HANDEL
RADAMISTO
RADAMISTO OPERA SERIA IN THREE ACTS BY GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL.
Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym. English translation by Christopher Cowell. First performed at the King’s Theatre, London on 27 April 1720. Irish première. Running time: approx. 2hrs 40mins (including interval)
Chairman’s Welcome On behalf of Northern Ireland Opera I am delighted to welcome you to the Irish première of Radamisto by George Frideric Handel. We are thrilled to be collaborating with the Irish Chamber Orchestra on this production, following the great success of our last collaboration, 2015’s Agrippina with Irish Youth Opera. We are also very excited to welcome accomplished theatre director Wayne Jordan to make his opera directorial debut on Radamisto, alongside leading Irish conductor David Brophy. On stage the roles are taken by some of the finest female vocal talents from the North and South of Ireland: Doreen Curran, Aoife Miskelly, Sinéad Campbell-Wallace and Kate Allen. This production has been made possible by the generous support of the Arts Council of Ireland, and allows us to provide the highest quality opera to audiences across the island of Ireland. 2017 has been a particularly exciting and eventful year for Northern Ireland Opera, starting in January with the Irish première of Powder Her Face by Thomas Adès at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, a production which received unanimous critical acclaim. April saw us present two special concert performances of Puccini’s iconic La Bohème at the Ulster Hall in partnership the Ulster Orchestra and Belfast Philharmonic Choir, a wonderful showcase of the strength of artistic excellence in Northern Ireland. Our four Young Artists have continued to receive high quality training and support, as well as exciting performance opportunities, the highlight of which undoubtedly being March’s masterclass with world-renowned soprano Susan Bullock. And our outreach programme continues to bring opera to people of all ages and backgrounds throughout NI, ranging from schools workshops on the music of Handel, to ‘Little Lullabies’ at the Belfast Children’s Festival. None of the these would be possible without the continued and generous support of our principal funder, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to them. In February we welcomed Walter Sutcliffe to Belfast to take up the role of Northern Ireland Opera’s new Artistic Director. In his short time at the helm he has developed exciting plans for the company, and we very much look forward to working together to develop the company in this next stage of its journey. The rest of 2017 will continue with the seventh annual Festival of Voice in the historic village of Glenarm in Co. Antrim from August 18th – 20th, and will feature three BBC Invitation Concerts. In November we will stage Mozart’s comic opera Così Fan Tutte, directed by Adele Thomas and with the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Chalmers. Applications for the Festival of Voice Vocal Competition close on May 29th and applications for the 2017/18 Young Artists Programme will be opening shortly. To hear about the latest news from Northern Ireland, please visit our website and sign up to our mailing list. Finally, I would like to thank you, our audience, for supporting what promises to be a fantastic production, and I hope you enjoy this evening’s performance. Roy Bailie Chairman Northern Ireland Opera
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EITHNE COMPOSED BY ROBERT O’DWYER (1909) SUNG IN IRISH WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
RTÉ NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA STARRING ORLA BOYLAN & GAVAN RING
14 OCTOBER 2017 NATIONAL CONCERT HALL
DUBLINERS COMPOSED BY ANDREW SYNNOTT LIBRETTIST ARTHUR RIORDAN COUNTERPARTS AND THE BOARDING HOUSE FROM JOYCE’S DUBLINERS
20 OCTOBER – 1 NOVEMBER 2017 SHORTWORKS CLAYTON WHITES HOTEL WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA A CO-PRODUCTION WITH WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA
ODE TO JOY! CELEBRATING 50 SEASONS!
The Ulster Orchestra’s year of celebration reaches a joyous climax in the penultimate week of the Season with this noisy, spectacular and ultimately uplifting concert. Charismatic conductor Rafael Payare leads the Orchestra in two brilliant works by a pair of Russian masters. And then, arguably, the greatest of them all: Ludwig van Beethoven and what promises to be an unforgettable performance of the never-bettered Ninth Symphony, the Choral. In this spectacular evening, expect excitement, noise and, above all, joy! Principal Funders
with support from
Special dining package available with Arc Brasserie! See our website for details.
SATURDAY 20 MAY 2017, 7.45pm Belfast Waterfront £20 - £37.50 Booking: 028 9033 4455 Or visit ulsterorchestra.org.uk
Ulster Orchestra is registered as Ulster Orchestra Society Ltd. Reg. No. NI 14222 Reg. Charity No. XN 45445
Synopsis Act I
Act II
Scenes 1-3 A royal tent.
Scenes 1-3 Countryside with the river Araxes running through it.
