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reiner_torheit
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« on: 21:35:45, 01-03-2007 » |
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[background]
Long, long ago in the ENO "powerhouse" era, English National Opera received unusually far-sighted funding from NorWest Holst to stage a series of operas (one per year, for five years) from the "neglected masterworks" genre. The point was to get a playing for pieces which were mysteriously ignored in Britain, but which the ENO management of the time considered worth staging as a one-off. Each of the pieces was to get just one short run on a very tight budget, and if you missed it, then you missed it forever as it would never come back. The series began with Nick Hytner's (in)famous RIENZI, and also included David Alden's MAZEPPA.What five (or fewer - but not more) works would you like to see included in a future "fantasy" NorWest Holst-style season? Guidelines: - the works should really be "well out of circulation" in Britain - let's say unperformed for at least 20 years
- they ought to be full-scale pieces with orchestra - not chamber pieces, one-acters etc
- please let's have at least one work by a British composer
- you can have up to two newly-commissioned works in your season - tell us about them in as much detail as you'd like
- please give a brief - or lengthier, if you prefer - justification for why the work deserves performing, in your view
- if you wish you can suggest casting, conductor, producer and designer - these ought to be people alive and working today, and not the stars of yesteryear
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They say travel broadens the mind - but in many cases travel has made the mind not exactly broader, but thicker.
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Don Basilio
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« Reply #1 on: 11:31:28, 02-03-2007 » |
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Has anyone done Weber's Oberon? An uneven work, but the only opera in English by one of the great C19 operatic composers. It should be done on the London stage.
I probably wouldn't go along to Ponchielli's La Gioconda, but isn't it a key work in Italian operatic history, half way between Verdi and Puccini? (ie a Verdi plot with Puccini arias, but for contralto, mezzo and baritone. One of my gripes with Puccini is that everything is for sop and ten.) La G (let's all forget dancing hippos, everyone) is more ROH than ENO, and definitely more Met than ROH. (I seem to remember it being discussed on the Met quiz as a standard old fashioned rep piece.)
I would definitely go along if someone did Benedict's The Lily of Killarney. It isn't even recorded but it seems to have far more charm and less corn than the other two members of The English Ring. (Maritana and The Bohemian Girl.)
And I'd love to see Rossini's Maometto Secondo.
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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh: a time to mourn, and a time to dance
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Lobby
Gender: 
Posts: 15
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« Reply #2 on: 11:46:24, 02-03-2007 » |
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I'd like to see a proper performance of Cherubini's Medee in the original French and shorn of the later additions by other composers (specifically the composed recitatives).
It was performed this way at Buxton (I think, could be wrong) in the early 80s with Rosalind Plowright and came across very powerfully. In this form it seemed to me at least to have a classical, almost Racinian purity that the later, corrupted versions miss.
I'm sure that new performances would show the links back to Gluck and forward to Beethoven very well
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"I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever."
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Don Basilio
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« Reply #3 on: 12:21:03, 02-03-2007 » |
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Lobby - Love the Lady Bracknell quote.
I didn't give reasons for the Rossini. The subject matter is profound (an entire culture facing extinction, and agreeing to be brave about it) and amazingly Rossini's extreme coloratura expresses this. It is a work that give the lie to him being just a witty purveyor of sparkling comedies.
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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh: a time to mourn, and a time to dance
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perfect wagnerite
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« Reply #4 on: 13:07:25, 02-03-2007 » |
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I'd agree with Oberon - great music, silly plot, ripe for a makeover by an intelligent producer. It has been done a couple of times to my knowledge - an atrociously bad production by Scottish Opera and a semi-staged production at the Edinburgh festival, but both of these were in the 1980s so probably get past the twenty year rule.
In a similar vein, I'd nominate Marschner's Hans Heiling - totally neglected, but representative of an important and influential stage in European opera, as well as showing from where Wagner lifted the Todesverkundigung scene in Walkure Act II!
PS - Reiner, having attended both, I'd have said that the ENO Mazeppa was a lot more infamous than Rienzi. I was at the opening night of the Mazeppa and the frisson in the theatre that evening is not something I shall easily forget ...
