Opera North 2017 – 2018 PAGLIACCI Ruggero Leoncavallo
MADAMA BUTTERFLY Giacomo Puccini
L’ENFANT ET LES SORTILÈGES Maurice Ravel
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA Giuseppe Verdi
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA Pietro Mascagni
DON GIOVANNI Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
TRIAL BY JURY Gilbert & Sullivan
SALOME Richard Strauss
OSUD Leoš Janácˇek
KISS ME, KATE Cole Porter
TROUBLE IN TAHITI Leonard Bernstein
Photographic Credits Tim Anderson (Peter Mumford and Richard Mantle, The South Bank Sky Arts Awards, p9); Tom Arber (Entranced, pp2-3, p6; Afrocubism Revisited, Roberto Fonseco p4; The Symphonic Sounds of Back to Basics, p7; In Harmony instrument workshop, p10; An Introduction to Billy Budd, p12); Clive Barda (Billy Budd, p5); Lidia Crisafulli (Dr Ferret’s Bad Medicine Roadshow, p11); Tristram Kenton (Turandot, Suor Angelica, p5); Alastair Muir (Cinderella, p5); James Mulkeen (Big Sing, p11); Opera North (Rafael Rojas, p6; Opera North Ring online, Flit, p9); Simon Jay Price (Richard Farnes and Richard Mantle, RPS Awards, p8); Richard Hubert Smith (The Snow Maiden, p4); Sean Spencer (The Height of the Reeds, p4, p8); University of Leeds (Dr George Rodosthenous, Lesley Patrick, Marcus Norman and Davide Levi, p13); Robert Workman (Hansel and Gretel, covers, p13).
Opera North Limited Grand Theatre 46 New Briggate Leeds LS1 6NU UK (Registered Office) Tel 44 (0) 113 243 9999 info@operanorth.co.uk Registered Charity No. 511726 © Opera North Limited, 2017
operanorth.co.uk
Review 2017
Welcome This brief overview of a year in the life of Opera North will, we hope, give a glimpse of the Company’s imaginative thinking and determined ambition to make great art available to everyone across the north of England and far beyond the region. We continue to seek to reach new and different audiences and to present opera – in the broadest possible sense of the word – in innovative and often surprising ways. The Opera North Ring cycle – which won both Royal Philharmonic Society and South Bank Sky Arts Awards this year – was made available to a global audience in its digital incarnation through a partnership with BBC Arts Online. Digital technology was to the fore, too, in our themed ‘fairy tales’ season in the winter. Each of the three productions utilised the technology in very different ways, but all had the aim of bringing these ancient, enduring stories to new life for contemporary audiences. Those audiences included thousands of schoolchildren who were entranced and inspired by our special schools’ matinee performances of Hansel and Gretel. Some other highlights of the year demonstrate the Company’s range and reach. In Hull in April a sound installation created by Opera North Projects for the City of Culture 2017 captured the imaginations of thousands of people who traversed the Humber Bridge. In May audiences in Leeds, Nottingham, Hull, Liverpool and Gateshead were electrified by Turandot, the latest of our innovative concert stagings of large-scale operas. In June our performances of Billy Budd closed the 2017 Aldeburgh Festival and took Britten’s great sea-faring opera to the composer’s spiritual home for the very first time. And in July the Orchestra of Opera North played live outdoors
Covers: Katie Bray (Hansel) and Fflur Wyn (Gretel) in Hansel and Gretel, 2017 These pages: Entranced, Light Night, Howard Assembly Room, 2016
to thousands of people in Millennium Square in Leeds in three concerts that ranged from club classics, to operatic highlights, to the complete score of Back to the Future. We have been successful in increasing our earned revenue and contributed income, thus reducing our dependence on funding from central government. Nonetheless, the stability provided by continued investment from Arts Council England and Leeds City Council remains crucial for the sustainability of our work. Also vital are our partnerships in the arts, business, community and education sectors, such as the ground-breaking DARE partnership with the University of Leeds, which this year celebrated its tenth anniversary. Opera North remains, as it has always been, outwardlooking, working with artists from around the globe, yet rooted in the North; firm in the belief that the arts make an overwhelmingly positive impact on communities, and that culture is crucial to the economic prosperity and well-being of the region.