Polissena, Tiridate’s wife and Radamisto’s sister, asks the gods for protection in her unhappiness. Tigrane, Tiridate’s ally, warns her of her husband’s infidelity; he is besieging the city in order to seize Radamisto’s wife Zenobia, for whom he has a great passion. Tigrane urges her to forget Tiridate and to acknowledge his love for her, even out of pity. Tiridate orders the city to be assaulted, and dismisses Polissena; she leaves but insists that her heart stays with him. Farasmane, father of Radamisto and Polissena, is brought in in chains, and is threatened by Tiridate.
Scenes 4-8 Tiridate’s camp near the city, with the river Araxes in between. Radamisto and Zenobia emerge from the city; he tries to console her with the thought that their misfortune may eventually come to an end. Tiridate threatens that Farasmane will die if Radamisto does not surrender the city; Zenobia offers herself as a sacrifice, to make peace between them. Radamisto curses Tiridate, and Farasmane is defiant: he would rather die than see Radamisto surrender. Tiridate’s army attacks the city.
Scenes 9-11 A courtyard in front of Radamisto’s palace. Tiridate enters in triumph, but Radamisto and Zenobia have escaped, and Farasmane is to remain as a hostage. Polissena objects to Tiridate’s behavior, but is told to be silent. Tigrane reminds Polissena of his love for her and she is left hopeful that fortune and happiness will return to her.
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Radamisto and Zenobia are escaping. She is exhausted, and asks cruel fate when her suffering will cease; she begs Radamisto to kill her so that she will not fall into Tiridate’s hands. He is reluctant, and fails to strike an effective blow, so she throws herself into the river. Tigrane and his soldiers capture Radamisto. Tigrane is sympathetic and offers to take him to Polissena. Radamisto thinks of Zenobia, whom he believes drowned, and begs her soul to rest in peace and await his coming. All the while, Zenobia has been rescued.
Scenes 4-8 Part of a garden, with a view of the royal palace. Tiridate is told of Zenobia’s rescue, and she is brought in. She resists him, but she says she will relent when she knows the extent of his love. She begs Heaven to tell her where Radamisto is. Tigrane brings Radamisto to Polissena, and promises that all will be well. Radamisto tells Polissena that she must lead him to Tiridate, so that he can kill him; she refuses, because she still loves her husband, and this makes Radamisto angry. Polissena, left alone, declares that she will defend whichever of the two men is in greater danger.
INTERVAL
Scenes 9-11 A royal apartment.
Scenes 8-11 A temple.
Zenobia appeals to the gods to bring her either Radamisto or death. Tigrane tells Tiridate and Zenobia that Radamisto is dead, and brings him in in disguise; Radamisto pretends to be his servant Ismeno, and relates his supposed dying words. Zenobia recognizes his voice, but Tiridate is deceived and entrusts her to the care of “Ismeno” (Radamisto in disguise). Radamisto and Zenobia sing of their love and constancy in a duet.
Tiridate is triumphant: he will marry Zenobia in spite of her protests; but Polissena brings the news that the army and the populace have rebelled, and the temple is surrounded. In a quartet, Radamisto, Zenobia and Polissena urge Tiridate to yield “to love, to honor, to virtue,” but he refuses. Tigrane bursts in with soldiers and a crowd of townspeople; Tiridate is forced to yield and to acknowledge his wickedness. The others forgive him and agree to restore him and Polissena to their throne; Zenobia and Radamisto celebrate in a duet, and all rejoice in a final Chorus.
Act III Scenes 1-2 A courtyard around the royal palace. Tigrane resolves to force Tiridate to abandon his tyrannical ways. Tigrane declares that he would risk his life for Polissena.
Scenes 3-7 A royal apartment with a closet. Zenobia is afraid that Radamisto will be discovered; he promises to be careful, and that he will never abandon her. Tiridate arrives and Radamisto conceals himself; Tiridate tries to force his attentions on Zenobia, but is prevented by the arrival of Radamisto, Polissena and Farasmane. Radamisto’s identity is accidentally revealed (by Farasmane), and he is condemned to death by Tiridate. He defies the tyrant, and Polissena pleads for his life, but she is dismissed by Tiridate; she leaves, threatening that her love will turn to hatred. Tiridate is willing to spare Radamisto, on condition that Zenobia becomes his wife; he boasts of fulfilling his hopes. Radamisto and Zenobia bid each other a sad farewell.