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At every one of these [classical] concerts in England you will find rows of weary people who are there, not because they really like classical music, but because they think they ought to like it. (Shaw, Don Juan in Hell)
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reiner_torheit
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« Reply #5 on: 13:22:28, 02-03-2007 » |
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Agreed with you about the frisson at MAZEPPA, I was there too... from the moment those neon lightbulbs flickered on, the mood in the auditorium was "electric" itself :-) We could be flexible on the "20-year-rule"... it was just a guideline to keep recently-done pieces out of the nominations... especially if it relates to "Festival" productions which very few people had a chance to see or hear ;-)
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They say travel broadens the mind - but in many cases travel has made the mind not exactly broader, but thicker.
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Don Basilio
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« Reply #6 on: 13:23:05, 04-03-2007 » |
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Its me again. I just remembered RVW's Hugh the Drover. I came across the Tear recording about ten years ago when I was going through a difficult time and I found it wonderfully consolatory, partly because it moved me so unexpectedly.
James Gilchrist rather than Ian Bostridge as Hugh, or even someone earthier. Anne Collins as Aunt Jane. I'm sure there's lots of nice girls to sing Mary In the evening I have heard you, calling, calling.
That's my five. I hope there are a few more contributions here.
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« Last Edit: 22:15:56, 06-03-2007 by Donbasilio »
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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh: a time to mourn, and a time to dance
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #7 on: 20:54:24, 04-03-2007 » |
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Sorry it's taken time to acknowledge this excellent thread, Rei, but I've been trying to plug gaps in an area where we're already short of staff yet they still decide to open a new store anyway. Madness.
For starters: Under Western Eyes by John Joubert, based on the Conrad novel, so far as I know not seen since its premiere at the 1969 St Pancras Festival, which I happened to be at. It's not a perfect piece, but neither is it in any way bad; both dramatically and musically it's very obviously influenced by the Britten operas; there's even a childrens' chorus, although they're schoolgirls, which inevitably distances things a bit from Britten. There are passages which are strikingly reminiscent of Owen Wingrave, though obviously not filched from therefrom, as Joubert's piece predates it. Since we're not far off forty years ago, I can only remember some of the cast; Nigel Douglas played Razumov, and the very sinister Chief of Police was Robert Lloyd, even then obviously destined for greater things; wierd how even after all this time I can still hear his voice in the creepy inflection of a rising major sixth on the 'umov' syllables of the hero's name.
There'd be two Eastern European operas last revived by the New Opera Co in the 70s, so far as I'm aware: Martinu's Julietta and Szymanowski's King Roger, though I'll need to consider casting and production teams and for all three whilst I prepare my commission...
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« Last Edit: 21:43:07, 04-03-2007 by Ron Dough »
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reiner_torheit
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« Reply #8 on: 21:11:00, 04-03-2007 » |
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Bravo to all so far! I think we have a stunning opera festival developing before our very eyes.
I am interested by that John Joubert piece, Ron - I was expecting you to have suggested some Tippett? ;-) Yes, it's amazing that Martinu's JULIETTE hasn't had a production in donkey's years, isn't it? I'd have hoped his stock might have risen a little on the back of the Janacek boom - but he remains mired in the shadows.
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They say travel broadens the mind - but in many cases travel has made the mind not exactly broader, but thicker.
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perfect wagnerite
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« Reply #9 on: 21:32:05, 04-03-2007 » |
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Sorry it's taken time to acknowledge this excellent thread, Rei, but I've been trying to plug gaps in an area where we're already short of staff yet they still decide to open a new store anyway. Madness.
For starters: Under Western Eyes by Jean Joubert, based on the Conrad novel, so far as I know not seen since its premiere at the 1969 St Pancras Festival, which I happened to be at. It's not a perfect piece, but neither is it in any way bad; both dramatically and musically it's very obviously influenced by the Britten operas; there's even a childrens' chorus, although they're schoolgirls, which inevitably distances things a bit from Britten. There are passages which are strikingly reminiscent of Owen Wingrave, though obviously not filched from therefrom, as Joubert's piece predates it. Since we're not far off forty years ago, I can only remember some of the cast; Nigel Douglas played Razumov, and the very sinister Chief of Police was Robert Lloyd, even then obviously destined for greater things; wierd how even after all this time I can still hear his voice in the creepy inflection of a rising major sixth on the 'umov' syllables of the hero's name.