Paul Lee
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Richard Mantle General Director
‘Where would English opera be without this bold, expertly managed powerhouse?’ Mark Valencia, WhatsOnStage, October 2016
RPS Music Awards 2017 Winner Opera and Music Theatre – The Ring cycle RPS Music Awards 2017 Winner Conductor – Richard Farnes South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2017 Winner Opera – The Ring cycle
Patron HRH The Duke of Kent KG Founder George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood KBE President Keith Howard OBE General Director Richard Mantle OBE
Board of Trustees Paul Lee (Chairman) Paula Dillon (Vice Chairman) Clive Lloyd (Vice Chairman) Ed Anderson Mark Armour Paul Baverstock Nicola Brentnall John Bywater Peter Maniura Richard Mantle Nima Poovaya-Smith Cllr Jonathan Pryor Martin Vander Weyer Irving Warnett Development Board Ed Anderson (Chairman) Paula Dillon Michael Furse Howard Gatiss Sir Andrew Lawson-Tancred Bt Arthur Lovitt Anthony Robards
Inspiration Between September 2016 and August 2017, Opera North was responsible for 176 public performances in 25 different venues across the country. Freshly inspired interpretations of classics and innovative new commissions were equally acclaimed. ‘One of the finest, most moving, most elemental sonic journeys that I’ve ever taken.’ Tom Service, Music Matters, BBC Radio 3, on The Height of the Reeds
176
Public performances presented by Opera North
‘Opera North often delivers best when being most madly gung-ho: this is a case in point, and the result of its bold ambition is a complete triumph.’ Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph, on Turandot
‘Which other UK company would dare to include not one but two monster operas in the same tour — and then do them this well? Der Rosenkavalier is a huge undertaking, brilliantly achieved, and so is this new Billy Budd from director Orpha Phelan. And what shrewd planning to programme Britten’s all-male nautical epic alongside Puccini’s Suor Angelica, which the company is also touring in a double bill with Il tabarro. Holy orders for the ladies of the chorus, a life on the ocean wave for the men. … this unmissable Billy Budd is great theatre combined with superb music-making, and it adds a new jewel to the crown of Opera North. Where would English opera be without this bold, expertly managed powerhouse?’ Mark Valencia, WhatsOnStage, on the Autumn 2016 main stage season
For everyone Opera North creates extraordinary experiences for everyone in the north of England and beyond. The Company is reaching ever more diverse audiences through initiatives such as its Community Partner programme, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, which now embraces 100 different groups and organisations. ‘[Encore] is a fantastic scheme which opens up the theatre to marginalised groups who would usually be excluded from such events. It is an absolute pleasure and delight to see the emotional wellbeing of attendees improve so much after experiencing a performance, and for this to continue for days and weeks after the event. It has a direct and immediate positive impact on the emotional wellbeing and integration of refugees and asylum seekers in Leeds. Long may it continue.’ Meeting Point
‘Height of the Reeds might be the best artmusic event I’ve ever experienced. Bravo.’ Joe Haining via Twitter
‘Wonderful! That brought tears to my eyes. That’s what you call bringing opera to the people!’ Jane Richardson via Twitter, on ‘Nessun Dorma’ flashmob at Trinity Leeds
‘My first night at the opera ever and I’m in awe of how good @Opera_North’s #ONTurandot was at @CityHallHull tonight. INCREDIBLE.’ Alex Duffy via Twitter, on Turandot at Hull City Hall
‘My son who’s 15 and I came to see Snow Maiden last night. This was my son’s first opera, he absolutely loved it, and wants to come again to see all kinds of operas. Thank you so much for his amazing experience of opera for the first time.’ Catherine Beal, via Facebook
Between September 2016 and August 2017 there were:
115,474
Total attendances nationwide of an Opera North show, concert, event
3,928
Members of Under 30s scheme
119
International artists presented by Opera North in the Howard Assembly Room
4,518
1,452,102
3,280
100
Mentions in the press
Broadcast minutes
293,989
Unique visitors to the Opera North website
671,457 Views of ‘Nessun dorma’ flashmob video
Views of Opera North video content online
Groups and organisations who are now members of the Opera North Community Partner programme funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Main image: The Orchestra of Opera North performs The Symphonic Sounds of Back to Basics in Millennium Square, Leeds, July 2017 Opposite top: Rafael Rojas sings ‘Nessun dorma’ – flashmob at Trinity, Leeds, May 2017 – part of European Opera Days Opposite bottom: Entranced, Light Night, Howard Assembly Room, October 2016
Everywhere From Hull to Belfast; from Edinburgh to London; from a Leeds pub to a Suffolk wood; from concert halls to shopping centres to bridges; from community venues to the global digital arena, Opera North collaborates with local and international artists to make the best of music and the arts available to everyone, everywhere. Part of Hull City of Culture 2017, The Height of the Reeds was an installation that mixed the sounds of the Humber Bridge with music to create a multi-layered composition. Visitors collected a headset on arrival to activate a unique sonic experience that unfolded as they walked the length of the bridge. Field recordings collected by Hull-based sound artist Jez riley French provided the starting point for the project. Music was then composed by the Norwegian musicians Arve Henricksen, Jan Bang and Eivind Aarset for the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North, conducted by Justin Doyle. Nearly 6000 people experienced The Height of the Reeds in the spring of 2017.
