Opera Lyrica

Last updated

Opera Lyrica is an opera company based in Oxford, England, composed of young professionals. It was founded in May 2012 by Paola Cuffolo (Artistic Director) and Nick Simpson (General Director), [1] and was granted charitable status in August 2013 [2] to increase public accessibility to the art form and to provide performance and work experience in staged opera productions for singers, instrumentalists, conductors, directors and technical crew in the early stages of their careers. [3] The company's first two productions were staged in collaboration with St Peter's College Opera at Oxford University.

Contents

Production history

Related Research Articles

<i>Dido and Aeneas</i> Opera by Purcell

Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was composed no later than July 1688, and had been performed at Josias Priest's girls' school in London by the end of 1689. Some scholars argue for a date of composition as early as 1683. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid. It recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair when he abandons her. A monumental work in Baroque opera, Dido and Aeneas is remembered as one of Purcell's foremost theatrical works. It was also Purcell's only true opera, as well as his only all-sung dramatic work. One of the earliest known English operas, it owes much to John Blow's Venus and Adonis, both in structure and in overall effect.

Luigi Alva Peruvian opera tenor

Luis Ernesto Alva y Talledo, better known as Luigi Alva is a Peruvian operatic tenor. A Mozart and Rossini specialist, Alva achieved fame with roles such as Don Ottavio, Count Almaviva and Fenton. He retired from the stage in 1989.

<i>Venus and Adonis</i> (opera) Opera by John Blow written c1683

Venus and Adonis is an opera in three acts and a prologue by the English Baroque composer John Blow, composed in about 1683. It was written for the court of King Charles II at either London or Windsor. It is considered by some to be either a semi-opera or a masque, but The New Grove names it as the earliest known English opera.

Danielle de Niese Australian-American lyric soprano (born 1979)

Danielle de Niese is an Australian-American lyric soprano. After success as a young child in singing competitions in Australia, she moved to the United States where she developed an operatic career. From 2005 she came to widespread public attention with her performances as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne, England.

Jane Berbié French mezzo-soprano

Jane Berbié is a French mezzo-soprano particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles.

Christian Sturm is a German tenor.

Benjamin Bayl is a Dutch and Australian conductor who works with symphony and chamber orchestras, opera houses and period instrument orchestras in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Union Avenue Opera

Union Avenue Opera is an opera company based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded in 1994 by Scott Schoonover, the music director of Union Avenue Christian Church, which serves as the company's venue in St. Louis' Visitation Park neighborhood.

The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. to promote historical music performance. It presents an annual concert series in Boston and New York City, produces opera recordings, and organizes a weeklong Festival and Exhibition every two years in Boston. A centerpiece of these festivals has been a fully staged Baroque opera production. One of BEMF's main goals is to unearth lesser-known Baroque operas, which are then performed by the world's leading musicians armed with the latest information on period singing, orchestral performance, costuming, dance, and staging at each biennial Festival. BEMF operas are led by the BEMF Artistic Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, BEMF Orchestra Director Robert Mealy, and BEMF Opera Director Gilbert Blin. In 2008, BEMF introduced its Chamber Opera Series as part of its annual concert season. The series presents semi-staged productions of chamber operas composed during the Baroque period. In 2011, BEMF took its chamber production of Handel's Acis and Galatea on a four-city North-American tour. In 2004, BEMF initiated a project to record some of its work in the field of Baroque opera on the CPO recording label. The series has since earned five Grammy Award nominations, including a 2015 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.

Taryn Fiebig Australian opera soprano

Taryn Fiebig was an Australian soprano, a principal soprano of Opera Australia who also performed internationally. She appeared in many Mozart roles such as Susanna and Zerlina. The versatile singer also performed in Baroque opera, Italian repertoire, contemporary opera, operetta and musical theatre.

The Early Opera Company is a British ensemble dedicated to the performance of baroque operas using period instruments. It was founded in 1994 by Christian Curnyn. Handel's operas feature prominently in its repertoire, and the Company has given notable performances of Acis and Galatea, Dido and Aeneas, Agrippina in New York, Orlando at the South Bank Centre Early Music Festival and Partenope at the Linbury Studio Theatre. They have also recorded Partenope and Semele for the Chaconne label on Chandos Records. The recording of Semele was awarded the Handel Prize in 2008. Soloists who have performed with the company include Joshua Bell, Sam Haywood and Jonathan Biss. They performed at the Lufthansa Baroque Music Festival in May 2009 with John Eccles's The Judgment of Paris in one its first ever performances. The ensemble also made the premiere recording of the work for Chandos Records.

HGO Trust

HGO Trust (HGO) was founded in 1990 by Roy Budden as an evening class at the Hampstead Garden Institute, London. Its objectives are to advance public education in the art and science of music with emphasis on operatic music.

Castleward Opera was a Northern Ireland opera company which staged an annual opera festival at Castle Ward, a National Trust house near Strangford in County Down. It was founded in 1985 by Ian Urwin and Jack Smith, with performances taking place in a converted stable on the grounds of the castle. Following the cut to its core funding by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the festival saw its final opera performances in June 2009 and in September 2010 held two gala farewell concerts of highlights from the company's 25-year history. In January 2010, a new venture, supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, was proposed—Opera Company NI—which the Arts Council said would "incorporate the best resources from Castleward Opera and Opera Fringe".

Teodor Currentzis Greek conductor, musician and actor

Teodor Currentzis is a Greek-Russian conductor, musician and actor.

Christopher Moulds is an English conductor of classical and baroque operas.

New Chamber Opera is a professional opera company located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It specialises in the fields of chamber opera and music theatre, and produces rarely performed works from the Baroque era to the present. It is a member of the Opera and Music Theatre Forum. New Chamber Opera has received financial support from the Arts Council of Great Britain and The National Lottery.

Elliot Madore

Elliot Madore is a Canadian lyric baritone with an international operatic career.

Patricia Johnson is an English operatic mezzo-soprano. She made an international career and is known for her dramatic voice and her stage presence. She appeared in leading roles of the repertory, such as Carmen and Eboli, and created new roles, such as the Baronin Grünwiesel in Henze's Der junge Lord, and the Princess in Nicolas Nabokov's Love's Labour's Lost.

Christian Curnyn is a British conductor, harpsichordist and baroque music specialist.

References

  1. Opera Lyrica. "News" and "Creative Team". Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  2. Charity Commission "Opera Lyrica". Retrieved 23 December 2013
  3. Lockey, Delia (28 May 2013). "The Barber of Seville'. Cherwell . Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  4. St Peter's College, Oxford. Events: Opera Lyrica & St Peter's College Opera. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  5. Lambton, Sophia (25 May 2013). "Review: Il Barbiere di Siviglia @ St. Peter's College". Cherwell . Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  6. Richomme, Joe. "Review: Acis and Galatea, Opera Lyrica****". Fringe Opera Magazine. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  7. Gotoh, Nahoko (5 November 2013). "Acis and Galatea on tour in London with Opera Lyrica". Bachtrack. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  8. Glass, David (7 November 2013). "Acis and Galatea". Daily Information . Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  9. Hugill, Robert (4 September 2014). "Opera Lyrica's Cosi fan tutte". Planet Hugill. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  10. Wickers, Francesca. "Review: Venus and Adonis with Dido and Aeneas, Opera Lyrica****". Fringe Opera Magazine. Retrieved 28 February 2015.