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Cast
Creative Team
Radamisto Doreen Curran
Conductor David Brophy
Polissena Aoife Miskelly
Director Wayne Jordan
Tigrane Kate Allen
Set & Costume Designer Annemarie Woods
Zenobia Sinéad Campbell-Wallace
Lighting Designer Kevin Treacy
Tiridate Richard Burkhard
Movement Director Sue Mythen
Farasmane Adrian Powter
Répétiteur Julian Perkins
Actor Michael Patrick
Assistant Director Emily Foran
Production Team Production Manager Patrick McLaughlin Stage Manager Anne Kyle
Acknowledgements Arts Council of Ireland Arts Council of Northern Ireland
Deputy Stage Manager Alice Johnstone
Bag of Bees Design
Props Master Megan Magill
Castle Hotel, Dublin
Belfast City Council Christopher Heaney Cindy Nok Ting Yung
Costume Supervisor Ilona Karas Wardrobe Mistress Melanie Carmichael Wigs & Make-up Supervisor Carole Dunne Costume Makers Jelmez Art Mariann Pozsonyi Anita Jakus Tibor Steib Textile Artist Enda Kenny
Dairne O’Sullivan Damien Kennedy Faber Music Ltd Grand Opera House, Belfast Hayley McGivern House of Fraser Irish Chamber Orchestra Laurence Roberts from City Resorts Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick Lyric Theatre, Belfast Maldron Hotel, Limerick Metropole Hotel, Cork O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin
Technical Manager Nic Rée Master Carpenter Pete Boyle Production Electrician Eóin McNinch Set Construction Scenedock Phillip Goss Media Mechanical Workshop Prompt Side Transport Trevor Price
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Patrick Redmond Pete Laverty Phillip Goss Richard McBride Simon Hutchinson Stagecrew Stag’s Head The Everyman, Cork Ulster Orchestra
CULTUREFOX.IE
NEVER MISS OUT The Arts Council’s new, upgraded CULTUREFOX events guide is now live. Free, faster, easy to use – and personalised for you. Never miss out again.
Irish Chamber Orchestra Violin 1 Katherine Hunka Leader Oonagh Keogh Anna Cashell Violin 2 Emily Nenniger Cliodhna Ryan Siún Milne
Flute Emma Roche Oboe John Roberts Matthew Draper Bassoon Íde Ní Chonaill
Viola Joachim Roewer Principal Cian Ó Dúill
Horn Stephen Nicholls Joseph Ryan
Cello Christian Elliott Principal Richard Angell
Harpsichord Julian Perkins
Double Bass Malachy Robinson Principal
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IRISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
NATIONAL TOURING 2017 AMERICA Irish Chamber Orchestra | Katherine Hunka Director Bernstein John Adams Barber Piazzolla Gershwin
Westside Story Medley Shaker Loops Adagio for Strings Four Seasons of Buenos Aires Lullaby Arrangement for String Orchestra
Thursday 15 June Friday 16 June Saturday 17 June Sunday 18 June
Solstice Theatre, Navan Monkstown Parish Church, Monkstown, Co. Dublin (in association with Pavilion Theatre) Town Hall Theatre, Galway Garage Theatre, Monaghan
BACH ON THE ROAD Irish Chamber Orchestra Peter Whelan Director | Christian Elliott Cello | Aoife NicAthlaoich Cello JS Bach CPE Bach CPE Bach Vivaldi Purcell
Brandenburg Concert No. 3, BWV 1048 Concerto for Cello in A minor Bach Sinfonia in B minor WQ 182/5 Hamburg Concerto for two celli in G minor RV 531 Midsummer Nights’s Dream (The Fairy Queen Suite No. 1)
Thursday 19 October Friday 20 October Saturday 21 October Sunday 22 October
Glór, Ennis Monkstown Parish Church, Monkstown, Co. Dublin (in association with Pavilion Theatre) An Grianan, Letterkenny The Model, Sligo Con Brio Sligo Music Series
BEST OF CHRISTMAS Irish Chamber Orchestra | Katherine Hunka Director | Ailish Tynan Soprano Sibelius Mohr/Gruber Vincy/Martinet Vivaldi Moraeus Carol Grieg Grieg Traditional Traditional Adam
Andante festivo Silent Night Arr. Rice Le Petit Papa Noel Paris Concerto No. 2 RV, 133 e-minor Koppangen Arr. Rice Sankta Lucia Arr. Rice (Swedish) Love Story: First Meeting, Two Brown Eyes, I Love Thee, A Bird Cried Out, Solvejg’s Song, To Her & A Swan. Holberg Suite Wexford Carol Don oíche úd i mBeithil Oh Holy Night
Thursday 14 December St. Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick Friday 15 December All Saints Church, Mullingar
www.irishchamberorchestra.com
Biographies KATE ALLEN
DAVID BROPHY
Tigrane
Conductor
Kate’s engagements in 2017 include the Ulster Orchestra for Beethoven 9th with Maestro Rafael Payare, and Verdi’s Requiem in Fulda Cathedral, Germany. Kate enjoyed a very successful 2016, seeing her debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, U.K., as Mezzo soloist in Verdi’s Requiem and perform the roles of Eustazio Rinaldo and Dritte Dame Die Zauberflöte with Festspiele Immling in Bavaria, Germany. Recent engagements include Maddelena Rigoletto with Opera Theatre Company in Dublin, Concepcion L’Heure Espagnole Ravel and Suzuki Madama Butterfly at Castleton Festival, Virginia, Clothilde Koanga Delius, Gertrud and the Witch Hansel & Gretel Humperdink and the title role in Rossini’s La Cenerentola with Wexford Festival Opera as well as Madeleine Audebert in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night in 2014. 2015 also saw her RTÉ Concert and Symphony Orchestra debuts in Sunday Miscellany and a Lunchtime Recital respectively. She has recently made many notable debuts including her Italian debut at Teatro La Fenice, Venice, conducted by the late Maestro Lorin Maazel at the theatre’s gala concert. She was also thrilled to receive the audience choice Aria prize and bursary at the 2014 Wexford Festival.