An innovative film version of the complete Opera North Ring cycle was released to a global audience in February 2017. Commissioned
by The Space, The Opera North Ring was made available to stream for free across various platforms, in partnership with BBC Arts Online. Also released was a full Ring cycle ‘conductor cam’, a fifteen-hour film made up of a single shot of Richard Farnes conducting the entire cycle. The extraordinary achievement of the Opera North Ring was recognised at the 2017 RPS Music Awards, where it won the award for Opera and Music Theatre and Richard Farnes collected the Conductor award; and at the 2017 South Bank Sky Arts Awards, where the Ring won the Opera award.
119
International artists presented by Opera North in the Howard Assembly Room
In August 2016, the Howard Assembly Room at Opera North hosted two weeks of production rehearsals for Martin Green’s Flit, with musicians Becky Unthank (The Unthanks), Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Dominic Aitchison (Mogwai). As a co-producing partner, the Howard Assembly Room at Opera North was one of the first venues on the show’s tour in autumn 2016.
‘Art, politics and social history rarely connect in meaningful fashion, but Martin Green’s innovative and extraordinarily ambitious Flit project hits the mark on many levels. It is a multimedia show on the topic of migration originally inspired by his grandmother’s tales of fleeing Vienna in the 1930s. But its topical relevance is hammered home in virulent fashion towards the end, as Green’s story of kinder trains rescuing Jewish children from the Nazis suddenly explodes in a discordant cacophony of electronics, strobe lighting and furious ranting that leaves no room for doubt about parallels with the modern refugee crisis.’ Colin Irwin, The Guardian, on Flit, The Barbican, London, October 2016 Opposite: The Height of the Reeds, Humber Bridge, April 2017 Opposite top: Richard Farnes (Conductor) and Richard Mantle (General Director) at the RPS Music Awards, May 2017
Above left: Peter Mumford (Director/Lighting Designer) and Richard Mantle at The South Bank Sky Arts Awards, July 2017 Above: Still from the Opera North Ring online Left: Flit at the Howard Assembly Room, October 2016
Communities Opera North connects with communities and inspires the next generation through sustained engagement in some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country. The lives of more than 19,000 young people and adults were this year enriched through the Company’s extensive education programmes.
19,351
Young people and adults reached by Opera North Education in the north of England
In Harmony Opera North In Harmony Opera North began at Windmill Primary in 2013. So significant was its impact that two years later the programme was extended to Low Road Primary School, and in September 2016, the children at Windmill and Low Road were joined by New Bewerley Community Primary School in Beeston. As a result, the number of children engaged in In Harmony Opera North has increased from 424 in 2013 to 1,138 in 2017.
‘Daily, we see a tangible development of team work, leadership, empathy and social skills through the regular musical activities. Learning an instrument and playing in an ensemble takes time and dedication, both as an individual and as a group. You must keep repeating things, trying again and again to break through a barrier and achieve success. It’s the same with academic subjects – the two go hand in hand.’ Andy Gamble, Executive Head of Windmill and Low Road Schools Music Federation, Leeds
Hansel and Gretel schools’ performances and workshops Special schools’ performances of Opera North’s main stage productions were introduced in Leeds in 2014 with The Bartered Bride. L’elisir d’amore followed in 2016, and in 2017 the scheme was widened to embrace all the venues on the winter tour – in Newcastle, Salford, Nottingham and Belfast as well as in Leeds. In preparation for the performance – of Hansel and Gretel – schools were offered access to creative and interactive ‘Introduction to Opera’ workshops, which introduced students to Humperdinck’s opera and encouraged them to approach the production critically.
