I loved the witty set (designer, Anna Reid) a luxury housing development, with a big sign outside promising "No social housing", something I'm all too familiar with as a local resident to the Vauxhall-Nine Elms "transformation". The UK premire of Miss Fortune is on March 12th at the Royal Opera House. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. But this encyclopedic experience helps. Judith Weir is a Honorary Patron for Sound and Music. I loved the witty set (designer. . Judith Weir's opera is a story about Tina and how her life dramatically changes course overnight; it is a story about fate and fortune. Indeed it has. The evening began with a compelling staging of Menottis frothy score, a romantic two-hander with music somewhere between Broadway and Italian verismo and first performed in the UK at the Aldwych Theatre in 1948. 'Blond Eckbert' and 'Miss Fortune'. In spite of all this, the libretto has some decent moments, particularly in the short second act in which Weir lets her hair down a little. 5, Rimsky-Korsakov Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh LSO/Noseda. Dominic Wheeler conductorMartin Lloyd-Evans directorAnna Reid designerAnthony Doran lighting designerJoseph Beesley assistant conductorRachel Wise assistant director/movement, Lucy England Segomotso Shupinyaneng (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Ellie Neate (2 & 7 Mar) Iben Bering Srensen Whilst there is nothing especially laudable . She has subsequently written one more "micro-opera", three full-length operas, and an opera for television. Judith Weir must be considered one of the most successful Britishoperacomposers since Britten, Get priority booking for outstanding performances & access to exclusive events, 2023 Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS, See the CVs for Guildhall School Final Year Production Arts students, Production Arts teaching staff and technicians can be found on our website. What drew you to composition? A new production of an earlier opera is always welcome news, to its composer at least, and it doesn't feel right to term these "revivals" - implying that resuscitation or even raising from the dead has been necessary. The best in live events, streams, reviews and articles recommended by our editors, delivered to your inbox weekly. In collaboration with director Margaret Williams, Weir has created several opera films, including Scipios Dream, Hello Dolly, and Armida. . The banality of the text follows the banality of the narrative, and the music doesn't rise above it. 2.1.1 Miss Fortune (Achterbahn) 2.2 Other key works; 3 Selected recordings; 4 External links; 5 References Biography. She struggles, wins the lottery, casts aside money and goes off with the handsome prince, in his mercifully clean shirt. Violetta Suvini* A recording of this production will be available to watch online for free after the performances. What you think of Miss Fortunes music will depend very much on personal tastes: I found it music to admire rather than to love. If your booking contains several events the highest booking fee will apply. A chance lottery win enables her escape from poverty, and like all good fairy tales, she goes off into the sunset with the handsome prince, Jack Holton whose paean to a freshly laundered shirt made one of the few amusing moments. Hoodies and drug dealing delineate subsequent reversal of fortune for Tina whose seamstress colleagues (vocally in fine fettle) provided an opportunity for some highly effective choreography. So, turning convention on its head, weve a fatalistic riches-to-rags tale transposed from a Sicilian original and relocated in time and place to take account of the financial ills and social unrest of the here and now. In the title role, Emma Bell does an admirable job of wrapping her voice around it all, without the audience ever getting a melody or a mood to remember. Sad because Weirs folk inspired fables have won many friends, sad because she is a composerly composer whose luminous orchestral backdrops and singable vocal lines display an honest talent that never hides behind overworked technique. Menottis parade of operatic models coloratura showpiece, rage aria and lament were effortlessly pointed up and the rapport between the singers was communicated with both tenderness and impatience. Jamie Hulme Phil Sizer, Staff Production Manager Weir was appointed a CBE in 1995 Composer Judith Weir CBE is to become the first female Master of the Queen's Music. MISS FORTUNE is a contemporary re-telling of a Sicilian folk story. "But the good thing," she added, "is that I completely forget to worry about singing the music.". 024 IN 2. Whether were in the initial scene of the casting of our heroines horoscope, the various pieces of mayhem that envelop her or the poetic aubade sung by kebab-shop owner Hassan: the music is overlaid by urgent stridency. Edward Seckerson in The Independent (London) wrote of "Miss Fortune in name and deed" and described the opera as "silly and naive" and "a waste of talent and resources", with a libretto that "vacillates between the banal and the unintentionally comedic (or is that irony? She went on to Cambridge University, where her composition teacher was Robin Holloway; and in 1975 attended summer school at Tanglewood, where she worked with Gunther Schuller. was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. ), full of truisms and clunky metaphors" and "about as streetwise as a visitor from Venus". Judith Weir Miss FortuneLord Fortune Jacob Harrison, Lady Fortune Amy Holyland, Tina Erin Gwyn Rossington, Fate Kieron-Connor Valentine, Hassan Florian Panzieri, Donna Laura Fleur, Simon Jack Holton; Director Martin Lloyd-Evans, Conductor Dominic Wheeler, Designer Anna Reid, Lighting Anthony Doran, GSMD Orchestra. Book Only. Memoirs of an Accidental Film Artist. Public transport . Joshua Saunders For more access information, please visit ourAccessibilitysection. