THEADVENTURESADVENTURES COUNTCOUNT ORYORY Music by Gioachino Rossini CAST: PRODUCTION: Count Ory: Nicholas Sharratt Musical Director: Nicholas Jenkins Raimbaud, a friend of Ory: Benedict Nelson Director: Harry Fehr Ory’s Tutor: Steven Page Designer: Max Dorey Isolier, Ory’s brother: Kate Howden Lighting Designer: Christopher Nairne Two cavaliers, friends of Ory: Benjamin Ellis* Assistant Director: Jack Furness and Guy Elliott* Assistant Musical Director: Jeremy Cooke Countess Adele: Anna Devin Production Manager: Rene (Freddy) Marchal Ragonde , a friend of the Countess: Louise Winter Costume Supervisor: Felicity Langthorne A lady, another friend of the Countess: Costume Assistant: Jo Ray Claire Barton* Hair and Make-Up: Maisie Palmer Alice, a villager: Zoe Freedman* Production Assistant: Sophie Horan *Vocal student at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Senior Stage Manager: Sasja Ekenberg Deputy Stage Manager: Marian Sharkey Blackheath Halls Opera Chorus Assistant Stage Managers: Mimi Palmer-Johnston Blackheath Halls Orchestra and Rosanna Grimes Pupils from Greenvale School Community Stage Manager: Sarah Southerton Pupils from Charlton Park Academy Technical Assistant Stage Manager: Pupils from Year 5 at St Margaret’s Primary School Oliver Ballantyne Pupils from Year 4 at Lee Manor Primary School Project Manager: Rose Ballantyne Assistant Project Manager: Alice Murray BLACKHEATH HALLS TEAM: General Manager: Keith Murray Publicity and Programme Designer: Community Engagement Manager: Rose Ballantyne Colin Dunlop Operations Manager: Hannah Benton TRINITY LABAN PROJECT TEAM: Technical Manager: Malcolm Richards Programme Manager: Anna Wyatt and Marketing and Box Office Co-ordinator:Kyle Jarvis Helen Hendry Development Officer:Helma Zebregs Project Leader: Joe Townsend Bookkeeper: Debra Skeet Administrator: Caroline Foulkes Running time: 2hrs and 30mins We have been staging community operas at Blackheath WELCOME Halls since July 2007. This will be our eighth summer opera. Welcome to this performance of Rossini’s colourful comic opera The We have also staged 2 children’s operas in February 2013 Adventures of Count Ory – a tale of intrigue, disguise and seduction, and April 2014. performed in a brand new English translation by David Parry. This is the eighth fully staged community opera to be presented by Blackheath Halls, led by a professional production team and with a stunning professional cast. As in previous years, the opera brings together so many different sections of the local community – an adult chorus, local school children, including students from two local special schools, and the Blackheath Halls Orchestra, working alongside students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and six highly acclaimed professional opera singers. We are delighted to welcome back to Blackheath Halls Nicholas Sharratt, who plays the title role of Count Ory, and who was last seen here as Lensky in the 2011 Blackheath Opera, Eugene Onegin. Two other singers making a welcome return to the Halls are Kate Howden as Isolier and Louise Winter as Ragonde, both of whom will be remembered for their great comic performances in the 2012 opera Cendrillon. The role of Countess Adele is performed by Matthew Rose as Banquo in Macbeth, Jack Schwab as Sammy in The Little Anna Devin, with Benedict Nelson as Raimbaud and Steven Page as Ory’s tutor. July 2013. Sweep with the children’s chorus, ‘I am forever encouraging people April 2014 Blackheath Halls is an integral part of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and to join in the following year and ‘I have been inspired so much by benefits greatly from its close association with them. The involvement of Trinity Laban experience what we have all working with such talented people. students is a very important part of the annual community opera, regularly winning excellent experienced.’ I am so grateful for this wonderful reviews. This year a number of individual roles within the opera are performed by vocal studies Macbeth Chorus member opportunity, and do hope that I will students, including Zoe Freedman, Claire Barton, Guy Elliott and Benjamin Ellis. We also have be part of some more in the future.’ vocal students from Trinity Laban performing as our mini chorus. Performer in The Little Sweep The Adventures of Count Ory is directed by Harry Fehr, with musical direction by Nicholas Jenkins, both of whom have previously worked together on the Blackheath Halls highly successful productions of Elixir of Love, Eugene Onegin, and Cendrillon. Stage and Costume Designs are by Max Dorey, with Lighting Design by Christopher Nairne. Previous Blackheath Operas have received great critical acclaim. Anna Picard, in The Independent on Sunday described the Halls’ opera project as ‘one of the calendar’s most heartening events’ and Graham Rogers in The Stage said ‘there can few more worthy uses of Arts Council England grants’. The success of this project is very much due to the dedication and