Opera North is an opera company based at The Grand Theatre, Leeds. This article covers the period when the company's music director was Paul Daniel.
The team of Paul Daniel and General Administrator Nicholas Payne brought a number of novelties to the ON repertoire before Payne's departure in 1993 to become Opera Director at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. There were British premieres of Roberto Gerhard's The Duenna and Franz Schreker's Der ferne Klang (directed by Brigitte Fassbaender) and the British professional premiere of Carl Nielsen's Maskarade . A number of arias written by Mozart for insertion into other composers' operas, together with some of his concert arias were brought together by Paul Griffiths as an opera entitled as The Jewel Box . Tchaikovsky's one-act Iolanta was reunited with his ballet The Nutcracker (performed by Matthew Bourne's Adventures in Motion Pictures) and first performed by Opera North on the 100th anniversary of their first performances in Saint Petersburg. Paul Dukas's Ariane et Barbe-bleue had its first British performance in over 50 years, and other unusual repertoire included Michael Tippett's King Priam , Chabrier's L'étoile and Rossini's The Thieving Magpie , as well as the world premiere of Robert Saxton's Caritas.
In 1993, Nicholas Payne was succeeded by Ian Ritchie, previously managing director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The 1993–94 season included two more world premieres – Michael Berkeley's Baa-Baa Black Sheep, based on a story by Rudyard Kipling, and Benedict Mason's Playing Away, an opera about football which premiered at the Munich Biennale – as well as three neglected operas: Phyllida Lloyd's production of Benjamin Britten's Gloriana , David McVicar's production of Mozart's early Il re pastore , and Francesca Zambello's production of Puccini's La rondine . Ritchie, whose title had been general director, left the company in 1994 to freelance as an arts management consultant, and his successor was the current general director, Richard Mantle, who had previously worked for English National Opera, Scottish Opera and Edmonton Opera.
Notable among new productions during Paul Daniel's final three seasons as music director were Richard Jones's Pelléas et Mélisande (with Daniel's wife, Joan Rodgers, as Mélisande), Jonathan Miller's Il matrimonio segreto from Glimmerglass Opera, the British premiere of Chabrier's Le roi malgré lui , Verdi's first opera, Oberto (with John Tomlinson directing as well as playing the title character), William Walton's Troilus and Cressida , Luigi Cherubini's Médée in the composer's adaptation for Vienna and Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet , as well as Tannhäuser , Iphigénie en Aulide and Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria . Following the success of Show Boat , the company staged another Broadway musical, Kurt Weill's Love Life .
Notable conductors appearing with the company during this period included Harry Bicket, Ivor Bolton, Oliver von Dohnányi, Claire Gibault, Roy Goodman, Alan Hacker, Richard Hickox, Diego Masson, Andrew Parrott, David Porcelijn, Carlo Rizzi and Antoni Ros-Marbà. Directors included Tim Albery, Annabel Arden, Tom Cairns, Martin Duncan, Caroline Gawn, Dalia Ibelhauptaitė, Helena Kaut-Howson, Jeremy Sams, Matthew Warchus and Deborah Warner.
Principal singers included sopranos Josephine Barstow, Susan Chilcott, Susannah Glanville, Mary Hegarty, Janis Kelly and Linda Kitchen, mezzo-sopranos Patricia Bardon, Alice Coote and Linda Finnie, tenors Barry Banks, Edmund Barham, Kim Begley, Philip Langridge, Paul Nilon and Christopher Ventris, baritones William Dazeley, Gerald Finley, Robert Hayward, Keith Latham, Anthony Michaels-Moore, Alan Opie and Eric Roberts, basses and bass-baritones Clive Bayley, Andrew Shore and Richard Van Allan,
Paul Daniel marked his departure to become music director of English National Opera with two concert performances of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violanta , one in Leeds and the other at The Proms. The soloists were Janice Cairns, Hans Aschenbach, Jonathan Summers, Stuart Kale and Liane Keegan. [1] He left the company in September 1997 and, pending the appointment of a new music director, Elgar Howarth was designated music advisor.
