The Clapham Society Newsletter Issue 415 March 2019 Issue 418 June 2019 Our mee tin gs are hel d at Omni bus Theatr e, 1 C lapha m Com mo n No rth Oper a G o es B ac k T o S ch ool One of the forces that drives Clapham’s St Paul’s Opera (SPO) is its sense of community Side, SW4 0 QW. The tal k will com men ce – as was established last year in the Skipton Grassroots Giving Awards. St Paul’s Opera prom ptl y at 8 pm an d the bar w ill o pen (SPO) was o ne of the orga nisa tions recog nis ed in Sk ipton’s nat ionwide ca mpai gn. prio r to t he talk at 7 pm. Ou r guest will Rehea rsals are now in full sw ing for this y ear’s opera festival – Mo zart ’s Le Nozze di nor mally spe ak for abo ut 45 min ut es, Figaro – and, once again, the Clapham community will be deeply involved. followed by around 15 m inutes fo r SP O co ntinu es its conn ection wit h Morley Colle ge, in neighbo urin g Lam bet h N orth. questions a nd di scu ssion , an d the ba r Founder an d pr oduce r (an d th is yea r, singing the role of M arcel lin a), Clap ham’ s Tricia will r emain op en aft er the talk . M eetin gs Ninian is an alum na; music al director Pana retos Kyria tzidis (kno wn as Pan) leads are f ree an d open to non-me mber s, w ho Morley’s I ntroduc tio n to Ope ra Performanc e cou rse; ‘almos t’ loca l re side nt, St oc kwell ’s are invi ted to ma k e a donatio n. Alexan dra Dinwidd ie (und ers tu dy fo r Cherubin o) is a lso an O pera Performa nce alum na; Please a rrive in g ood ti me to en sure and O wain Evans, (singing the role of Antonio), proprietor chiropractor at BackSpace in entry. There is a l imit o n t he n umber th e C lapham Par k Road, is curren tly on e o f Pa n’s peo ple a t Mo rley. roo m can acco mmodate, and you will not Th e cho rus inc lude s n o fewer th an thr ee C lapha m res id ents (an d Clapha m Socie ty be a dmi tted when tha t num ber i s members) – Sue Roberts, Juliet Poyser and Tony Bell – while the ‘backroom’ team re ached. inc lud es two m ore membe rs : in c harge of war dro be, K aren Ellio tt, and Suza nn e Go rdo n- Brown, adding invaluable help to marketing. There are no meetings in July and But perhaps the most significant community-based aspect of this year’s performance August. is an outreach programme designed to introduce opera to primary school children in Clapham. Monday 17 June Inspired by opera lover and SPO stalwart Judith Strong, the programme is being run by a regular SPO performer, Sophie Horrocks. Brewing alon g the W an dle Valley. If you think school kids and opera go together as well as fish fingers in a Michelin- Alison Co usins , a volunte er a t the W a ndle starred restaurant, think again. Judith Strong said: ‘It’s regrettable in this country that the Industria l M useum base d in Mitcham , h as a media always portrays opera as an elite art form. I can vouch for its accessibility. Back keen int erest in ou r loc al heritag e and w ill talk about bre wing along the W andle cont. on page 2 Valley. While Young's is the best-known Le Nozze de Figaro full cast at the first rehearsal name associated with brewing in south London, there were many other brewers along the Wandle and now a local revival is t aking plac e. Summe r Pa rty This year’ s Su mmer par ty will be h eld in the grounds of St P aul’s Church, R ectory Grov e. S W4 0DX o n Wednesday 10 July . The ticket applica tion form is on the back pag e of this newsletter. Please a pply for your ticket a s s oon as possib le enclosing your c hequ e and giving an email add ress or telephone numbe r. Y our pla ce wi ll the n be c onf irmed to you b ut tic kets will not be is sued. Published by T Member Society of the London Forum Secretary: Gillian White Published by The Clapham Society , a registered charity No 279595 Email: gillian.white@ icloud.c om Membe r So ciety of the Lon don F orum claphamsociety.com Printed by PowerPrint 020 7223 8953 Opera Goes Back To School cont. from page 1 in the 1970s and 1980s, I took dozens of children from a state primary school in Tooting to schools’ matinees at the Royal Opera House. For the price of £4, a charity subsidised ticket, they were able to see stars such as Placido Domingo in Tosca from the front of the stalls. They took to even the most difficult operas like ducks to water and couldn’t wait to make a return visit. I still treasure the moment on the rush hour tube when a city gent, seeing the familiar red programme, asked somewhat incredulously what they thought of it and a lively discussion ensued on the merits of The Magic Flute versus Medea .’ ‘The local community is at the heart of everything we do at SPO,’ said Tricia Ninian. ‘Our outreach programme in schools is a really exciting development which, we hope, will create a new generation of opera lovers. Who knows, it might even inspire a future diva or two…’ Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) will be held at St Paul’s Church, Rectory Grove, SW4 0DX on Friday 5 July and Saturday 6 July , with picnic facilities before the performance and during the interval (cover performance on Thursday 4 July ). Tickets can be bought online now via the website, www.stpaulsopera.org , or at St Paul’s parish office from Monday 3 June . Enquiries by email on [email protected] or by phone on 07774 689709 Matthew Carter There is a change of programme for September, when the talk previously Summer Concerts On The Bandstand scheduled has been moved to October and Clapham Common Management Advisory Committee (CCMAC) is pleased to replaced by the talk detailed below – one of announce the programme of summer concerts on the Clapham Common Bandstand. our contributions to the Lambeth Heritage Building on the success and popularity of previous years, the series of concerts offers Festival which runs for the whole of a diverse mix of musical styles reflecting the community in which we live. There’s September. something for everyone, ranging from beatbox and urban to jazz, Afro-Cuban, classical and opera, with performances from traditional brass bands to up-and-coming singer- Monday 16 September songwriters. All concerts are free for all . The Heathwall: South London's least- The programme kicks off with the ever-popular Common People at 1 pm on known stream Saturday 25 May organised by Bandstand Beds. The music continues with concerts There has been a growing interest over the every weekend throughout June and July. last ten years in the underground rivers of Common People and Oxjam Clapham, the local chapter of Oxfam’s musical London. In this talk, writer and archivist, fundraiser, on Saturday 13 July , are multi-act concerts and run from 1 pm to 4 pm. Jon Newman uncovers the history and There’s a double bill on Saturday 6 July with Junction Jazz, a Clapham-based group, course of what is arguably the least- and Beatbox Academy sharing the day from 12 noon until 4 pm. All other concerts understood of them, the Heathwall. For start at 2 pm and end at 4 pm. centuries it has defined the parish and Real Voices on Saturday 15 June comprises of local choirs from Battersea, Brixton, borough boundaries between Battersea, Clapham, Tooting and Vauxhall. The programme is supported by Lambeth Council. Clapham, Lambeth and Wandsworth while Technical support is supplied by Clapham-based Omnibus Theatre. its tributaries, the Holburne and the Heathwall Brook both flow through The 2019 summer concerts line up is as follows: Clapham. Consigned underground by • Sat 25 May Common People – range of live music – 1 pm to 4 pm Bazalgette in 1865 as part of his London • Sat 1 June South London Symphonic Winds – wind band – 2 pm to 4 pm Main Drainage scheme, it has largely been • Sun 9 June KIX Jazz Orchestra – jazz, swing and Latin – 2 pm to 4 pm forgotten. • Sat 15 June Real Voices – local choirs – 2 pm to 4 pm Jon has just published a book on the • Sat 22 June South London Concert Band – 2 pm to 4 pm river's history and this will be on sale. • Sat 29 June Los Domingos – Latin – 2 pm to 4 pm • Sat 6 July Junction Jazz – 12 noon to 2 pm On Monday 3 June Timothy Walker will • Sat 6 July Beatbox Academy – 2 pm to 4 pm lead a walk entitled Growth of a Victorian • Sun 7 July Fuzion Four – Latin, jazz and classical influences – 2 pm to 4 pm Suburb , in the area south and west of • Sat 13 July Oxjam Clapham – urban, pop and rock – 1 pm to 4 pm Clapham Common.