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Lord Fortune - Alan Ewing. Amongst her priorities in this role are the support of school music teachers, of amateur orchestras and choirs, and of rural festivals. In this role she has written music for national and royal occasions, including the Queens 90th birthday celebrations and the UKs official commemoration of the 1918 Armistice. Plan your journey and find more route information in Your Visit or book your car parking space in advance. Charlotte Antingham The helicopter view: Opera Europa's Nicholas Payne, At the helm of the aircraft carrier: The Royal Opera's Oliver Mears, Raising the curtain: Jacquelyn Stucker on building momentum and opera's digital challenge, Meeting the Maestro: in conversation with Fabio Luisi, Spring and summer in Prague: your musical guide, Koen entrances the Rudolfinum with Martin miniatures, Lucid in music and narrative: ENO and Richard Jones, David is a co-founder of Bachtrack. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. What doesnt change, at least in the 53 minute first act, is her accenting: the music is continually using devices to ratchet up the tension - chromatics, diminished and augmented chords. [4] She received the Lincoln Center's Stoeger Prize in 1997, the South Bank Show music award in 2001 and the Incorporated Society of Musicians' Distinguished Musician Award in 2010. Presented byGuildhall School of Music & Drama. But I personally have been feeling thoroughly revived after. Edit Now. Everything about Miss Fortune is benign and comfortable even Tom Pyes eye-catching geometric designs are thoroughly alienating, a garment sweatshop spotless and sanitised like the Royal Opera have re-deployed the spinning chorus from their last production of The Flying Dutchman. Born: 11 May 1954, United Kingdom Died: NA Country most active: United Kingdom Also known as: NA Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Tobias Campos Santinaque But this time round, it seemed even more relevant than to pay onstage attention to this subject. The opera reworks a Sicilian folktale as a contemporary parable. During this time she began to write a series of operas (including, As resident composer with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the 1990s, she wrote several works for orchestra and chorus (including, In recent years, Judith Weir has considerably expanded her choral catalogue, with regular performance by choirs worldwide of music such as her Christmas carol. Kyra Coppini, Production Sound Engineers The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2012. I decided to use the tale as a basis for a new opera. How come that trumpet B-flat sounded so great in the Austrian Alps, but in London was clearly a wrong note? At least that was Weirs intention - to be relevant and in touch. Commissioned by Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera House and premiered in 2011, Miss Fortune is a contemporary re-telling of a Sicilian folk story. Our heroine is clad in a bright red dress - the Chinese colour for luck - which makes her a constant point of focus through the action. Judith Weir CBE (born 1954) is a British composer and the first female Master of the Queen's Music. Beat Erro Dez, Horn Jack Garner-Greene Giulia Lussoso Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Did the huge generic trapezium in the middle of the stage represent the dizzying moral precipice over which we mortals all too often hurl ourselves, especially in the name of making opera? Eva Gaidoni Published by Chester Music (HL.14035701). The work was made in co-operation with Margaret Williams. Everything about Miss Fortune is benign and comfortable - even Tom Pyes eye-catching geometric designs are thoroughly alienating, a garment sweatshop spotless and sanitised like the Royal Opera have re-deployed the spinning chorus from their last production of The Flying Dutchman. Nicole Ma, Percussion My reworking begins with a financial crash and ends with an unlikely lottery win yet I didn't set out to write a piece about contemporary events. Both portrayals were wonderfully convincing musically and dramatically, each singer having an easy stage presence and voices that hold the ear with roundness of tone and crystal-clear diction. Now based in London, she has had a long association with Spitalfields Music Festival; and has taught as a visiting professor at Princeton, Harvard and Cardiff universities. Judith Weir. Caroline Moores, Head of Recording & Audio Visual Guildhall School of Music & Drama Despite the lively productions and well-defined characterisations, I was disappointed by the poor diction and overbearing orchestral support in Miss Fortune. By contrast, the premiere production (as often happens) seemed to be aiming at a left-field reimagining of a piece which no-one had yet seen. R. 70. 9 Bavarian Radio Sinfonieorchester/Rattle, GRAMOPHONE Review: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. Members do not pay booking fees. Right next to it was the ubiquitous fingers-crossed Lottery sign with its jaunty "Play here!" Indeed it has. Did it have to be this way? Miss Fortune in name and deed. Judith Weir is brilliant at writing atmospheric, descriptive music, but such music needs something to hang on to, like flesh needs a skeleton (another image of Fate).This libretto is so weak, it's embarrassing. A full list of Production Arts teaching staff and technicians can be found on our website. The role in Bregenz was taken up by the Prague Philharmonic Chorus, who gave touching performances while mastering illogical-looking English spellings like "rough" and "tough". Chester Music #MUSCH61126. The orchestral music also seemed much bolder and more colourful under Dominic Wheeler's direction, and in the hands of GSMD's vivid student orchestra. Sad because Weir's folk inspired fables have won many friends, sad because she is a composerly. 3 - Larsson, Dsseldorfer Symphoniker/Fischer, GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. Hassan - Noah Stewart She is the composer of several operas (written for Kent Opera, Scottish Opera, ENO and Bregenz) which have been widely performed. [13] Gerhard R. Koch, writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper on 25 July, had these observations: Miss Fortune moved to London in March 2012, garnering at least two negative reviews.

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