Kent Opera

Last updated

Kent Opera was a British opera company active between 1969 and 1989. It was based in Ashford and regular venues included The Orchard Theatre, Dartford; Assembly Halls, Tunbridge Wells; Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Kings Theatre, Southsea; Theatre Royal,Norwich, and the Derngate, Northampton. Its operas were performed in English, usually with new translations of the libretto by professor Michael Irwin, but also by Norman Platt or Anne Riddler. For the first two years it performed with the Midland Sinfonia but later had its own orchestra. [1]

Contents

History

Kent Opera was England's first regional opera company, founded in 1969 by Norman Platt (1920-2004), [2] in response to a perceived need for first-class opera in England outside the main centres, in productions that were composer-centred. [3] Kent Opera gave its inaugural performances in 1969 with The Coronation of Poppea, sung in English at Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells with Adrian de Peyer, a high tenor, as Nero and Laura Sarti as Poppea. The edition chosen by the conductor, Roger Norrington, was that by Raymond Leppard, but in 1974, when the company was invited to Lisbon, Norrington, with the members of the Kent Opera continuo, produced a realisation closer to Monteverdi's manuscripts. Anne Pashley and Sandra Browne were now the lovers, Laura Sarti sang Ottavia and John Tomlinson Seneca. Later that year the production toured Kent and was seen at the City of London Festival: "It comes closer to the heart of this blazing masterpiece than any other I have heard", wrote the Sunday Telegraph. The following year, in a new translation by Platt, the opera was performed at the Proms, with Sarah Walker as Poppea. In 1986 Kent Opera toured a new production of Poppea with Patricia Rosario as Nero and Eirian James as Poppea, and Iván Fischer made his own new realisation of the score.

By 1974 there were usually three operas in the repertory at any time, typically a Baroque opera, a Mozart opera and a 19th or 20th century work. Wherever possible the company aimed to revive productions with the same team and singers and improve on the original production. [4] The company's performances were broadcast on radio and television. The company was the subject of a series of programmes made by TVS entitled Staging an Opera. [5] Channel 4 broadcast the production of King Priam in 1986 in celebration of Michael Tippett's 80th birthday. Other television programmes were one on Kent Opera including rehearsals of Orfeo (Monteverdi) also A night at the Chinese Opera (Weir).

Kent Opera did considerable work with children and in developing new audiences. This included commissioning children's operas from Alan Ridout, Adrian Cruft, Judith Weir, Christopher Brown and Ruth Byrchmore. Summer concerts from 1971 were presented in venues around the south east of England.

The company appeared at major British festivals: Edinburgh (1979), the City of London, Aldeburgh and Bath; as well as in Lisbon and Oporto (1974), Venice (1980), Schwetzingen (1976) and Singapore. It was the first British company to appear at the Vienna Festival in June 1986 at the Theater an der Wien. It presented The Coronation of Poppea at the Proms in 1975.

The founding Music Director of Kent Opera was Roger Norrington (1969-1984). He was succeeded by Iván Fischer (1984-1989). Chorus masters during its existence were Jonathan Hinden, Timothy Dean and Mark Tatlow.

The company received critical acclaim for the clarity and imagination of its productions, of which Norman Platt directed 17; [6] Jonathan Miller directed his first opera at Kent Opera in 1974 (Così fan tutte) and returned to direct six further operas. Other guest directors included Adrian Slack, Elijah Moshinsky, Nicholas Hytner (his first opera direction), Christopher Bruce, Adrian Noble, and Richard Jones.

Repertory

The company performed a wide range of operas from the entire history of the genre:

In addition, the company gave world premières of the following operas: The Pardoner's Tale by Alan Ridout (1971), The Black Spider by Judith Weir (1985) and A Night at the Chinese Opera by Judith Weir (1987), Dr Syn by Adrian Cruft (1984). [8]

Closure

The effective closure of Kent Opera in 1989 due to the withdrawal of all funding from the Arts Council was a controversial decision which generated protest. [9] In 1983 Kent Opera was the only opera company not to have its deficit written off. An Arts Council report in 1987 threatened to withdraw Kent Opera's grant from 1 April 1988 but this was successfully fought off, partly because the report contained much false information. [10] In 1988 the company made successful tours to Singapore and Valencia in Spain, and with its 20th anniversary approaching, received plaudits in the press. When another proposal to cut the company was put forward in December 1989, Robert Ponsonby resigned from the music panel, performances at Covent Garden were cancelled and commissions from Michael Berkeley and Peter Maxwell Davies stopped.

Three further small-scale productions were mounted between 1994 and 1997.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Norrington</span> British conductor (born 1934)

Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington is an English conductor. He is known for historically informed performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music.

Raymond John Leppard was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the first major conductors to perform Baroque opera, reviving works by Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli. He conducted operas at major international opera houses and festivals, including the Glyndebourne Festival where he led the world premiere of Nicholas Maw's The Rising of the Moon, the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House. He composed film scores such as Lord of the Flies and Alfred the Great.

<i>Il ritorno dUlisse in patria</i> 1639 opera by Claudio Monteverdi

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera consisting of a prologue and five acts, set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season. The story, taken from the second half of Homer's Odyssey, tells how constancy and virtue are ultimately rewarded, treachery and deception overcome. After his long journey home from the Trojan Wars Ulisse, king of Ithaca, finally returns to his kingdom where he finds that a trio of villainous suitors are importuning his faithful queen, Penelope. With the assistance of the gods, his son Telemaco and a staunch friend Eumete, Ulisse vanquishes the suitors and recovers his kingdom.