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David Brophy was born in Dublin and is a graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology and Trinity College Dublin. Following further studies in Ireland, England and Holland, he was appointed Apprentice Conductor with Chamber Choir Ireland and subsequently became the first appointee as Assistant Conductor with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. A former Principal Conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, David now enjoys a close relationship with both RTÉ orchestras in addition to regular appearances as guest conductor with the Ulster Orchestra. His career has seen him conduct throughout Europe, Africa, the United States, Canada and China. David has collaborated with many internationally acclaimed soloists, among them, Tasmin Little, Barry Douglas, Willard White, Lesley Garret, Sir James Galway, Lang Lang, Danielle de Niese, Nicola Benedetti, Kim Criswell and Chloë Hanslip. He has conducted in the US with the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and the Naples Philharmonic, in Spain with Orquesta Nacional Clásica de Andorra and Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, and at home with all major Irish orchestras. Appearances overseas have included performances at New York’s Lincoln Centre with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and at London’s Barbican Centre as part of their Silent Film & Live Music series alongside his 2014 debut with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia in the Fabulous Beast Stravinsky double-bill (The Rite of Spring and Petrushka) at Sadler’s Wells. Most recent foreign engagements have seen him début with some of America’s finest orchestras including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra Washington D.C.
RICHARD BURKHARD Tiridate Richard Burkhard studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating with Distinction, during which time he won numerous prizes and scholarships, including a bursary to study with Carlo Bergonzi in Sienna. He won the Decca Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Competition and the Royal Overseas League Competition. Recent engagements include Marcello La Bohème, Mahmoud The Death of Klinghoffer, Garibaldo Rodelinda and Dr Falke Die Fledermaus (ENO), Tomsky Pique Dame, Michonnet Adriana Lecouvreur‚ Dr Malatesta Don Pasquale and the title role Gianni Schicchi (Opera Holland Park), Figaro The Marriage of Figaro, Dr Dulcamara L’Elisir d’Amore, Nikita in the British première of Weinberg’s The Portrait, Sir Despard Ruddigore (Opera North), Garibaldo (Bolshoi, Moscow), Papageno The Magic Flute and Dandini La Cenerentola (Scottish Opera), Tolstoy Sevastopol (ROH), and Papageno (New Zealand Opera). Plans include Tonio I Pagliacci (Opera North), Harry Easter Street Scene (Madrid) and Ford Falstaff (Garsington).
