The Venues
Ticket Deals Available Under 26? Tickets for £5 We have a limited number of £5 tickets* available for those under 26 for all shows. You may be required to show ID.
Early Bird Ticket Offer £10 Save up to 60% on your ticket price with our Early Bird Ticket Offer. There are a limited number of £10* tickets available up until one month before the performance. Call the Box Office to check availability.
Family tickets Save up to 20% when you buy for all the family Family tickets (up to 4 people, maximum 2 adults) are available for all the shows below: Debussy: A Passionate Life (Sun 16 Sept) £63 All areas
English Touring Opera (Thur 1 - Sat 3 Nov) £71 All areas
Treorchy Male Voice Choir (Sat 13 Oct) £63 Grand Circle / £57 Grand Hall & Dress Circle
A Viennese Strauss Christmas Gala (Fri 14 Dec) £70.50 Grand Circle / £55.50 Grand Hall & Dress Circle
The Medici String Quartet (Sat 27 Oct) £70.50 All areas Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends (Wed 7 Nov)
La bohème (Thur 14 Feb) £90 Grand Circle / £78 Grand Hall & Dress Circle
£75 Grand Circle / £60 Grand Hall & Dress Circle
Group offers Save up to 10% when you book for 8 or more people If you’re booking a group of 8 people or more, you are entitled to our group discount: Debussy: A Passionate Life (Sun 16 Sept) £18 each - All areas
English Touring Opera: (Thur 1 - Sat 3 Nov) £20 each - All areas
Treorchy Male Voice Choir (Sat 13 Oct) £18 each - Grand Circle, £16 each - Grand Hall, Dress Circle
A Viennese Strauss Christmas Gala (Fri 14 Dec) £20 each - Grand Circle/ £15 each - Grand Hall & Dress Circle
The Medici String Quartet (Sat 27 Oct) £20.50 each - All areas
La bohème (Thur 14 Feb) £27 each - Grand Circle / £23 each - Grand Hall & Dress Circle
Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends (Wed 7 Nov) £22 each - Grand Circle / £17 each - Grand Hall &
Royal Hall
Harrogate Theatre
Few buildings are imbued with as much splendour as the Royal Hall. This majestic Edwardian edifice played a key role in spa-town life, with the relaxation of entertainment considered as important as the spa waters. Since its opening, the Royal Hall has played host to such illustrious names as Elgar, The Beatles and Hinge & Bracket. Harrogate Theatres is continuing the good work, with big names and classical gems. Classical music certainly comes into its own in the sumptuous surroundings of the Royal Hall, which boasts impressive acoustics and a sense of occasion that’s hard to beat.
Opened in 1900, Harrogate Theatre is a truly gorgeous example of fin-de-siécle architecture, lavishly decorated with gilded plasterwork. The brainchild of innovator Frank Tugwell, the theatre - then known as The Grand Opera House - was ahead of its time design–wise, with a fireproof curtain, hot and cold running water and a sprinkler system. 112 years on, under the name Harrogate Theatre (changed in 1958), the venue offers a wide range of entertainment, both programmed and produced, from new drama to stand-up comedy, contemporary dance to live music. Harrogate Theatre also nurtures newer and smaller companies in its adaptable Studio space.
“Fantastic venue for classical music - looks magnificent” Audience Member
Dress Circle
“A lovely small theatre in the heart of Harrogate” Audience Member
English Touring Opera multi-buy deal With three enthralling and theatrical operas being presented by English Touring Opera this season, you are spoilt for choice. So if you don’t want to choose, you can take advantage of our multi-buy deal: See 2 shows for £40 and save almost 10% / See 3 shows for £54 and save almost 20%
HARROGATE THEATRES Royal Hall
Harrogate Theatre
classic events in timeless venues Booking information
Royal Hall, Ripon Road, Harrogate HG1 2RD
Harrogate Theatre, Oxford Street, Harrogate HG1 1QF
Box office 01423 502 116 www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk
HARROGATE THEATRES Royal Hall
Harrogate Theatre
classic events in timeless venues
Box Office: 01423 502 116 Book securely online* at: www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk (*£1.75 booking fee applies)
Not been to the Royal Hall or Harrogate Theatre before? Book online with our ‘view from seat’ feature where you will be able to see what your view of the stage will be like from your seat.
How to find us
Getting here
ROYAL HALL HARROGATE THEATRE & STUDIO THEATRE
By train: 5 minute walk from Harrogate Rail Station By bus: Leeds to Harrogate Bus Route No. 36
D
By car: Free on-street parking in most of Harrogate town centre after 6pm
S M&
* Terms & Conditions
These discounts cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or claimed retrospectively. All seats for these special offers are situated in the Grand Hall/ Stalls. There are a limited number of tickets available on all offers; please contact Box Office for more details. Maximum 4 tickets per person allowed when booking the Early Bird £10 Ticket Offer and Under 26 £5 Ticket Offer. To qualify for the Under 26 £5 Ticket Offer you may be required to prove your age when booking or upon arrival at the venue so don’t forget to bring some form of ID.
