News No. 1 Summer 2010

Back in 1989 Music Theatre Wales gave

the first performance outside the USA

of Philip Glass‟s darkly chilling chamber

opera The Fall of the House of Usher.

We were a young company then - only

in the second year of our existence.

But it was a production that placed us

firmly on the map as true innovators in

UK opera. “The most striking small

scale production to be seen anywhere

in Britain during the past year” hailed

the Times critic, whilst the Daily

Telegraph described it as “gripping” and

the Guardian as “utterly absorbing”.

More than that, it led the way to a long

term relationship with the composer.

After seeing our production Philip Glass

offered us the opportunity to

commission a new chamber opera.

There was just one problem. We

simply didn‟t have the resources for

such a commission at the time. The

opera he was proposing was In the Penal

Colony which was subsequently

commissioned by A Contemporary

Theatre in Seattle.

Now, 21 years later, we are thrilled to

renew our friendship with Philip and

once again bring one of his operas to

Return to Glass Music Theatre Wales gives UK premiere of

Philip Glass’s In the Penal Colony

LONDON Wed 15 -

Linbury Theatre, Sat 18 Sept

Royal Opera House 020 7304 4000

www.roh.org.uk

Public Booking opens 7 July 2010

BASINGSTOKE Tues 21 Sept

The Haymarket 01256 844 244

www.anvilarts.org.uk

OXFORD Wed 29 Sept

Playhouse 01865 305 305

www.oxfordplayhouse.com

ABERYSTWYTH Tues 12 Oct

Arts Centre 01970 623 232

www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk

NEWPORT Wed 20 Oct

The Riverfront 01633 656 757

www.newport.gov.uk/theriverfront

LEEDS Thur 28 Oct

Howard Assembly Room 0844 848 2727

www.operanorth.co.uk

MOLD Sun 14 Nov

Clwyd Theatr Cymru 0845 330 3565

www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk

EDINBURGH Tues 16 Nov

Traverse Theatre 0131 228 1404

www.traverse.co.uk

MANCHESTER Wed 17 Nov

RNCM 0161 907 5555

www.rncm.ac.uk

British audiences for the first time. In

the Penal Colony will open at the Royal

Opera House in September followed by

a tour to eight venues across England,

Scotland and Wales.

Scored for just two singers, an actor

and string quintet this is opera at the

smallest possible scale. But don‟t be

deceived - it packs a powerful punch.

Based on a short story by Franz Kafka

the action takes place in the

claustrophobic setting of a prison where

an obsessive Officer is about to put a

Prisoner through a gruesome process of

execution. Plunged into this nightmare

world is a horrified Visitor who has

been invited to witness the event.

Opera Up Close and Personal

Audiences too will be plunged into this

world as Director Michael McCarthy

intends to create a „theatre in the

round‟ experience with members of the

audience seated on three sides of the

performance area. So if you want, you

can book seats that are incredibly close

to the action. “Philip Glass has no

compunction in breaking theatrical and

musical norms” says Director Michael

(Continued on page 3)

The Team Once again, our Joint Artistic Directors will be taking the helm with Michael Rafferty

conducting and Michael McCarthy directing. All three members of the cast have all

worked with us before - in a number of quite different scenarios.

Back in 1998 Omar Ebrahim (Officer) helped save the day when he was called in at the last

minute to sing the role of Punch in Harrison Birtwistle‟s Punch and Judy in Cardiff after

Gwion Thomas was struck down by a horrible lurgy. Time was too tight for Omar to do

anything but sing from the side whilst Michael McCarthy walked the role. The result was

electric. Even 12 years later, people who were there remember what an intensely thrilling

performance it was.

Michael Bennett (Visitor) is another old friend having sung in our productions of Parim

Vir‟s Ion and Peter Maxwell Davies‟s The Lighthouse. Gerald Tyler (Condemned Man) has

also worked for the company but, it has to be said, in a somewhat less glamorous role - as a

member of the technical crew (ie shifting bits of sets!) on one of our European tours.

Finally, we‟re delighted to welcome on board our design team of Simon Banham and Ace

McCarron, who have worked with us more times than they may care to remember.

2

Many thanks to everyone

who took the time to fill in

our feedback forms from

last year’s tour of Eleanor

Alberga’s Letters of a Love

Betrayed. We really

enjoyed hearing your

thoughts Well – I am a fan of Isabel Allende. Was not sure what to expect. The website was worth reading. The pre-performance info was helpful. I struggled to get in tune at the beginning but as the opera proceeded it grew more and more magical. The best part was a wonderful fulfilment of all the turmoil and stress. Thank you for such a moving experience.

Enid Hamon, Plymouth An outstanding performance of an exciting new opera. The leading singers have been perfectly cast. The orchestra shows great understanding of the music – reminiscent of Britten and immediately accessible. What a pleasure to have surtitles as well. A

Feedback

Paul Keohone and Arlene Rolph in Letters of a Love Betrayed Autumn 2009 Photo: Clive Barda

privilege to have been present at this remarkable production and the introductory talk was very helpful. Ritchie Ovendale, Aberystwyth

Really enjoyed it. I hope you can come back here soon. Hope you can continue to work collaboratively with Scottish opera.

