2009/10
“ This proves that opera, at its best, is a source of magic and enchantment.� The Guardian on The Enchanted Pig
We make shows for audiences that like live music and appreciate vivid stories; for audiences that like being both entertained and provoked. We’ve been commissioning and touring new opera for ten years and still find it hard to describe the company’s work – each show has its own unique flavour. We make all our work in collaboration with people who inspire us and to all of our partners we owe a huge debt of thanks; particularly to the Young Vic where we are an Associate Company and to ROH2 at the Royal Opera House with whom we regularly co-produce. We are grateful to Arts Council England as well as to the important group of trusts and foundations for the ongoing support which makes our work possible. Thanks also to our rapidly expanding group of major individual donors and our very own Opera Groupies who both support and challenge us. We hope that your curiosity is sparked and that you’ll come and join us: as an audience member at a performance or work-inprogress sharing; as a participant in a workshop or a debate; as an artist or collaborator.
Down by the Greenwood Side (2009)
The
d e t n a h Enc
Pig
When you’re a princess you expect a fairytale wedding. You don’t expect your husband to be hairy, smelly and a genuine pig. Based on a Romanian folktale, this is a terrifically funny and tuneful family show. Following its acclaimed run at the Young Vic in 2006 The Enchanted Pig makes a welcome return as a co-production with ROH2 and the Young Vic. Jonathan Dove’s playful score brings to vivid musical life the journey of a princess to the ends of the universe. An ensemble of eight singers drawn from the worlds of both opera and musical theatre is accompanied by a band of six instrumentalists. Jonathan Dove’s distinctive music and brilliant theatrical imagination, combined with Alasdair Middleton’s witty lyrics, have helped make them one of the most sought after opera writing teams in the world.
Music Jonathan Dove Words Alasdair Middleton Music Director Tim Murray Director John Fulljames Designer Dick Bird Lighting Designer Bruno Poet Choreographer Philippe Giraudeau A co-production with ROH2 and Young Vic Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House 10 December 2009 – 2 January 2010 New Victory Theatre, Broadway, New York 4 - 22 February 2010 Touring the UK Easter 2010
“The whole show casts a spell of wonder and delight.” Daily Telegraph “The show boasts witty, versatile lyrics by Alasdair Middleton and an inspiring through-sung score by Jonathan Dove... On all artistic levels, this Enchanted Pig brings home the bacon.” Independent
2006 production
The story begins with a man forgetting his own birthday: a trivial thing, but one which signals an irreversible loss of memory and a return to the memory of childhood. This is not only a highly original and richly-textured exploration of the joys and sadnesses of aging, but a look at the incomprehension of getting old in the minds of the young. Elena Langer’s new full-length opera makes its world premiere after a short version won the Audience Prize at the 2008 Zurich Teatro Minimo competition. Langer’s music which tells the emotional story with a powerful immediacy is scored for a chamber orchestra of 12 instrumentalists and is performed by a cast of singers and actors. The Lion’s Face emerges from an extended period of development in conjunction with the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. We’ll be working with the Institute and our other partners including the Alzheimer’s Society to curate a series of talks and debates connected to our performances around the country. A schools programme linking science, music and drama curricula tours with the opera.
www.thelionsface.com
Music Elena Langer Words Glyn Maxwell Director John Fulljames Designer Alex Lowde Lighting Designer Jon Clark A co-production with Brighton Festival Brighton Festival 20, 21 May 2010 Further UK Touring Summer 2010
A faceless stranger arrives in town and agrees to exterminate its plague of rats; but when the Mayor refuses to pay up, his actions have terrible repercussions. This spine-tingling re-imagining of the Pied Piper fable received an ecstatic London premiere in 2009 in our co-production with London Sinfonietta and ROH2. This telling of the story is pared down, voiced by two female singers, soprano and contralto, who share all six roles. However, the eerily beautiful and highly original score, performed by an ensemble of fifteen, is rich and otherworldly. Into the Little Hill is George Benjamin’s first music theatre work and went on to win a Royal Philharmonic Society Award.
“A transcendentally beautiful piece, perfectly scaled to Martin Crimp’s taut libretto” The Guardian “A superb performance… A masterpiece, no question” Daily Telegraph
Music George Benjamin Words Martin Crimp Director John Fulljames Designer Soutra Gilmour Lighting Designer Jon Clark Projection Designer Mick McNicholas A co-production with London Sinfonietta, ROH2 and Aldeburgh Music UK Tour Summer 2010
Creating Operas of the Future Funded by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, The Opera Group’s Incubator provides a space for innovation – enabling us to develop musical and dramatic ideas from their first seeds and build relationships with project partners from the beginning. During the year we invite potential partners and supporters to see our work-in-progress and in engage in the development of our new work. For The Lion’s Face, the Incubator has made it possible for us to build links with scientists, care organisations and educational institutions across the country which will support the final production when it tours in 2010. Current Incubator projects include a new project with composer Edward Rushton (The Shops 2007) as well as a collaboration with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group on a commission from composer Luke Bedford and poet Glyn Maxwell – re-imagining Milton’s epic creation myth Paradise Lost for an age of environmental decay. In further partnership with Aldeburgh’s Jerwood Opera Fellowships, this project will have its first work-in-progress sharings in the autumn of 2009. COLUMBIA FOUNDATION FUND OF THE CAPITAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Become Part of Our Story We are frequently asked how we create or develop new work. The answer is – only with support. The Opera Group is a registered charity and, despite raising vital income from our existing supporters and the box office, we still need to raise at least £250,000 of new income each year through fundraising. Producing two shows a year, developing ideas with composers and writers, commissioning new works and running education projects - The Opera Group has something to interest everyone. Opportunities to support us are exciting and varied – talk to us about ways of getting involved.
The Opera Groupies are friends of The Opera Group who support our commitment to the future of opera by giving opportunities to young composers and creative teams to find new ways of telling stories with music. With a gift of £100/year (or £10/month by direct debit), Opera Groupies’ benefits include backstage insights, invites to join us for opening nights, post-show parties, regular updates and more. Visit our website at www.theoperagroup.co.uk
or call us on 020 7922 2846.
Varjak Paw (2008)
Artistic Director: John Fulljames Executive Producer: Sherry Neyhus Producer: Nate Sence Marketing: Ben Jefferies for makesthree Press: Faith Wilson, Faith Wilson Arts Publicity Development: Michelle Wright for Cause4 Trustees: David Bernstein, John Gilhooly, Lindsey Glen, Paul Kearney, Anthony Newhouse, Andrew Newman, Claudia Pendred (chair)
The Opera Group c/o Young Vic 66 The Cut London SE1 8LZ Phone: +44 (0)20 7922 2846 Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 2807 Email: enquiries@theoperagroup.co.uk Registered Charity no. 1070013
www.theoperagroup.co.uk
Production photographs by Alastair Muir. Rehearsal and workshop photographs taken at the Jerwood Space by Gemma Mount. Cover photo: Into the Little Hill (2009) Street Scene (2008)