SINÉAD CAMPBELLWALLACE Zenobia Soprano Sinéad Campbell-Wallace studied at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama, Dublin, National Opera Studio, London and the Britten-Pears young singers programme Aldeburgh, UK. This season, she will sing Micaela at Cork Opera House, Tosca with Lyric Opera Productions, summer concerts with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, a Verdi gala at the National Concert Hall, a summer recital at the National Opera House, Verdi’s Requiem in Manchester and a series of song recitals with Dr. Una Hunt at Wexford Festival Opera. She has recently performed the following roles in Dublin with Opera Theatre Company and Lyric Opera Productions at the National Concert Hall; Alcina, Violetta, Mimi, Micaela, Donna Elvira, La Contessa, Musetta, and a live broadcast of Puccini arias with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. In the UK, she has performed with Garsington Festival (Anne Truelove), Grange Park/Nevill Holt (Giulietta), English Touring Opera (Micaela). Earlier in her career, Sinead worked extensively with acclaimed baroque conductor Christian Curnyn (Galatea Acis and Galatea, Angelica Orlando, Drusilla Poppea, Alcina, Flavia/ Eliogaballo, Hypsipyle/Giasone) and director John Fulljames (Fiordiligi at the National Opera Studio, Bubikopf Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Mrs. Hayes/Susannah, The Nose at the Royal Opera House, The Linbury Theatre). She has also appeared in major roles with Wexford Festival Opera, and in the UK; Buxton Festival, Grange Park Opera, Aldeburgh Festival, Classical Opera Company, Early Opera Company, Iford Arts, Nevill Holt Opera and Batignano festival, Italy. 19
Biographies DOREEN CURRAN
EMILY FORAN
Radamisto
Assistant Director
Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Doreen Curran studied music at the DIT College of Music, Dublin, the Royal Northern College of Music and the National Opera Studio. Operatic roles she has performed include Ottavia (L’incoronazione di Poppea) for English National Opera, Mercedes (Carmen) for Glyndebourne Touring Opera and ATAO Tenerife, Blanche (Prokofiev The Gambler) for Grange Park Opera, Tamiri (Farnace) Salzburg, Zoë (La Fiamma), Ernestina (Rossini L’occasione Fa Il) and Penelope (Fauré Clione) for Wexford Festival Opera, Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) for Garsington Opera and Savoy Opera, Dorabella (Così fan tutte) for Holland Park Opera, Ottavia (L’incoronazione di Poppea) for Opera Theatre Company in Dublin, Aldeburgh and Buxton, Kate (Pirates of Penzanze), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) for English National Opera, Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana) for Opera Northern Ireland, Suzuki (Madam Butterfly) for Lyric Opera Dublin, Second Lady (Die Zauberflöte) and Ciesca (Gianni Schichi) for Opera Ireland, Meg (Falstaff ) and Pauline (Queen of Spades) for Royal Northern College of Music and Dido (Dido and Aeneas) at the National Concert Hall Dublin and Lismore Early Music Festival, Rosina (Barber of Seville) for Opera Theatre Company and Armonico Consort, Madame Flora (The Medium), Mother (Hansel and Gretel), Mrs Noye (Noye’s Fludde - Belfast Zoo, Shanghai and Beijing), Mary (The Flying Dutchman), Lady in Waiting (Macbeth) all for Northern Ireland Opera, 3rd Secretary (Nixon in China), Wide Open Opera Things We Throw Away written by Brian Irvine and John Mcllduff and most recently Anything but Bland in the Ulster Hall.
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Emily is a freelance theatre director based in Northern Ireland. She is a recent graduate of the Master in Fine Arts in Theatre Directing programme at the Lir, the National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin and graduated with a first class degree in Drama from Queen’s University Belfast in 2015. Directing credits include a rehearsed reading of Two Pricks in a Hotel Room by Jane Madden (Smock Alley Theatre Dublin), Night Shift by Naomi Elster (Smock Alley Theatre Dublin), Hey You! by Joe Nawaz (Accidental Theatre Belfast), After the End (The Lir Academy), All The Way by Michelle McCormack (Smock Alley Theatre), Pains of Youth (Brian Friel Theatre), Disco Pigs (Queen’s University) and The Pitchfork Disney (Queen’s University). Assistant Directing credits include The Pirates of Portrush (TheatreofplucK), THESE ROOMS (ANU Productions and CoisCeim Dance Theatre) – Winner of the Irish Times Audience Choice Award, I Am A Camera (The Lir Academy), Locked In, Locked Out (The Lyric Theatre Belfast), Pentecost (The Lyric Theatre Belfast) and Catchpenny Twist (Queen’s University).
WAYNE JORDAN
AOIFE MISKELLY
Director
Polissena
Wayne Jordan is a freelance theatre director and writer. He has been an associate artist of the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s National Theatre and Project Arts Centre and was Artistic Director of Randolf SD The Company. Wayne’s work at the Abbey Theatre includes Anna Karenina, Oedipus, The Shadow of a Gunman (Abbey and Lyric Theatres), Twelfth Night, Shakespeare in Music (with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra), The Plough and the Stars (UK and National tour), Alice in Funderland, 16 Possible Glimpses, No Romance, Christ Deliver Us! and La Dispute. Other work includes Romeo and Juliet, The Threepenny Opera, Enemy of the People and Celebration (Gate Theatre) and Prodijig; The Revolution (Cork Opera House), Ellamenope Jones, Everybody Loves Sylvia, La Voix Humaine, Fewer Emergencies, The Public, The Drowned World, The Illusion, Eeeugh!topia (Randolf SD|The Company) and Elevator (THISISPOPBABY) and Crave (Samuel Beckett Theatre and Studiobühne, Cologne). Wayne teaches on the acting and directing programmes at The National Academy of Dramatic Art, The Lir. His work there includes Cradle Will Rock, Tarry Flynn and Pains of Youth (The Lir Academy). As a writer Wayne has written a new version of Sophocle’s Oedipus for the Abbey Theatre, an adaptation of Marivaux’s La Double Inconstance called Everybody Loves Sylvia and a play with songs Ellamenope Jones.