DON’T MISS... THUR 11 OCT
THUR 28 FEB - SAT 9 MAR
HARROGATE THEATRE
Alan Ayckbourn’s Sugar Daddies
After walking the wall in the West Bank and becoming Guinness World Record holder for political protests Mark Thomas turns his attention to matters closer to home with a show about his father.
Upon rescuing “Uncle” Val from a hit and run accident, naïve Sasha is initially thrilled by his presents of gratitude and tokens of affection, but as she becomes more and more drawn into a sinister world she never knew existed, can Sasha remain true to herself, or will her sugar daddy ultimately destroy her?
TICKETS: ALL £17.50
HARROGATE THEATRE
Mark Thomas Bravo Figaro!
First commissioned by the Royal Opera House Bravo Figaro! is the true tale of a self-employed builder’s love of opera, degenerative illness and how to put opera on in a bungalow in Bournemouth. It is about love, death and the search for peace in an imperfect world ... with some gags thrown in for luck and told by one of the finest storytellers in the country. Classical Autumn 2012 A3 folded.indd 1
TICKETS: £16 - £12
Premiered in 2003, Ayckbourn’s 63rd play marked the hugely popular playwright’s transformation from social observer to impassioned moralist and retains all his classic wit and humour.
“Vibrant new theatre season” Harrogate Advertiser
“A confident and varied Autumn programme” Whats On Stage
Box office 01423 502 116 www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk 03/08/2012 12:33
SUN 16 SEPT
ROYAL HALL
SAT 13 OCT
Debussy: A Passionate Life
Treorchy Male Voice Choir
Narration: Robert Powell Liza Goddard Flute: Clive Conway Piano: Christine Croshaw
For more than 125 years the Treorchy Male Voice Choir has been recognised as one of the greatest choral ensembles of all time - a true pioneer of the Welsh choral tradition and spirit. This concert demonstrates the diverse performance repertoire of the choir through its enthralling harmonies, stunning showcase songs, operatic renditions and classical interpretations, alongside the alluring traditional music of its homeland. Guest soprano, Iona Jones, will join the choir in this unforgettable performance.
2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Claude Debussy. In this passionate homage to his life, loves and works, celebrated actors Robert Powell and Liza Goddard bring to life his brilliantly vivid, moving and humorous writings and those of his friends (and enemies). The evening also features some of his most treasured works arranged for flute and piano, including Clair de Lune, L’Enfant Prodigue, Arabesque No. 2 and Golliwog’s Cakewalk played by internationally renowned pianist Christine Croshaw, an associate of the Royal Academy of Music, and acclaimed flautist Clive Conway.
The choir has shared the stage with some of the world’s greatest entertainers, including Sir Tom Jones (who is also a long-standing member of the choir having performed with them in the past), Dame Shirley Bassey and a host of international stars.
Charismatic, fascinating, outrageously unconventional, possessed of great charm and wit, Debussy was a true Bohemian. Spend an evening in the memory of an extraordinary musician and revolutionary genius who lived for love and attracted drama and scandal wherever he went.
“Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art” Claude Debussy
TICKETS: ALL £20
SAT 27 OCT
The choir’s unique sound has been heard worldwide through regular radio broadcasts and television appearances. This Autumn, don’t miss the true voice of the Valleys as the ensemble tour to Harrogate’s historic Royal Hall. TICKETS: GRAND CIRCLE £20 | BOXES £40 (seats 2) GRAND HALL & DRESS CIRCLE £18
Narration: Written by:
WED 7 NOV
During the summer months, tourists and locals gather on the sea front to hear this ten-man group, made up of fishermen, lifeboatmen and coastguards (as well as builders, artisans, hoteliers and shop keepers) in Port Isaac. Now is your chance to hear for yourself Cornwall’s finest shanty singers as they swap the panoramic, rugged coast for the dazzling surroundings of the Royal Hall.
After their final performance at the Harrogate International Festival in 2007 The Medici String Quartet is tempted out of retirement for one night only, to perform Alan Bennett’s childhood musical memoir - Hymn.
Be prepared to have your ears blown clean off as The Fisherman’s Friends presents a rousing and joyful set of traditional shanties and Cornish folk songs. The authentic sound of the shanty is heard loud and clear via its mighty, brawny chorale. Comprising five baritones, two top tenors, two second tenors, and one bass, the music is a stirring, evocative and immersive wall of sound.
Joined onstage by Olivier Award-winning theatre, TV and film actor Alex Jennings, (The Queen, Cranford), the acclaimed ensemble performs an illustrative suite for strings composed by celebrated film composer George Fenton (Mrs Henderson Presents, The History Boys, Frozen Planet). The show toured to various festivals around the country, was performed in front of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace and was recorded for BBC Radio 3. It now visits the Royal Hall, where it premiered, and promises to be a deeply evocative evening journeying through the musical memories of one of Yorkshire’s most treasured writers.
“One of the most perfectly balanced quartets in Europe today” Yorkshire Post
English Touring Opera present a trio of modern operas
The Lighthouse
Davies’ theatrical score ratchets up the tension with consummate skill; moments of lyrical beauty, banjo-accompanied ballads, and hymn-inspired movements lead to a powerful, percussive conclusion. This is modern English music at its most theatrically effective.