Below is a list of main stage [lower-alpha 1] operas performed by the company during this period.
Season | Opera [lower-alpha 2] | Composer | Principal cast | Conductor | Director | Designer [lower-alpha 3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990–91 | Ariane et Barbe-bleue | Dukas | Anne-Marie Owens (Ariane), Jonathan Best (Bluebeard) | Paul Daniel | Patrick Mason | Joe Vaněk |
1990–91 | La traviata | Verdi | Eva Jenisová (Violetta), Bonaventura Bottone (Alfredo), Anthony Michaels-Moore/Jason Howard (Germont) | Carlo Rizzi | Revival of 1984–85 production | |
1990–91 | The Threepenny Opera | Weill | Alan Oke (Macheath), Linda Kitchen (Polly), Kate Flowers (Jenny Diver), Mark Lufton (Peachum), Sandra Francis (Mrs Peachum) | Martin Pickard | Revival of 1983–84 production | |
1990–91 | Così fan tutte | Mozart | Jane Leslie MacKenzie (Fiordiligi), Beverley Mills (Dorabella), Paul Nilon (Ferrando), Robert Hayward (Guglielmo), Kate Flowers (Despina), Eric Roberts (Don Alfonso) | Alan Hacker | Revival of 1981–82 production | |
1990–91 | Attila | Verdi | John Tomlinson/Jan Galla (Attila), Karen Huffstodt/Josephine Barstow (Odabella), Edmund Barham (Foresto), Jason Howard (Ezio) | Paul Daniel | Ian Judge | John Gunter/ Deirdre Clancy |
1990–91 | The Jewel Box (world premiere) | Mozart [lower-alpha 4] | Barry Banks (Pedrolino), Mary Hegarty (Columbina), Pamela Helen Stephen (Composer), Jennifer Rhys-Davies (Singer), Mark Curtis (Dottore), Quentin Hayes (Pantalone), Stephen Richardson (Father) | Elgar Howarth | Francisco Negrin | Anthony Baker |
1990–91 | Faust | Gounod | Arthur Davies (Faust), Anne Dawson (Marguerite), Richard Van Allan (Méphistophélès), Peter Savidge/Geoffrey Dolton (Valentin) | David Lloyd-Jones/ Roy Laughlin | Revival of 1985–86 production | |
1990–91 | Carmen | Bizet | Sally Burgess (Carmen), Edmund Barham (Don José), Robert Hayward/Jason Howard (Escamillo), Anne Williams-King (Micaela) | Oliver von Dohnányi | Revival of 1987–88 production | |
1990–91 | King Priam | Tippett | Andrew Shore (Priam), Christopher Ventris (Paris), Patricia Bardon (Helen), Neill Archer (Achilles), Eiddwen Harrhy (Hecuba), Geoffrey Dolton (Hector), Linda McLeod (Andromache) | Paul Daniel | Tom Cairns | Tom Cairns |
1990–91 | Don Giovanni | Mozart | Robert Hayward (Don Giovanni), Helen Field (Donna Anna), Jane Leslie MacKenzie (Donna Elvira), John Hall (Leporello), Paul Nilon (Don Ottavio) | Paul Daniel | Tim Albery | Ashley Martin-Davis |
1991–92 | L’étoile | Chabrier | Pamela Helen Stephen (Lazuli), Mary Hegarty (Princess Laoula), Anthony Mee (King Ouf), John Hall (Sirocco), Kate Flowers (Aloès), Alan Oke (Hérisson), Mark Curtis (Tapioca) | Jean‑Yves Ossonce /Martin Pickard | Phyllida Lloyd | Anthony Ward |
1991–92 | La finta giardiniera | Mozart | Lynne Dawson (Sandrina), Paul Nilon (Belfiore), Neil Jenkins (Podestà), Richard Jackson (Nardo), Luretta Bybee/Ann Taylor (Ramiro) | Alan Hacker | Revival of 1989–90 production | |