Northern Irish soprano Aoife Miskelly studied as a Sickle Foundation Scholar at the Royal Academy Opera London. During her studies, Aoife was a Kathleen Ferrier Awards finalist, winner of the Bernadette Greevy award, a Samling Scholar, BBC/BBC NI Young Artists’ Platform Award winner, and finalist and prizewinner in the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and The Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition. During the 2012-16 seasons Aoife was employed as a principal artist for Cologne Opera where she sang roles including Gilda, Gretel, Musetta, Zerlina, Despina, Servilia, Frasquita, Valencienne, Papagena and Harey (Solaris). Aoife’s other operatic roles include Helena A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Hyogo Centre for Performing Arts in Japan, Thérèse Les Mamelles de Tiresias at both La Monnaie and Aix-en-Provence Festival, The Woman The Last Hotel at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House with Wide Open Opera, and Eliza Doolittle Royal Opera House Muscat, Oman. Previously for Northern Ireland Opera, Aoife has sung Cecily Cardew The Importance of Being Earnest, Zerlina Don Giovanni, Pamina The Magic Flute and Dew Fairy Hansel and Gretel. Earlier this year, she sang the title role to great critical acclaim in Opera North’s new production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden. Following the Radamisto tour Aoife will cover the role of Sophie Der Rosenkavalier for Welsh National Opera.
Radamisto is Wayne’s first opera.
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Biographies SUE MYTHEN
MICHAEL PATRICK
Movement Director
Actor
Based in Dublin, Sue works as a Movement Director in theatre, opera and film.
A Belfast native, Michael trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London after studying at the University of Cambridge.
Recent credits include The White Devil at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe, London, The Heiress at The Gate Theatre and Children of the Sun at The Lir. Other work includes: On Corporation Street (Anu/HOME), Sunder, (Anu) Pals: The Irish at Gallipoli for Anu Productions, (Winner Audience Choice Award, Irish Times Theatre Awards) and Angel Meadow for Anu/ HOME. Sue’s work at The Abbey, National Theatre of Ireland includes Oedipus, The Shadow of a Gunman (Abbey/ Lyric), Hedda Gabler, Twelfth Night, The Plough & the Stars, Heartbreak House, 16 Possible Glimpses, The House, The Rivals, Pygmalion and Major Barbara. Other theatre work includes Displaced, which she co-created, for the 2015 Montreal Fringe Festival, Elektra for Canadian Opera Company, (Winner 3 Dora Mavor Moore Awards) Worstward Ho, Mouth on Fire/Theatre X cai, Tokyo, Semele for RIAM, Dead Man Walking for Opera Ireland at the Gaiety Theatre. Her work on film includes Northanger Abbey for ITV Drama/Diplomat Films and History’s Future, CineArtNederland. Sue is Head of Movement at The Lir, Ireland’s National Academy of Dramatic Art, and has also taught in Trinity College Dublin, ALRA, RADA and Central School of Speech & Drama.
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Previous stage work includes Othello (The Abbey Theatre), Blackout (The Lyric Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (Bruiser NI), Ignition (Tinderbox), How These Desperate Men Talk, I Banquo and BASH: Latter Day Plays (Pan Narrans Theatre). During the summer of 2015, he performed at the 2015 Cambridge Shakespeare Festival where he played Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing and Demetrius in Titus Andronicus. Previous to this, credits include Banquo in the one man show I, Banquo at the Belfast Lyric Theatre and Jack in Hurricane Productions’ Jack And The Beanstalk. He was also one of the poetry readers in the Louis MacNeice Memorial Lecture which was held by BBC NI 2015. Michael’s voice work includes voiceover for Alain de Bottons School of Life videos and The Unexpected, a series of radio plays for Roundhouse Radio. Previous Screen Work includes Game of Thrones (HBO) and The Black Wedding (Montoia Productions).
