The firm Gilbert and Sullivan favourite is coming to Abbots Langley as ALGSS return to one of their most popular shows, HMS Pinafore.
Captain Corcoran is determined to see his daughter married to a cabinet minister, but she loves Ralph, a common sailor. Will the dastardly Dick Deadeye succeed in foiling the lovers’ plans?
For the first time in Watford Palace Theatre history ALGSS brings the searing opera ‘Carmen’ to its stage. Bizet‘s Spanish-inflected score is brimming with passionate melodies and famous numbers such as Carmen’s seductive ‘Habanera’ and Escamillo’s ‘Toreador song’.
Set in the heat of Seville, ‘Carmen’ is an enduring story of passion, lust, jealousy, obsession, and revenge.
ALGSS are delighted to be bringing Rory Bremner’s gritty translation of this work to the stage.
There’s more that a hint of panto in Rossini’s comic opera, La Cenerentola, based on the well-known fairy story. Poor Cinderella is kind as well as beautiful but how will the Prince meet her, when she is always in the kitchen doing the chores for her step-father and step-sisters? He arranges a ball (of course) but the rest of the family must come too. Sung in English and accompanied by a chamber orchestra, this much -loved opera features dazzling music, big dresses and all the wit and verve for which Rossini is renowned.
Tickets from £23 – special discount 4 tickets for Wed 31 May for £69. Sat performance starts at 18.30 – no performance on Thursday
Abbots Langley Gilbert & Sullivan Society flutter back to the Watford Palace Theatre stage with their production of the fantastical Gilbert & Sullivan classic, Iolanthe. Be swept into the magic of Fairyland and witness the sheer hilarity of ineffective Peers from the House of Lords.
Many years ago the Fairy Queen banished Iolanthe from Fairyland for marrying a mortal. Now Iolanthe’s son, Strephon, wishes to marry Phyllis. However, he cannot do so without the permission of her guardian, the Lord Chancellor, who shows little enthusiasm for his ward marrying a mere shepherd…
North Norfolk Chamber Opera isdelighted to present Monteverdi’s opera from 1642, The Coronation of Poppea.
Monteverdicomposed his late masterpiece with church performance in mind, and reflecting this, our performances will take place in St. Margaret’s Church, Cley-Next-the-Sea on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 12th, 13th and 14th May at 7pm.
Our fully staged, fully costumed and fully acted production will be performed in the round, giving the audience an exciting and immersive theatrical experience. The audience is restricted to 75 per evening, so do please book early.
Our Music Director is Mark Jones, twice winner of the Adrian Boult conducting scholarship and for 21 years, Music Director of Gresham’s School, and also Music Director of Fakenham Choral Society. Our stage director is Paul Hands, for many years Director of Drama at Gresham school, where he produced many operas and musicals in conjunction with Mark. He has the distinction of having directed award-winning Norfolk actress, Olivia Colman.
This will be the first time this opera has been presented in Norfolk since the Sadler’s Wells tour of 1974, therefore, an opportunity not to be missed. For further information and full cast list, vist our website www.northnorfolkchamberopera.co.uk or contact us at northnorfolkchamberopera@gmail.com
We gratefully acknowledge the generous assistance of The North Norfolk District Council’s Arts and Culture Fund.
Part of the Welsh National Opera’s 75th anniversary tour
Mischievous trickery and action-packed fun
Count Almaviva has fallen in love with Dr Bartolo’s ward Rosina, but her guardian has other ideas and wants to keep her for himself. Almaviva enlists the help of local barber, Figaro, to outwit his plan, and through a series of comical events and deception Figaro takes on the role of matchmaker. Will he save the day and true love prevail?
Welsh National Opera’s much-loved production of The Barber of Seville – set around a traditional Spanish piazza – partners wonderfully with Rossini’s witty and expressive melodies. With an unforgettable score including Figaro’s Aria, this is the perfect feel-good opera.
Sung in English, with English and Welsh subtitles.
Part of the Welsh National Opera’s 75th anniversary tour
On the surface a dream-like wedding for a groom and his young, beautiful bride – but behind the façade is a cruel reality. Abandoned and betrayed, Butterfly finds her world crashing around her as her one chance for freedom becomes her prison. Her desperation and pain escalate as she fights for survival with devastating consequences.
Madam Butterfly is a powerful story of unrequited love, human pain and suffering which is magnificently intensified by Puccini’s glorious music, promising a night of drama and emotion. Inspired by Puccini’s fantasy landscape of exotic pleasures, Lindy Hume’s new production interprets Butterfly’s famous story through a dystopian prism.