FRI 14 DEC
TICKETS: GRAND CIRCLE £24 | BOXES £48 (seats 2) GRAND HALL & DRESS CIRCLE £19
The Emperor Of Atlantis Viktor Ullman
SAT 3 NOV
FRI 2 NOV Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring has become a classic, comic depiction of English village life. Full of character, matching humour with psychological insight, it describes the election by village committee of a shy local lad in a grocer’s shop as May King – a title normally awarded as May Queen to a virtuous girl, but no one matches up to the exacting standards of virtue held by Lady Billows. Naturally, the crowning of the May King does not go quite as planned, and poor (or lucky) Albert Herring ends up straying rather far from the path of virtue. A genuinely hilarious satire with undertones of melancholy, Albert Herring is a masterpiece, with a score of great beauty. ETO’s new production is conducted by Michael Rosewell, a Britten expert, and directed by Christopher Rolls; the cast includes a splendid group of experienced singers and actors.
ROYAL HALL
Viktor Ullmann’s short opera was written when the composer and writer were prisoners at the Terezín concentration camp, and it was first rehearsed by inmates of the camp, all of whom perished when transferred to Auschwitz before the premiere. The score was smuggled out of the camp, and it has been acclaimed in performances around the world as an extraordinary testament of wit and humanity in the face of barbarity. It is not set in the camp but this black comedy reflects Ullmann’s experiences. In the story, Death, disgusted by war, resolves to go on strike and drives a hard bargain with the Emperor Overall before going back to work. Ullmann’s score, jazzy and expressive, is full of humour and pathos. This new production is paired with a poignant staging of Bach’s sublime cantata Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ Lay in Death’s Bonds), arranged by Iain Farrington for Ullmann’s orchestration.
THUR 14 FEB
ROYAL HALL
La bohème Presented by the Grand Opera of Belarus
The 33-piece British Philharmonic Concert Orchestra presents a magical evening of Strauss waltzes and polkas at the Royal Hall this Christmas.
Treat your loved one this Valentine’s Day to one of the most romantic operas ever performed in the Royal Hall.
Direct from her role as Mother Abbess in the current Sound Of Music production, Operetta star Marilyn Hill Smith fronts this sumptuous evening of festive entertainment for all the family. Featuring the best of Strauss, Viennese and Christmas music, this concert is guaranteed to add that little bit of Christmas sparkle.
When Mimi and Rodolfo meet, they fall hopelessly for each other – but the course of true love rarely runs smoothly and Puccini’s passionate and evocative music carries them from heart-stopping romance to heartbreaking loss as their story tumbles towards its conclusion. One of the world’s favourite operas, La bohème has inspired many a love story and perfectly captures the passion and the pain of being young, poor, and in love. Presented by the critically acclaimed Grand Opera of Belarus – one of three theatres to receive the Bolshoi status – along with a live orchestra, La bohème is the perfect way to spend Valentine’s Day.
Conducted by Fraser Goulding (an expert in the art of Viennese Music) the orchestra will play Strauss favourites, along with music from Kalman, Lehar, Romberg, Stolz, Ziehrer and many more of the Viennese Operetta Composers.
Classical Autumn 2012 A3 folded.indd 2
TICKETS: ALL £22
HARROGATE THEATRE
A Viennese Strauss Christmas Gala
TICKETS: GRAND CIRCLE £22.50 | BOXES £45 (seats 2) GRAND HALL & DRESS CIRCLE £17.50
“They stir the salt in the blood of even the laziest landlubber” The York Press
Benjamin Britten
THUR 1 NOV
A very intense, suspenseful night of music theatre describes the cramped and foggy conditions at the lighthouse, and the claustrophobia of the court hearing at which the relief keepers give their account of the incident. Each of the keepers is depicted with acute perception, so that beneath their calm, blameless exteriors the audience senses a troubled past.
The Fisherman’s Friends has delighted Port Isaac visitors and locals for more than 15 years, with almost 300 live performances under its belt as well as a major album release.
Albert Herring
Peter Maxwell Davies
ROYAL HALL
Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends
Alex Jennings Alan Bennett Composor: George Fenton
Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse, is based on a reallife account of the mysterious disappearance of three lighthouse keepers on the island of Flannan.
“One of the world’s greatest male choirs” HRH The Prince of Wales
ROYAL HALL
The Medici String Quartet & Alex Jennings present Hymn
TICKETS: ALL £22.50
ROYAL HALL
Sing along to some traditional carols as well as the wonderful Sleigh Ride by Frederick Delius, The Christmas Festival Overture, Silver Bells, O Holy Night, The Blue Danube, Tritsch Tratsch Polka, Thunder and Lightning Polka, Roses from the South, selections from The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, The Gypsy Baron, Guiditta and lots more.
Add that extra touch of romance to your evening and book a box for £75, which includes a bottle of prosecco and a box of chocolates for you TICKETS: GRAND CIRCLE £29 | BOXES £75 (seats 2) GRAND HALL & DRESS CIRCLE £25 03/08/2012 12:34