JULIAN PERKINS
ADRIAN POWTER
Répétiteur
Farasmane
Julian Perkins enjoys a demanding career as a keyboard player and conductor. He is the new Artistic Director of Cambridge Handel Opera and FounderDirector of Sounds Baroque. As a keyboard player, Julian has appeared with many leading soloists and ensembles at venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center and Sydney Opera House, as well as at the BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival. In addition to appearing as the solo harpsichordist in productions at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Welsh National Opera, Julian has performed concertos with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestra of the Sixteen and New London Soloists. As a conductor, he has performed staged opera productions for the Buxton Festival, Dutch National Opera Academy, Grimeborn Festival, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Kings Place, New Chamber Opera and New Kent Opera, and concert performances with, among others, the Bampton Classical Players, Barts Chamber Choir, Bury Court Opera, New London Singers, Rodolfus Choir, Southbank Sinfonia and Spiritato. Julian read music at King’s College, Cambridge, before pursuing advanced studies at the Schola Cantorum, Basle and the Royal Academy of Music, London.
Born in Cambridge, Adrian Powter studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. He began his career at Glyndebourne and in 2000 created Philip in Harrison Birtwistle’s The Last Supper at the Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin, a production later presented by Glyndebourne Festival and Touring Operas. Elsewhere, he has sung for companies including the Opéra de Rouen, Castleward Opera, Diva Opera, English Touring Opera, Iford Arts, Longborough Festival Opera, Opera North, Opera Project, Scottish Opera and West Green Opera. His concert engagements have taken him throughout the UK as well as to Europe and the Far East, singing with the Academy of Ancient Music, the Darmstadt Hofkapelle, the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé, the Israel Camerata, the London Sinfonietta, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Oxford Philomusica and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. His broadcasts have included Friday Night is Music Night for BBC Radio 2. Recent engagements have included Dr Bartolo The Barber of Seville, Elviro Xerxes and Sacristan Tosca for English National Opera, Major-General Stanley The Pirates of Penzance at the Grand Théâtre du Luxembourg and the Opéra de Caen and Count Ceprano Rigoletto for the Opéra de Limoges.
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Biographies KEVIN TREACY
ANNEMARIE WOODS
Lighting Designer
Set & Costume Designer
Kevin is an international lighting designer working in opera, theatre and dance. For Northern Ireland Opera: Macbeth (with WNO); The Bear, The Flying Dutchman, Tosca, L’Elisir d’Amore (with Opera Theatre Company); Agrippina (with Irish Youth Opera); 5 I Act Operas, part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad (MAC Belfast); The Turn of The Screw, (Buxton Festival 2012; Kolobov Novaya Theatre, Moscow 2014); Orpheus in the Underworld (with Scottish Opera), Salome, The Magic Flute. Other: Albert Herring (The Grange Festival); Faramondo (London Handel Festival); Stravinsky Tales: Les Noces, Mavra, Renard, L’Enfant et Les Sortlieges , Orango (Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, Conductor EsaPekka Salonen); Agrippina (Irish Youth Opera); Die Fledermaus (RCM); Faramondo (Handel Festspiele, Göttingen); Tosca, Carmen, La Bohème, The Turn of the Screw and The Magic Flute (Nevill Holt); Imeneo and Rodelinda (Royal College of Music); Flavio, The Fairy Queen, Xerxes (English Touring Opera); Certain Circles by Harrison Birtwistle (Dartington); The Nose (The Performance Corporation); Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, Hänsel und Gretel, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Il viaggio a Reims, Pagliacci, The Medium, Suor Angelica (Wexford Festival Opera); La tragédie de Carmen (WFO, ETO); The Little Magic Flute (ETO, Opera Theatre Company, Ireland); The Kiss, Hansel and Gretel, The Barber of Seville, Xerxes (OTC).
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Annemarie is cowinner of the Ring Award Graz and the European Opera Prize (with director Sam Brown). She was a 2016 International Opera Awards nominee, and a 2015 nominee for Best Design in the Austria Music Theater Prize for La Favorite. Recent productions include: L’heure espagnole and Gianni Schicchi (Opéra National de Lorraine) Salome, L’Elisir d’Amore, The Turn of the Screw (Northern Ireland Opera), My Fair Lady (Karlsruhe), Macbeth (NIO / WNO) Agrippina (Irish Youth Opera), Don Giovanni (Bergen National Opera), Hair (Staadtstheater, Darmstadt), La Favourite (Graz), Alice (Scottish Ballet, Croatian National Theatre), Candide, The Importance of Being Earnest (Opéra National de Lorraine), The Triumph of Time, Truth/The Triumph of Beauty and Deceit (Handel Festival Karlsruhe), La Cenerentola (Luzern Opera), Der Zigeunerbaron (Stadttheater Klagenfurt), Jakob Lenz (English National Opera), Sigurd der Drachentöter (Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich), I Capuleti e I Montecchi (Teatro Sociale Como), Katya Kabanova (Landestheater Coburg) and Albert Herring (Aldeburgh).