Our planned 2020 performances of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld went the way of all things last year, but now, Orpheus finally gets the chance to reclaim his Eurydice this month in our new, semi-staged performance. This is one of the lightest and brightest pieces in the operetta repertoire, the perfect pick-me-up to chase away those lockdown blues. Entry just £10 at the door. What’s more, this will be the first performance in Norfolk since we last produced it in 1997. Hie thee to Upper Sheringham.
Our planned 2020 performances went the way of all things last year, but now, Orpheus finally gets the chance to reclaim his Eurydice (or not?) this month. This operetta, one of the lightest and brightest in the repertoire, is the perfect medicine to chase away those lockdown blues. What’s more, it’s not been seen in Norfolk since we last produced it in 1997. Entry just £10 at the door. Be sure to hie thee to Cley-Next-The-Sea
Arcola’s Grimeborn Opera Festival, which is returning for its 14th year, will open with a new staging of ‘Die Walküre’ at Hackney Empire.
Following Julia Burbach and Peter Selwyn’s thrilling version of Wagner’s ‘Das Rheingold’ in 2019, Arcola is producing the first London performances of Jonathan Dove’s acclaimed reduction of ‘Die Walküre’ since its Birmingham premiere in the 1990s, when it caused a sensation.
‘Die Walküre’ features 18 live musicians from the Orpheus Sinfonia and an exceptional cast of singers led by Mark Stone, who will be singing Wotan in this country for the first time.
‘Die Walküre’ will run for three performances at Hackney Empire, 291 Mare St, London E8 1EJ, from Wednesday 4 – Saturday 7 August.
The first-class cast of singers features many regulars of the Longborough Festival, renowned for its Wagner productions.
Director Julia Burbach, recently of the Royal Opera House, has directed ‘Die Walküre’ already at Bordeaux Opera, France and will soon do so in Iceland; she is a recent nominee at the International Opera Awards.
Conductor Peter Selwyn is an experienced Wagnerian, who has worked on many Ring Cycles, at opera houses and festivals including Covent Garden, Nuremberg, Strasbourg, Longborough, and Bayreuth, the home of Wagner himself.
The Grimeborn Festival has proven that opera can be for everyone, welcoming newcomers and established fans alike. Wagner’s ‘Ring Cycle’ is one of the most famous and sought after works in the opera repertoire. While it holds great fascination, many people have not been able to see it. This summer is now their chance with this brand new, accessible production.
We are delighted to be presenting ‘Die Walküre’, the second instalment of the ‘Ring Cycle’, in the opulent setting of the Hackney Empire, following from our acclaimed ‘Das Rheingold’ at the Arcola Theatre two summers ago. Interrupted by the pandemic, but undaunted, we continue our journey towards a complete ‘Ring Cycle’.
‘Das Rheingold’ was situated in a world of cardboard boxes, evoking the strong feelings of fragility that come with moving and being displaced. ‘Die Walküre’ applies this idea to the backstage world of a large warehouse, where, beset by feelings of transience and loneliness, people are searching for a safe place.
We find ourselves in a world of gods and demigods, who experience human emotions and problems we can all relate to. It is a domestic story of family relationships – father and daughter, brother and sister, husband and wife, with issues of trust, deception and forgiveness, and, most importantly, the power of love. We follow the story of the search for the elusive Ring, firstly through the eyes of reunited brother and sister Siegmund and Sieglinde, then in the journey of Wotan, King of the Gods, who appears all knowing, yet harbours deep insecurities and fears. We witness the mental decay of a powerful man, suported by his daughter Brünnhilde, who emerges as the true heroine. Recognising her father’s pain, driven by love and empathy, she rescues her father, refusing to desert him even when he is destructive against himself and those he loves the most.
The young and excellent Orpheus Sinfonia forms the 18-piece orchestra, and iconic musical moments in the score include the Ride of the Valkyries (sadly without helicopters here) and the Magic Fire Music.
OTHER FESTIVAL PRODUCTIONS
Other productions in the season, to be announced soon, will be performed at Arcola Outside the brand-new outdoor covered performance space and bar designed by multi-award-winning stage designer Jon Bausor (‘Bat Out of Hell: The Musical’, ‘The Grinning Man’, London 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony), and built by a team of freelance theatre and live events technicians. The new space is close to the theatre’s main building on Ashwin Street and brings Arcola’s performance spaces and bar together under a giant roof.