‘ “Very well produced”, “Very easy to understand”, “Brilliant”, “Loved it” and “WOW!” were expressions we heard from the children.’ Teacher, St. Boniface RC Primary School, Salford
‘The workshops were fantastic and the Opera North delivery artists were incredibly inspiring and taught the children so much.’ Teacher, Moor Allerton Preparatory School, Manchester
Left: In Harmony instrument workshop, December 2016 Above: Opera North Youth Chorus in Dr Ferret’s Bad Medicine Roadshow, July 2017 Top Right: Big Sing, Doncaster, July 2017
2,715
Attendance at Opera North main stage performances for schools
Partnerships Opera North’s impact and influence extends far and wide, at home and abroad. Crucial to the Company’s range and reach are its many powerful partnerships, with organisations in the arts, business, education and social sectors, and with individual supporters, trusts and foundations. Opera North and Arts Council England Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England: ‘Opera North is one of the great cultural assets, not just of Leeds and Yorkshire, but of the whole nation. The range of its activities encompasses its excellent and enterprising work on the main stage, symphonic concerts by the Orchestra of Opera North – one of the UK’s most versatile ensembles – a diverse and lively programme in the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds, and an inspirational education department. This is allied to impressive schemes which aim to make the Company’s work available to the broadest possible audience.’
25
Opera North and Leeds City Council
Councillor Judith Blake, Leader, Leeds City Council: ‘Since its very inception, Opera North’s partnership with Leeds has been a potent symbol of the city’s vision and ambition. Indeed, Leeds is the only city in England outside London to be home to a national opera company, putting us on a par with leading European cities. The creativity generated by our partnership extends far beyond Opera North’s internationally-acclaimed work on the operatic stage: it also provides the city with a resident symphony orchestra, the Orchestra of Opera North, and a range of truly transformative educational activities in our communities, such as the remarkable In Harmony project.’
number of venues at which Opera North appeared between September 2016 and August 2017
Opera North and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Lou Errington, Grants Manager, Paul Hamlyn Foundation: ‘Opera North is in its fourth year of support by Paul Hamlyn Foundation through the Paul Hamlyn Clubs initiative: a community engagement programme providing five selected arts organisations with £500,000 each to enable them have a lasting impact on diversifying audiences. Opera North’s commitment to this programme, via its Encore and Bravo clubs, Community Partners and innovative taster performances, is providing access to the very best of performing arts on offer in Leeds to local people who do not normally get the chance to do so, and creating long-term relationships with new audiences.’
DARE: Opera North and University of Leeds Davide Levi and Marcus Norman, Pettman DARE scholars Pettman DARE Scholarships, which are made possible through the generosity of Mrs Maureen Pettman and the late Professor Barrie Pettman, provide early career professionals the opportunity to undertake an intensive year of practice-led research. Davide Levi: ‘For me, Opera North’s DARE partnership with the University of Leeds, through the Pettman Fellowship, provided the rare opportunity for academic study and real-world experience. This informed my development and evaluation of Opera North’s first Orchestra Camp and has been a springboard to becoming a music education specialist.’ Marcus Norman: ‘The generosity of Mrs Maureen Pettman and her late husband Professor Barrie Pettman, in partnership with Opera North, allowed me to explore a career in Music Education that would not otherwise have been possible. As a direct result of completing the hands-on experience, which equips emerging professionals to enter the workplace, I am now Opera North’s In Harmony Co-ordinator.’ Marcus and Davide were awarded distinction in the Post-Graduate Diploma in Performing Arts Management from the University of Leeds, an accreditation unique to the Pettman Dare Fellowship programme.
Opera North and Hammerson Plc James Rogers, Community Executive, Hammerson Plc: ‘Hammerson was delighted to partner with Opera North on the delivery of the Hansel and Gretel schools’ matinees. As a company we look to find ways of working in partnership to positively impact on the communities we work in and the schools’ matinees were a prime of example of this. It was extraordinary to be in the theatre sharing young people’s first experience of and reactions to live opera.’