David Smithe – Perth I certainly enjoyed this evening‟s performance. I like the „spareness‟ of the whole piece; the lighting very effective. Especially good the instrumental performances and

writing – not so sure of vocal lines, though well projected. Got very drawn in the second half. Very Good. Good pre talk – so enthusiastic.

Marjorie Williams, Mold Wonderful music – echoes of Villa Lobos – great orchestration, excellent sub-titles. Dramatic moments, very powerful, would have liked an aria! She should definitely write songs. Great story – shades of Benjamin Britten too...

Jane Kay, Mold

Know your Philip Glass?

He’s undoubtedly one of the best known composers living. So we thought we’d bring to

you a few facts about Philip Glass that you may (or may not) have been aware of!

Despite his stature as a composer, you

are in safe hands if Philip Glass is around

and you find a block in your u-bend.

After moving to New York in 1967 he

worked for a number of years as a

plumber as he established the Philip

Glass Ensemble and embarked on his

career as a composer.

Similarly you need look no further

should you need to find your way

around New York. Whilst he worked

as a plumber by day, he drove a cab at

night. Indeed most of his

groundbreaking opera Einstein on the

Beach was written after returning the

cab to the garage at night.

That opera, Einstein on the Beach broke

all the rules of traditional opera. It was

five hours long without an interval

(Wagner Ring lovers, eat your hearts

out); audience members were invited to

wander in and out at liberty throughout

the performance (Wagner aficionados,

perhaps you‟re not eating your hearts

out) and instead of a plot, Glass

presented a poetic look at the life and

legacy of Albert Einstein, scientist,

humanist and amateur musician.

Philip Glass defies categorisation - which

is why we can seamlessly move from

the world of ‟high opera‟ to Sesame

Street. At the same time as composing

Einstein, Philip Glass wrote music to

accompany a series of animated shorts

for the popular children‟s TV show.

They consisted of the movement of six

circles (each with a different colour of

the rainbow) that are formed by and

split up into various geometric patterns.

You can see them for yourself on You

Tube.

Glass‟s music is frequently described as

hypnotic. Certainly members of English

National Opera‟s chorus might agree as

there were reports of them finding

themselves falling into a mesmeric state

whilst rehearsing for their recent

production of Satyagraha.

3

Talent Spotting We’re in the business of staging new opera. That’s

why we’re keen to encourage young composers to

try their hand at the art form. Our Make an Aria

project does just this.

The

Fall

of t

he

House

of U

sher

1989

Pho

to: B

rian

Tar

r

Ed Scolding

(pictured left with his

librettist Bethan James),

recounts his experience of

taking part in Make an Aria

The project gave me a fantastic kick-

start in opera writing. Before it began

I'd written lots of vocal music and enjoyed watching opera but never

written any myself.

The first session with MTW showed us

how important the individual working

relationship is, so my writing partner

Bethan James and I felt able to spend a

lot of time developing a shared idea of

what we wanted, without feeling under

pressure to deliver finished music

quickly.

We agreed we wanted the scene to be

as 'real' as possible - not to make only a

pretty song (I can do that just as easily

outside opera) but to write something that would also work on a dramatic

level, as a glimpse of someone's life

with a 'real-world' setting and back

story.

Because we worked out the plot and

emotional journey together, Bethan¹s

finished libretto was convincing for

both of us as something that our

character would be compelled to sing

out loud. This gave me a structure that

laid out exactly what the music needed

to say at each moment and over the

whole piece.

It was wonderful to watch experienced

professionals taking apart our scene

and reconstruct on stage the meanings

in our text and music. In that situation

everything in the work is laid bare,

which is a big incentive to make totally

sure that all your work makes sense!

I recently orchestrated the original

version for a larger ensemble to give

the music more vivid, dramatic

expression. The new version has been

performed at the Royal Academy of

Music with another performance

planned soon. Bethan and I are now

searching for ideas for our next step in

opera.

McCarthy, “and I feel this gives me

licence to break out of the usual

presentation of opera where public,

singers and orchestra are separated into

distinct areas of the theatre -

auditorium, stage and pit.

Just as sitting in the front row of the

centre court of Wimbledon or taking a

ringside seat at a boxing match

heightens the excitement of a sports

event, so I think this seating will really

rake up the dramatic force of the

opera. It‟s going to offer a new

perspective. Many people talk about

the added dimension sport achieves

through High Definition TV. Well this

is your opera equivalent - Opera HD”.

*Sorry, if you’re coming to our performance in

Oxford you won’t have this experience as the

constraints of the building makes it impossible.

(Continued from page 1)

In the last couple of years, we‟ve been

on a bit of a mission to discover and

nurture new talent - composers and

writers whose work might form part of

our future repertoire. Embarking on a

complete opera is a massive undertaking

(even for the most experienced

composer) so we have devised a

scheme called Make an Aria which offers

composers and writers an opportunity

to do just that. We provide them with

a dramatic context, a choice of

characters within that scenario and then

ask them to write an aria for one of the

characters through the language of

opera.