<i>Lincoronazione di Poppea</i> Opera by Claudio Monteverdi

L'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1643 carnival season. One of the first operas to use historical events and people, it describes how Poppaea, mistress of the Roman emperor Nero, is able to achieve her ambition and be crowned empress. The opera was revived in Naples in 1651, but was then neglected until the rediscovery of the score in 1888, after which it became the subject of scholarly attention in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since the 1960s, the opera has been performed and recorded many times.

Dame Judith Weir is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Chance</span> Musical artist

Michael Chance CBE is an English countertenor and the founder and Artistic Director of The Grange Festival.

Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as Artistic Director. Richard Mills is the current Artistic Director. The company is supported through government funding, patron contributions and corporate sponsorship.

The Victoria State Opera (VSO), based in Melbourne, Australia, was founded in Melbourne in 1962. The company, founded by Leonard Spira, was a move into grand opera by the then amateur Gilbert and Sullivan-oriented Victorian Light Opera Co. The name changed to the Victorian Opera Company in 1964 in a move to enable the company to perform a broader repertoire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine Malfitano</span> American opera singer

Catherine Malfitano is an American operatic soprano and opera director. Malfitano was born in New York City, the daughter of a ballet dancer mother, Maria Maslova, and a violinist father, Joseph Malfitano. She attended the High School of Music and Art and studied at the Frank Corsaro Studio and Manhattan School of Music, graduating in 1971. She often mentions that she was rejected from The Juilliard School.

Barrie Kosky is an Australian theatre and opera director. Based at the Komische Oper Berlin, he has worked internationally.

Guy de Mey is a Belgian operatic tenor from Sint-Niklaas. He studied with Stella Dalberg, Erna Spoorenberg, Peter Pears and Éric Tappy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Yakar</span> French opera singer (1936–2023)

Rachel Yakar was a French operatic soprano and academic voice teacher. She was known for Mozart roles such as Elvira in Don Giovanni, Baroque opera and contemporary opera. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 1964 to 1991, and appeared also in Paris, at the Royal Opera House in London and at festivals including Bayreuth and Glyndebourne. She received international attention as Poppea in the 1977 production of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at the Oper Zürich conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, which was recorded and filmed. She made many more recordings reviving Baroque operas in historically informed performance. Her portrayal of Debussy's Mélisande was described as ideal. She was admired not only for her voice and diction but also for her stage presence. After her retirement from the stage she taught at the Paris Conservatoire. Ivan A. Alexandre from Diapason summarised her performing: "A darling of the Baroque pioneers and a Mozartian at heart and in style, the soprano from Lyon was also the intimate voice of Strauss, Debussy and Messiaen."

<i>Lincoronazione di Poppea</i> discography

These lists show the audio and visual recordings of L'incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi. The opera was premiered in Venice in 1642-43, but after a 1651 revival in Naples it remained unperformed for 250 years. It began to enter the general opera repertory in the 1960s, and thereafter was increasingly performed in leading opera houses and festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enid Hartle</span> British opera singer

Enid Hartle was born in Sheffield and studied singing first at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and later with Vera Rózsa, with whom she had a long and fruitful relationship.

Axel Köhler is a German countertenor and opera director. In 1994, he won the Handel Prize. Since 2009, he has been Artistic Director of the Halle Opera House.

<i>Der geduldige Socrates</i>

Der geduldige Socrates is a comic German-language opera in three acts by Georg Philipp Telemann to a libretto by Johann Ulrich von König.

The Black Spider is an opera in three acts by Judith Weir with a libretto by the composer. The work is loosely based on the 1842 novella Die schwarze Spinne by Jeremias Gotthelf.

Jessica Cash was a British soprano and voice coach. Trained at the Royal College of Music, Cash was a regular performer during the 1960s and 1970s at the Glyndebourne Festival, where her interpretation in 1968 of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Myer Fredman, was particularly noted. She remained part of the production until 1971, when it toured Opera Scotland in spring. She also performed with Kent Opera, and with the Welsh National Opera. In 1975 she took part in a performance of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at the Proms conducted by Roger Norrington, as Pallade, Damigella and Virtù, alongside Sarah Walker in the title role.

Kacper Filip Szelążek – Polish singer, countertenor.

References

  1. ↑ Bent C. Kent Opera. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera . London & New York, Macmillan, 1997.
  2. ↑ Robert Ponsonby. Norman Platt obituary, The Guardian, 6 January, 2004
  3. ↑ Platt N. Making Music. Ashford, Pemble Productions, 2001; and programmes of Kent Opera.
  4. ↑ Milnes R. Obituary for Norman Platt. Opera, March 2004, p298.
  5. ↑ National Arts Education Archive - entry for Staging An Opera accessed 21 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Bent C. Kent Opera. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London & New York, Macmillan, 1997.
  7. ↑ The production was filmed for Channel 4 in 1985 at Limehouse Studios and issued on video by RM Arts/Virgin Classics in 1990 as VVD664.
  8. ↑ Platt N. Making Music. Ashford, Pembles Publications through Boydell & Brewer, 2001; and programmes of Kent Opera.
  9. ↑ Milnes R. Anatomy of a murder. Opera , February 1990, p160-1.
  10. ↑ Platt N. Making Music. Ashford, Pemble Productions, 2001.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.