Irish Chamber Orchestra Biography The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is Ireland’s finest chamber orchestra, combining high quality performances with an expansive artistic vision. Virtuosic, innovative and creative, the ICO’s unique collaborative approach and its rich relationship with an array of creative partners continues to blaze a trail. The ICO continues to work with Gábor Takács-Nagy (Principal Artistic Partner) and Jörg Widmann (Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner), seeking to expand audiences with their combined vision. Under the leadership of Katherine Hunka, the orchestra is one of Ireland’s busiest touring ensembles, both nationally and internationally. Gábor TakácsNagy continues with his great work and concentrates on core works from the string orchestra repertoire; whilst Jörg Widmann continues to champion the many facets of Mendelssohn, alongside his own innovative works. The ICO collaborates with some of the finest international guest soloists – Hungarian cellist István Várdai made a welcome return last September; while Jörg Widmann introduced his equally gifted sister Carolin Widmann in November (Carolin will return for further performances of Mendelssohn’s violin concerti over the next two years). The exciting Corsicanborn Jean-Christophe Spinosi, a sought-after conductor and director of the Ensemble Matheus, took the baton in December.
The repertoire is exciting, risk-taking and diverse – ranging from baroque to modern day masterpieces, including new commissions. The orchestra enjoys fruitful relationships with an array of Irish composers including Garrett Sholdice, John Kinsella, Linda Buckley, Elaine Agnew, Míchael Ó Súilleabháin, Frank Corcoran, Sam Perkin and Ian Wilson. The orchestra has successfully toured across Europe, Australia, South Korea, China and the US. Since his first appearance with the orchestra (Berlin 2007), Jörg Widmann has injected unprecedented energy which has seen the orchestra appear at prestigious festivals and venues throughout Europe. In 2017 the orchestra returned for the 2nd year of its first international (3-year) residency in Heidelberg, securing several concerts at the distinguished Heidelberger Frühling Festival with Igor Levit. Tabea Zimmermann joined the ICO as (co-) soloist on their return visits to the Philharmonie, Cologne and the Mozartfest Würzburg, as well as the orchestra’s debut at the Tonhalle Zurich (June 2016). In February 2017, the ICO and Jörg Widmann performed in Blaibach, Neumarkt, Brussels and Freiburg with great success. In March, the orchestra made its debut at the Konzerthaus Vienna to great acclaim, before returning to Heidelberg.
This year, the ICO enters its second year of prestigious residencies at the Kilkenny Arts Festival and the Heidelberger Frühling Festival in Germany. The orchestra’s trail-blazing approach continues to attract the world’s finest musicians, both international and national. Recent and present collaborators include István Várdai, Carolin Widmann, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Igor Levit, Thomas Zehetmair, Claron McFadden, Gilles Vonsattel, Gloria Rehm, Jochen Rieder, Sergeij Nakariakov, Tabea Zimmermann, Pekka Kuusisto, James Galway, Jonathan Cohen, Finghin Collins and Michael McHale. 25
BOARD
There’s a real buzz and sense of purpose about what this company is doing” – The Guardian Northern Ireland Opera was formed in 2010, with a mission to provide the highest quality opera to the widest possible audience, and to promote young Northern Irish talent. Generously supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Opera has a philosophy of excellence and risk-taking underpinned by an imaginative programming policy and first-rate casting. Northern Ireland Opera is committed to broadening the audience for this incredible art form that famously combines exciting stories, big spectacle, and great music.
Roy Bailie OBE, Chairman Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle CBE, Vice-Chair James Hunt Stephen Kingon CBE Ken Lindsay Professor Dolores O’Reilly Jane Wells
PATRON AND AMBASSADORS Sean Rafferty, Patron The Countess of Caledon The Viscountess Dunluce William Montgomery OBE
MANAGEMENT TEAM Artistic Director Walter Sutcliffe General Manager Clíona Donnelly Company and Outreach Manager Mark Irwin-Watson Marketing Manager Andrew Forsythe
CHAMBER CHOIR IRELAND
the great mystery
Tuesday 23rd May. St Thomas’ Church, Belfast | 7.30pm Wednesday 24th May. St Ann’s Church, Dublin | 8pm Directed by Paul Hillier | www.chamberchoirireland.com
CosĂŹ Fan Tutte November 2017
Grand Opera House, Belfast Millennium Forum, Derry~Londonderry www.niopera.com