support of so many people who freely give of their time and energy in so many different ways. The community opera epitomises exactly what the Halls were originally built for, as it is at the heart of the local community. Charne Rochford as Macduff with Children’s Chorus sing the finale inThe members of the community chorus in Little Sweep, April 2014 We are most grateful for the generous financial support that we have received for the Macbeth, July 2013. ‘In her own words she is now more community opera from Arts Council England, the London Borough of Lewisham, the Samuel ‘The whole atmosphere was very confident in interacting with people Gardner Memorial Trust and the Hearn Foundation, as well as the many individual members inclusive; it brought home to me and expressing herself. She also of the local community, who have supported this project. what “community” really meant.’ said the project helped her to truly I hope that you will enjoy watching our extremely talented company of performers in Community Chorus member appreciate teamwork.’ The Adventures of Count Ory, and that you may be inspired to join us in next year’s Parent of participant in The Little Sweep community opera. Thank you for your support, and I look forward to welcoming you to the Halls again in the Blackheath Halls Opera blog http://blackheathhallsopera.wordpress.com/ near future. tells the story about our opera with contributions by the creative team and the performers, lots of photographs and reviews. Blackheath Halls Opera can be followed on Twitter @Blackheathopera. Keith Murray General Manager THE ADVENTURES OF COUNT ORY 3 Schools’ involvement in Blackheath Halls Opera You will have the delight of seeing lots of local children and young people performing in The Adventures of Count Ory tonight. These children and young people have been working hard on their performance since the beginning of June. Our performers this year are Year 5 from St Margaret’s Lee Primary School (15 and 18 July), Year 4 from Lee Manor Primary School (16 and 20 July) and students from Greenvale School (15 and 18 July) and Charlton Park Academy (16 and 20 July). We began our work with the schools by gathering them all together for an introductory session. The day started by introducing the team and explaining everyone’s responsibilities. Harry Fehr, our Director, then told the story of the opera. The children were asked to form ‘tableaux’ of some of the crucial scenes and displayed some excellent acting ability. Harry then described his staging concepts along with Max Dorey, our Designer this year. The children and young people were particularly interested in what they were going to have to wear for their performances. The introductory session ended with Nick Jenkins, our Musical Director, warming up their voices and singing a few snippets of the opera. Throughout June Harry, Nick and I, along with Jeremy Cooke on piano and Jack Furness supporting Harry visited each school 3 times and rehearsed with each class individually. We were so impressed with how much the children retained from session to session and how involved they were in the rehearsals. Their teachers also gave us tremendous support with this and backed up lots of our work in the time between sessions. Then the fun really started!! The schools came to Blackheath Halls for a full day on Tuesday 8 July to practice everything that they had learnt on the real stage with the real principal singers. The children also watched the other school performing their exact moves which is an invaluable part of the learning process. New Sussex Opera’s 2014 production is nso At the final two rehearsals the children came together with the adult chorus and put on Weber’s Oberon. The magnificent overture their costumes for the first time. Tonight they are getting a chance to perform everything is frequently played, but the neglected they have learnt demonstrating how hard they’ve worked. I’m sure they will make you feel opera itself contains some of his most really proud. We are so lucky to have such wonderful teachers, schools and pupils in our delightful music. area and it is a great privilege for Blackheath Halls and our opera team to work with them. The story is a sequel to Shakespeare’s Our particular thanks go to the class teachers from the primary schools, Claire Soares and OBERON A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Oberon, Emily Hall, and the two coordinating teachers from Greenvale and Charlton Park Academy, Romantic opera in 3 acts King of the Fairies, guides Sir Huon of Rachel Dunlop and Elizabeth Whittick. However, we know that there are so many other people supporting us with the schools’ involvement in the opera: all the other staff at the in the original English Bordeaux on his epic quest to seek the participating schools and of course all the hard working parents and carers who ferry hand in marriage of the beautiful Reiza, their charges back and forth on so many occasions and work so hard behind the scenes.