1991–92 | Don Giovanni | Mozart | Robert Hayward (Don Giovanni), Helen Field/Bronwen Mills (Donna Anna), Jane Leslie MacKenzie (Donna Elvira), John Hall (Leporello), Paul Nilon (Don Ottavio) | Christopher Gayford | Revival of 1990–91 production | |
1991–92 | The Jewel Box | Mozart | Barry Banks (Pedrolino), Mary Hegarty (Columbina), Pamela Helen Stephen (Composer), Jennifer Rhys-Davies (Singer), Mark Curtis (Dottore), Quentin Hayes (Pantalone), Mark Glanville (Father) | Roy Laughlin/ Elgar Howarth | Revival of 1990–91 production | |
1991–92 | Caritas (world premiere) | Saxton | Eirian Davies (Christine), Jonathan Best (Bishop Henry), Christopher Ventris (Robert), David Gwynne (Richard) | Diego Masson | Patrick Mason | Joe Vaněk |
1991–92 | Maskarade | Nielsen | Paul Nilon (Leander), Mary Hegarty (Leonora), Geoffrey Dolton (Henrik), Linda Ormiston (Magdelone), Clive Bayley (Jeronimus) | Roy Laughlin | Revival of 1989–90 production | |
1991–92 | Madama Butterfly | Puccini | Maryanne Telese (Butterfly), Richard Taylor/David Maxwell Anderson (Pinkerton), Keith Latham (Sharpless), Patricia Bardon (Suzuki) | Martin André | Jonathan Alver | Lez Brotherston/ Stephen Rodwell |
1991–92 | Der ferne Klang (British premiere) | Schreker | Virginia Kerr (Grete), Kim Begley (Fritz), William Dazeley (Count), Peter Sidhom (Dr Vigelius) | Paul Daniel | Brigitte Fassbaender | Ultz |
1991–92 | La gazza ladra | Rossini | Anne Dawson (Ninetta), Barry Banks (Giannetto), Andrew Shore (Podestà), Matthew Best (Fernando), Elizabeth McCormack (Pippo) | Ivor Bolton | Martin Duncan | Sue Blane |
1991–92 | Rigoletto | Verdi | Keith Latham/Michael Lewis (Rigoletto), David Maxwell Anderson (Duke), Juliet Booth (Gilda) | John Pryce-Jones | Patrick Mason | Joe Vaněk |
1991–92 | Boris Godunov | Mussorgsky | John Tomlinson (Boris), Paul Charles Clarke (Grigory), Jeffrey Lawton (Shuisky), Matthew Best (Pimen) | Paul Daniel | Revival of 1988–89 production | |
1992–93 | The Duenna (British premiere) | Gerhard | Susan Chilcott (Luisa), Pamela Helen Stephen (Clara), Adrian Clarke (Ferdinand), Gordon Wilson (Antonio), Andrew Shore (Jerome), Eric Roberts (Isaac), Gillian Knight (The Duenna) | Antoni Ros-Marbà | Helena Kaut-Howson | Sue Blane |
1992–93 | Rigoletto | Verdi | Michael Lewis (Rigoletto), David Maxwell Anderson (Duke), Rosa Mannion (Gilda) | Paul Daniel | Revival of 1991–92 production | |
1992–93 | The Marriage of Figaro | Mozart | Gerald Finley/David Mattinson (Figaro), Linda Kitchen/Mary Plazas (Susanna), Robert Hayward/William Dazeley (Count), Jane Leslie MacKenzie (Countess), Ann Taylor-Morley/Pamela Helen Stephen (Cherubino) | Andrew Parrott | Caroline Gawn | Alison Chitty |
1992–93 | Orpheus in the Underworld | Offenbach | Harry Nicoll (Orpheus), Linda Kitchen/Yvonne Barclay (Euridice), Eric Roberts (Jupiter) | Wyn Davies | Martin Duncan | Tim Hatley |
1992–93 | Billy Budd | Britten | Jason Howard (Billy Budd), Nigel Robson/Philip Langridge (Captain Vere), John Tomlinson (Claggart) | Elgar Howarth | Graham Vick | Chris Dyer |