There'd be two Eastern European operas last revived by the New Opera Co in the 70s, so far as I'm aware: Martinu's Julietta and Szymanowski's King Roger, though I'll need to consider casting and production teams and for all three whilst I prepare my commission...
I'd certainly support King Roger - I recall going to a concert performance at the Festival Hall in about 1990; BBC SO, Andrew Davis and, I think, Eilene Hannan as Roxana but I certainly don't recall a staging in recent years. In any case, a superb piece. |
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At every one of these [classical] concerts in England you will find rows of weary people who are there, not because they really like classical music, but because they think they ought to like it. (Shaw, Don Juan in Hell)
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #10 on: 21:34:47, 04-03-2007 » |
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Apart from New Year, they've all been revived fairly recently, although I'm very disappointed John Tom never got to sing Priam (come to think of it, he must still have my score!). Bearing in mind the Russian setting of Under Western Eyes it might indeed be up your street, Rei. It's certainly more stageworthy than many of the other operas of the period, though RRB's The Mines of Sulphur and Malcolm Williamson's Our Man in Havana were both very well received at their premieres. With a very large lottery win I would seriously consider having a go at Havergal Brian's The Tigers, but only after a Grimes, which I've wanted to direct forever and which would be a very different beast indeed to the ON one...
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #11 on: 21:41:13, 04-03-2007 » |
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When did Birtwistle's Punch and Judy last come up? If it happened too recently in England maybe you could send a touring production to Australia. Never been done there...  |
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #12 on: 21:51:58, 04-03-2007 » |
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Not for a long while, so far as I can recall, Oz. Saw the original EOG production two nights after Britten's MND, my first exposure to Birtwistle at the tender age of 18 or so; quite a shattering experience, I can you, all the more for having absolutely no idea in advance what I was in for........
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Don Basilio
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« Reply #13 on: 10:13:24, 09-03-2007 » |
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reiner
Are you going to nominate anything by Stephen Storace?
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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh: a time to mourn, and a time to dance
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reiner_torheit
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« Reply #14 on: 10:53:30, 09-03-2007 » |
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Oh, I expect you are all sick of Stephen Storace by now, Don B ;-) But it's true, I haven't put my own list forwards.... - Cherubini - MEDEA (Susan Bullock, cond Alex Ingram, prod McVicar)
- Tchaikovsky - THE OPRICHNIK (prod Dmitry Bertmann, cond Elder)(sponsored by Heinz Tomato Ketchup)
- New Commission - Dominic Muldowney (prod N Hytner, cond Stueart Bedford)
- Gustav Holst - THE PERFECT FOOL (prod K Warner)
- Kurt Weill - MAHAGONNY (cond J Holmes, prod Tim Albery)
I'd've put Krenek's JONNY STRIKES UP on the list, only it got a production in the mid-80's by New Opera Company, so probably gets ruled out by that... although it would fit the criteria by Year 5 of the project. I would also like to have included some Verdi, but I feel it ought to then stay in repertory for a few seasons, and thus shouldn't be done as a "one-off". Yes, yes, Stephen Storace should be there too, of course... probably THE PIRATES or THE SIEGE OF BELGRADE. Vivaldi's LA FIDA NINFA was another I struggled to include. Aside from this project, I would desperately like ENO to borrow on a coproduction basis (i) Richard Jones's production of Prokofiev's THE FIERY ANGEL, just done in Brussels, and (ii) The Bolshoi Opera's production of Desyatnikov's ROSENTHAL'S CHILDREN (2005). |
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« Last Edit: 11:00:19, 09-03-2007 by reiner_torheit »
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They say travel broadens the mind - but in many cases travel has made the mind not exactly broader, but thicker.
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