing for Nutrice (mezzo-soprano), to the camp of Scarlatti only the two violins and viola, such as in Holofernes. She flirts with him, and gains his Giuditta's aria Chi m’addita, per pieta. This favour. One night, when he is asleep in his tent aria is a gem, and its lack of basso continuo after an evening of heavy drinking, Judith emphasises Giuditta's mock fear, as she sneaks in and decapitates him. She returns to Edited pretends to be just a vulnerable widow upon her countrymen with Holofernes' head, and his by meeting Holofernes. The final few numbers, army disperse, leaving Israel in relative peace. Edmund depicting Giuditta's murder of Holofernes, This plot would have been incredibly Whitehead and triumph of Israel, make the entire piece, empowering to women in 17th Century Italy, and a particular highlight is Nutrice's and Scarlatti's innovative setting plays heavily l u l l a b y, Dormi, o fulmine di guerra, in o ff Judith's seductive attitude towards which she sends Holofernes to sleep before Holofernes, painting her as a sassy, and often his death. The ironic sweetness of this very witty, heroine. melody reminds us of Scarlatti's insightful Scarlatti composed two settings of La 5th June 2013 consideration of psychology. Giuditta: the first, written in 1693, is scored This undiscovered gem of an for 5 voices and large orchestra, to a libretto by 8.00 pm oratorio, interpreted by exciting and Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, and is often referred talented young musicians, makes for a to as the “Rome Giuditta”. The second New College Chapel performance not to be missed. version, written in 1697, which we shall be

of the Florentine Camerata. The subject of his father’s opera is the motions of celestial bodies, a theme which completes the cyclic nature of the opera already established by the backwards-moving plot. The opera was staged on a ew Chamber Opera Studio’s circular stage, which represented the production for February, Philip world, flat, as seen by the church, and the Glass’s Galileo Galilei, took place N action, taking its cue from the rather in the Ante-chapel of New College, fitting ritualistic score, was presented in a stylised surroundings for an opera dealing with manner. As might be expected, one of the Papal antagonism to science. The opera’s few essential props was the telescope, libretto is based on excerpts of letters of wielded with panache by Aileen Thomson. Galileo and his family, including his Photo credit: Steve Pyke daughter, Maria Celesta, and is constructed as a one act set of scenes. Dramatically, the Milo Commerford, Edward Edgcumbe, Ashley opera works backwards. It opens with Francis-Roy, Johanna Harrison, Andrew Hayman, Michael Hickman, Galileo as an old, blind, man, under house Gessica Howarth, David Le Provost, Esther arrest, and works in reverse order to the Mallett, Tara Mansfield, William Pate, Samuel young Galileo watching an opera composed Poppleton, Nick Pritchard,Rose Rands, Daniel by his father, Vincenzo, who was a member Tate, Aileen Thomson

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