1992–93 | Iolanta [lower-alpha 5] | Tchaikovsky | Joan Rodgers (Iolanta), Kim Begley (Vaudémont), Robert Hayward (Robert), Gwynne Howell/Norman Bailey (King René) | David Lloyd-Jones/ Martin Pickard | Martin Duncan | Anthony Ward |
1992–93 | Don Carlos | Verdi | Richard Burke (Carlos), Linda McLeod (Elisabetta), Anthony Michaels-Moore (Posa), John Tomlinson (Philip II), Claire Powell (Eboli) | Paul Daniel/ Roy Laughlin | Tim Albery | Hildegard Bechtler /Nicky Gillibrand |
1992–93 | La bohème | Puccini | William Burden (Rodolfo), Jane Leslie MacKenzie (Mimi), Robert Hayward (Marcello), Juliet Booth (Musetta) | Roy Laughlin/ Paul Daniel | Phyllida Lloyd | Anthony Ward |
1992–93 | La Gioconda | Ponchielli | Rosalind Plowright/Marie Slorach (Gioconda), Edmund Barham (Enzo), Sally Burgess (Laura), Keith Latham (Barnaba) | Oliver von Dohnányi | Philip Prowse | Philip Prowse |
1992–93 | Wozzeck | Berg | Andrew Shore (Wozzeck), Vivian Tierney (Marie), Jeffrey Lawton (Captain), John Rath (Doctor), Alan Woodrow (Drum-Major) | Paul Daniel | Deborah Warner | Hildegard Bechtler /Nicky Gillibrand |
1993–94 | The Love for Three Oranges | Prokofiev | Christopher Ventris (The Prince), Paul Harrhy (Truffaldino), Andrew Shore (Leander), Maria Moll (Fata Morgana) | Wyn Davies/ Martin Pickard | Revival of 1988–89 production | |
1993–94 | La bohème | Puccini | Gordon Wilson (Rodolfo), Juliet Booth (Mimi), Robert Hayward (Marcello), Janis Kelly (Musetta) | Bruno Aprea | Revival of 1992–93 production | |
1993–94 | Tamerlano | Handel | Christopher Robson (Tamburlaine), Philip Langridge (Bajazet), Graham Pushee (Andronicus), Rosa Mannion (Asteria), Patricia Bardon (Irene) | Roy Goodman | Revival of 1984–85 production | |
1993–94 | Baa-Baa Black Sheep (world premiere) | Berkeley | William Dazeley (Mowgli), Fiona Kimm (Auntirosa), Henry Newman (Captain) | Paul Daniel | Jonathan Moore | David Blight |
1993–94 | Il re pastore | Mozart | Joan Rodgers (Amyntas), Mary Hegarty (Elisa), Martyn Hill (Alexander), Patricia Bardon (Tamyris), Philip Salmon (Agenor) | Paul Daniel | David McVicar | Frank Higgins/ David McVicar |
1993–94 | Gloriana | Britten | Josephine Barstow (Elizabeth I), Thomas Randle (Essex), Susan Chilcott (Lady Rich), Karl Daymond (Mountjoy), Yvonne Burnett (Lady Essex), Clive Bayley (Raleigh), Eric Roberts (Cecil) | Paul Daniel | Phyllida Lloyd | Anthony Ward |
1993–94 | La traviata | Verdi | Michal Shamir (Violetta), David Maxwell Anderson (Alfredo), Peter Sodhom (Germont) | Jean‑Yves Ossonce /Roy Laughlin | Revival of 1984–85 production | |
1993–94 | L’étoile | Chabrier | Pamela Helen Stephen (Lazuli), Mary Hegarty (Princess Laoula), Paul Nilon (King Ouf), Jonathan Best/Richard Van Allan (Sirocco), Kate Flowers (Aloès), Alan Oke (Hérisson), Mark Curtis (Tapioca) | Valentin Reymond | Revival of 1991–92 production | |
1993–94 | La rondine | Puccini | Helen Field (Magda), Tito Beltrán (Ruggero), Peter Bronder (Prunier), Anna Maria Panzarella (Lisette), Peter Savidge (Rambaldo) | David Lloyd-Jones | Francesca Zambello | Bruno Schwengl |