We first ran the project back in 2008 in

conjunction with our production of

Berkeley and McEwan‟s For You. Armed

with only a brief synopsis of the story

and short character descriptions, their

mission was to choose just one

character and develop their own story

line - what happened to that character

once the curtain went down? We

recruited six composers working at

post graduate level from the universities

of Bangor and Cardiff and the Royal

Welsh College of Music and Drama

(RWCMD). Their first task was to find

a writer with whom they could team up.

In addition to an initial meeting that

brought together everyone taking part

in the project, each composer-writer

teams had individual meetings with

Michael Rafferty and Michael McCarthy

in which they explored and developed

their ideas further.

As one of the composers taking part in

the project Ed Scolding says (see right)

an aria is much more than just a „pretty

song‟. It‟s a moment when musical

expression and dramatic intention

coincide; a moment when a character

reveals, discovers or explores

something about themselves within a

dramatic situation; a moment which

needs to be sung but which is not a

song.

The project culminated with a public

masterclass at RWCMD with composer

Judith Weir. Such was its success we‟re

running it again this year, working with

our colleagues at Welsh National Opera

and Birmingham Contemporary Music

Group and a group of talented young

composers from Cardiff and

Birmingham. This time our source

material will be provided by the author

of In the Penal Colony, Franz Kafka.

Who knows what seeds we might sow

that will bear great fruit in the future.

Photo

: K

irst

en M

ctern

an

4

Welsh National Opera

Pack a small bag of essential items,

surrender your personal

belongings at the Postern Gate

and enter the prison to discover if

Leonore’s courage is enough to

save her husband

This Autumn Welsh National Opera

performs Fidelio in Cardiff, Swansea,

Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham,

Llandudno, Southampton and Oxford.

Fidelio is an impressive music drama

that shows that the most essential

human qualities can survive in the most

hostile conditions. A combination of

powerful music and spoken dialogue

bring the story of Fidelio to life.

www.wno.org.uk/fidelio

Welcome to our Mutual Appreciation Society - an

opportunity for us to bring you news from a range of

companies and organisations whose work we enjoy - and

which we hope you’ll enjoy too.

Vale of Glamorgan Festival

of Music

5 - 11 September 2010

This year's Vale of Glamorgan

Festival celebrates the 75th birthday of

Arvo Pärt, one of the most renowned

living composers and features Pärt's

compatriots the stunning Estonian

Philharmonic Chamber Choir and other

world-class artists and composers.

Just a stone‟s throw from Cardiff, the

Festival takes audiences to an

assortment of atmospheric venues,

ancient and modern, in and around a

county that combines picturesque

countryside, historic towns and villages

and a dramatic coastline.

www.valeofglamorganfestival.org.uk

Keeping in Touch Why not join our Facebook

page at www.facebook.com/

musictheatrewales where

you can get all the latest news from

the company along with any bits of

chat we may have about our

colleagues and friends in the business.

We‟re also planning to start

tweeting this summer when

we go into rehearsal for In the

Penal Colony, starting on 16th August

so we hope you‟ll follow along as we

relay tales from the rehearsal room!

But if social networking is simply not

your bag so to speak (it certainly isn’t

mine - Ed) don‟t worry. We‟re more

than happy to carry on staying in

touch by email or good old fashioned

post.

Music Theatre Wales

Pascoe Buildings

54 Bute Street

Cardiff CF10 5AF

029 2049 8471

enquiries@musictheatrewales.org.uk

www.musictheatrewales.org.uk

The Opera Group

at the Royal Opera House

July 2010

The Lion’s Face

Elena Langer‟s touching study of an

Alzheimer‟s patient receives its London

premiere.

20, 21, 28 & 29 July at 7.45pm

**** “Profound and moving … a

courageous piece” The Times

Double Bill

A welcome return for George

Benjamin‟s gripping retelling of The Pied

Piper Into the Little Hill, paired with

Susan Bickley as a troubled diva in the

rarely-performed Recital 1 by Luciano

Berio.

23, 24 & 26 July, 7.45pm.

***** “A masterpiece, no question”

Daily Telegraph

www.theoperagroup.co.uk/

FOR YOU released on CD

This July Signum Records is releasing a

CD of Michael Berkeley and Ian

McEwan‟s opera For You, recorded at a

live performance at the Royal Opera

House by Music Theatre Wales in

October 2008.

Michael Rafferty conducts a cast made

up of Allison Cook, Christopher

Lemmings, Rachel Nicholls, Alan Opie,

Jeremy Huw Williams and Helen

Williams, accompanied by the Music

Theatre Wales Ensemble.

Birmingham Contemporary

Music Group (BCMG) at the

Proms

BCMG will be performing at this year‟s

Proms on Friday 6 August at

the Royal Albert Hall .

In his 50th-birthday year, George

Benjamin directs the ensemble

through a sensuous and punchy

programme of works by Oliver

Knussen, Hans Abrahamsen, Luke

Bedford and Benjamin himself.

www.bcmg.org.uk

The Boltini Trust