Press Release 26 November 2018 OPERA NORTH BRINGS A SEASONAL SOUNDTRACK TO LEEDS AND BEYOND Having just celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding as the opera company for the North of England, Opera North is gearing up for its December dash around Yorkshire and beyond, distributing festive cheer with a packed month of orchestral and choral spectaculars, live soundtracks, pop-up performances and fun for all the family. On Giving Tuesday (27 November), the Company will launch All Together Now, this year’s Christmas appeal as part of its year-round Community Partnerships scheme, which links up with over 100 groups and organisations. Contributions to the appeal will enable vulnerable or isolated individuals to enjoy music and opera over the festive period. The true story of the 1914 Christmas truce in the trenches of the Western Front is told in the UK premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night, opening at Leeds Town Hall on 30 November. On Christmas Eve, a German opera singer-turned-soldier is returning to the front when he hears Scottish troops singing and adds his voice to theirs. An international cast joins the Orchestra of Opera North and a 100-strong male chorus including singers from the Chorus and Youth Chorus of Opera North, students from the Royal Northern College of Music and members of the community for a spectacular concert staging of this cinematic and intensely moving opera. A performance by the Silent Night Creatives, a community ensemble featuring 22 men aged between 16 and 80, will precede the first performance at 6.15pm, and the matinee on Sunday 2 December, from 3.15pm. Opera North will be marking the 16th year of its partnership with Kirklees Council with something for everyone at the Kirklees Concert Season this Christmas. Traditionally the centrepiece of the Company’s celebrations, this year’s Opera North Christmas Concert at Dewsbury Town Hall (20 December) features Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, followed by a selection of festive classics, seasonal treats and audience carols. Garry Walker conducts the Orchestra of Opera North and the massed voices of the company’s Chorus, Youth Chorus and Young Voices. On 13 December, a concert screening of The Gruffalo’s Child and The Highway Rat brings the enchanting animations of two of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s best-loved creations to Huddersfield Town Hall, screened with live accompaniment from the Orchestra of Opera North. A wonderful panto alternative that’s perfect for all ages, it’s also a great introduction to the thrill of live music for younger audiences. All the stops will be pulled out at the Kirklees Lunchtime Concert Season, too, beginning with Nigel Ogden’s Christmas organ concert at Huddersfield Town Hall on 3 December. The Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band and conductor Phillip McCann drop in for the annual Christmas Brass Band Spectacular on 10 December, and this joyful sleigh- ride through festive classics and carols moves on to Dewsbury Town Hall on 12 December. Back in Huddersfield on 20 December, Borough Organist Gordon Stewart is joined by the Huddersfield Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs in Music for Christmas, a programme of festive music from around the world, with the hall decorated for the season and organ works from Bach and others, carols for all to sing, and the uplifting voices of the young choirs. On 16 December the Orchestra of Opera North is back at Leeds Town Hall to perform the live soundtrack to a screening of Raymond Briggs’ much-loved animation The Snowman, which is preceded by a trip to a magical land of toys and sweets with excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker with live narration. On 17 December the Opera North Festive Fanfare returns to Trinity Leeds, with young singers from the Company’s In Harmony schools programme joined by the Chorus of Opera North and a brass ensemble from the Orchestra of Opera North to serenade shoppers. The carols and rousing festive brass numbers begin under the dome at 2.40pm, and audience participation is encouraged. A musical telling of Gogol’s The Night Before Christmas by the CHROMA Ensemble and Matthew Sharp opens the Howard Assembly Room’s trio of Christmas events on 15 December. There’s fun for under-5s with Five Little Reindeer on 17 December, and The Tallis Scholars bring a festive programme of Byrd, Palestrina and more on 19 December. All three events are currently sold out, but there’s more early vocal music in the New Year for the Howard Assembly Room’s 10th anniversary season – its last before closing for Opera North’s Music Works redevelopment – with Tenebrae and The Cardinall’s Musick. The festivities continue when the Viennese Whirl sets off to Huddersfield Town Hall (29 December), Leeds Town Hall (30 December) and Hull City Hall (31 December), with a glittering collection of