Right: Hammerson plc supports Opera North’s schools’ performances of main stage productions, which in 2017 expanded to include performances of Hansel and Gretel in Newcastle, Salford, Nottingham and Belfast as well as in Leeds Opposite: Anthony Haddon and Sylvia Hallett perform An Introduction to Billy Budd at The Chemic Tavern, Leeds, October 2016, part of Opera North’s Community Engagement Programme funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Above: Dr George Rodosthenous, Associate Professor in Theatre Directing, University of Leeds; Lesley Patrick, DARE Collaboration Manager; with Pettman DARE Scholars Marcus Norman and Davide Levi
Accounts The range and quality of Opera North’s work in 2016/17 resulted in a strong financial performance. The Company is executing a plan to eliminate historical deficits and increase its financial resilience. In the Financial Year 2015/16 we began to build an operating reserve and, as the figures below will show, the Company achieved an increased surplus in 2016/17. Income from Box Office and related receipts and from fundraising and sponsorship increased over the period, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of the Company’s income overall. Philanthropy plays a key role in our funding mix, and our efforts in this area continue to be rewarded with significant growth. It is a tribute to the generosity and vision of our supporters, whether they be from the corporate sector, trusts and foundations, or individual donors, that annual contributed income exceeded £2.6 million in 2016/17.
Year to 31 March 2017
Total income Arts Council England grant Arts Council England In Harmony grant Leeds City Council grant Box office & related income Sponsorship & fundraising Production / rental income Education / Projects / Howard Assembly Room Theatre Tax Credit
Although the period ahead will doubtless be no less challenging than the past several years of austerity, we continue to make strenuous efforts to broaden our income streams across the public and private sectors so that Opera North’s vital contribution to the social and economic fabric of Leeds and the North is secured for the future.
Total expenditure
£’000 10,386
54%
100 485 3,436 2,618 453 455
0.5% 2.5% 18% 13.5% 2.5% 2.5%
1,265
6.5%
19,198
As a result of our success in increasing self-generated revenue, our dependence on central government funding has diminished: in 2015/16 Arts Council England’s grant represented 59% of the Company’s total income; in 2016/17 it represented 54%. However, substantial investment from Arts Council England and from Leeds City Council remains critical to Opera North’s viability. In February the Company completed a funding application to Arts Council England for the four-year period commencing April 2018 based on a planning figure of a cash standstill over the four years. The outcome of the application, announced in June, was successful and we are grateful for this vote of confidence in the range, reach, diversity and quality of the Company’s work across all strands of the operation.
Staff costs Overhead costs Opera production & performance costs Education and Projects costs Orchestral concerts costs Marketing costs
£’000 8,375 1,228 7,239 949 287 658
18,736
45% 6.5% 38.5% 5% 1.5% 3.5%
Acknowledgements Opera North gratefully acknowledges all the organisations and over 1,000 individuals across the country who generously support the Company’s work.
Individual Supporters Corporate Members
Business Partners
The Opera North Future Fund The Patrons’ Initiative
Associates of Opera North Friends of Opera North
Opera North Fund The Harewood Circle
Evans Property Group Hammerson plc James Hare Ltd KPMG Lawrence Fraser Brokers Leeds City Council Leeds Trinity University MAC Mills & Reeve Nova Studios Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital
One Medical Group Portakabin Sagars Target Live Taste Cuisine TheBusinessDesk Town Centre Securities Trinity Leeds Ward Hadaway William Jackson Food Group Wykeland Ltd
Principal Partner
Addleshaw Goddard Arup Bartlett Group Blacks Solicitors Brewin Dolphin Danbrit Holdings Limited Deloitte Dermalogica DLA Piper Ellis Patents Ltd Emerald Group Publishing
Trusts & Foundations
Backstage Trust The A&S Burton 1960 Charitable Trust Sir John Fisher Foundation J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust
The Hobson Charity The Holbeck Charitable Trust Sir James Knott Trust The Charles and Elsie Sykes Trust
The Thompson Family Charitable Trust Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement The Whitaker Charitable Trust
Charles Brotherton Trust The Calmcott Trust The Carntyne Trust Carr-Ellison Charitable Trust Fund City Health Care Partnership Foundation
The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust The John S Cohen Foundation The Golsoncott Foundation The Kenneth Hargreaves Charitable Trust The Hedley Denton Charitable Trust
Hull and East Riding Charitable Trust The Idlewild Trust The Linden Charitable Trust The Sir James Reckitt Charity