music as heard at the Musikverein in Vienna in celebration of the New Year. Classic waltzes, polkas, marches and overtures by the Strauss family, Offenbach and more are performed by the Orchestra of Opera North. Soprano Stephanie Corley, most recently seen in Opera North’s international tour of Kiss Me, Kate this spring and summer, joins the ensemble to sing excerpts from Die Fledermaus, and Vilja’s Song from The Merry Widow – another title role that she has sung for the Company. Richard Mantle, General Director, Opera North commented: “For our 40th Christmas, Opera North’s programme of events converges with our commemorations of the Armistice centenary on the occasion of our UK premiere of Silent Night. As we look forward to a month of festivities, this moving concert staging will be an opportunity to reflect on sacrifices made by our forebears in the Great War, in the historic surroundings of Leeds Town Hall. “Our Christmas appeal focuses on those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to take part in the celebrations that so many of us take for granted; and our Christmas programme as a whole sees the entire range of Opera North’s ensembles – from the very youngest choristers to veteran orchestral musicians – coming together with other local groups in a joyful and wide-ranging celebration of the season.” LISTINGS: OPERA NORTH’S CHRISTMAS EVENTS Friday 30 November, 7.00pm (+ FREE Silent Night Creatives pre-performance 6.15pm – 6.45pm) Sunday 2 December, 4.00pm (+ FREE Silent Night Creatives pre-performance 3.15pm – 3.45pm) Thursday 6 December, 7.00pm Friday 7 December, 7.00pm Silent Night Opera North presents the UK premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, a lyrical, cinematic telling of the true story of the 1914 Christmas truce between French, German and Scottish troops on the Western Front. A powerful international cast, the full Orchestra of Opera North and a 100-strong men’s chorus perform this deeply affecting account of humanity’s endurance in the horror of war. Leeds Town Hall, The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AD Tickets: £10.00 - £47.50 (concessions available) Box Office: 0113 376 0318 Online: leedsconcertseason.co.uk Monday 3 December, 1.00pm Lunchtime Organ Concert: Nigel Ogden The much-loved presenter of BBC Radio 2’s The Organist Entertains brings his own distinctive style to the Huddersfield Father Willis organ. From marches by Souza through to waltzes by Tchaikovsky and tributes to Lehár and Stanford, the programme leads to Christmas melodies arranged by the performer himself. Huddersfield Town Hall, Corporation St, Huddersfield HD1 2TA Tickets: £5.00 Box Office: 01484 225755 Monday 10 December, 1.00pm Christmas Brass Band Spectacular The Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band, conducted by Phillip McCann, returns to herald the arrival of Christmas with the perfect excuse to take a break from the shops, relax over lunch, then sit back and let the music work its festive magic - including carols for all to sing. Huddersfield Town Hall, Corporation St, Huddersfield HD1 2TA Tickets: £5.00 Box Office: 01484 225755 Monday 10 December, 6.30pm Christmas Concert: Opera North Children’s Chorus and Cream Tees The Newcastle branch of Opera North’s Children’s Chorus unites with local youth folk ensemble Cream Tees for a seasonal celebration in the atmospheric surroundings of Brunswick Methodist Church. Brunswick Methodist Church, Brunswick Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7BJ FREE, no need to book Online: brunswickmethodist.org.uk Telephone: 0191 2321692 Wednesday 12 December, 12.30pm Brass Band Christmas Spectacular The Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band, conducted by Phillip McCann, returns to Dewsbury Town Hall with festive favourites guaranteed to get you in the seasonal spirit. A joyful sleigh-ride through holiday classics and carols to sing, this rousing concert is a must for your Christmas calendar. Dewsbury Town Hall, Wakefield Old Rd, Dewsbury WF12 8DG Tickets: £5.00 Box Office: 01484 225755 Thursday 13 December, 6.00pm The Gruffalo’s Child and The Highway Rat An enchanting family double-bill of two of Julia Donaldson’s best-loved creations, with René Aubry’s magical scores performed live along with the films by the Orchestra of Opera North. The Gruffalo’s Child sets out on a magical adventure into the deep, dark wood, and The Highway Rat tears along the highway searching for sugary treats to steal. Perfect for all ages, this enchanting concert is a wonderful panto alternative. Huddersfield Town Hall, Corporation St, Huddersfield HD1 2TA Tickets: £14.00 / Ages 16 and under £7.00 Box Office: 01484 225755 Online: kirkleestownhalls.co.uk Saturday 15 Dec, 4.00pm Orchestra of Opera North and Inspiration Choir: Christmas Starts Here The Inspiration Choir reunites with the Orchestra of Opera North to bring all the magic of the holiday season to Leeds Town Hall.