1993–94 | The Magic Flute | Mozart | William Burden (Tamino), Linda Kitchen (Pamina), William Dazeley (Papageno), John Rath (Sarastro), Eileen Hulse (Queen of the Night) | Andrew Parrott | Annabel Arden | Rae Smith |
1993–94 | Playing Away (world premiere) | Mason | Philip Sheffield (Terry Bond), Rebecca Caine (LA Lola), Richard Suart (Stan Stock) | Paul Daniel | David Pountney | Huntley Muir |
1994–95 | Le roi malgré lui (British premiere) | Chabrier | Russell Smythe (Henri), Justin Lavender (Nangis), Rosa Mannion (Minka), Nicholas Folwell (Laski) | Paul Daniel | Jeremy Sams | Lez Brotherston |
1994–95 | The Magic Flute | Mozart | William Burden (Tamino), Linda Kitchen (Pamina), Karl Daymond (Papageno), John Rath (Sarastro), Eileen Hulse (Queen of the Night) | Harry Bicket | Revival of 1993–94 production | |
1994–95 | Il trovatore | Verdi | Edmund Barham (Manrico), Katerina Kudriavchenko (Leonora), Sally Burgess/Claire Powell (Azucena), Ettore Kim (Count di Luna) | Paul Daniel/ Roy Laughlin | Inga Levant | Charles Edwards |
1994–95 | Il matrimonio segreto | Cimarosa | Paul Nilon (Paolino), Linda Kitchen (Carolina), Andrew Shore (Geronimo), Jonathan Best (Count Robinson), Mary Plazas (Elisetta), Tamsin Dives (Fidalma) | Richard Farnes | Jonathan Miller | John Conklin/ Stephen Rodwell |
1994–95 | Oberto | Verdi | John Tomlinson (Oberto), Rita Cullis (Leonora), David Maxwell Anderson (Riccardo) Linda Finnie (Cuniza) | David Porcelijn | John Tomlinson | Russell Craig |
1994–95 | Tosca | Puccini | Josephine Barstow/Marie Slorach (Tosca), Patrick Power (Cavaradossi), Matthew Best (Scarpia) | Stefano Ranzani | Revival of 1987–88 production | |
1994–95 | Troilus and Cressida | Walton | Arthur Davies (Troilus), Judith Howarth (Cressida), Nigel Robson (Pandarus), Alan Opie (Diomede), Clive Bayley (Calkas), Yvonne Howard (Evadne) | Richard Hickox/ Martin Pickard | Matthew Warchus | Neil Warmington |
1994–95 | Les pêcheurs de perles | Bizet | Arthur Davies (Nadir), André Cognet (Zurga), Maria D’Aragnes (Leila) | Dietfried Bernet | Revival of 1988–89 production | |
1994–95 | Orpheus in the Underworld | Offenbach | Jamie MacDougall (Orpheus), Yvonne Barclay (Euridice), Eric Roberts (Jupiter) | Paul McGrath | Revival of 1992–93 production | |
1994–95 | Pelléas et Mélisande | Debussy | Joan Rodgers (Mélisande), William Dazeley (Pelléas), Robert Hayward (Golaud) | Paul Daniel | Richard Jones | Antony McDonald /Nicky Gillibrand |
1995–96 | Hamlet | Thomas | Anthony Michaels-Moore/Karl Daymond (Hamlet), Rebecca Caine (Ophélie), Linda Finnie (Gertrude), Jan Galla (Claudius), John Rath (Ghost) | Oliver von Dohnányi | David McVicar | Michael Vale |
1995–96 | Les pêcheurs de perles | Bizet | Léonard Pezzino (Nadir), André Cognet/Peter Savidge (Zurga), Maria D’Aragnes (Leila) | Brad Cohen | Revival of 1988–89 production | |
1995–96 | Jenůfa | Janáček | Stephanie Friede (Jenůfa), Josephine Barstow (Kostelnička), Julian Gavin (Laca), Neill Archer/Jeffrey Stewart (Števa) | Paul Daniel | Tom Cairns | Tom Cairns |
1995–96 | Luisa Miller | Verdi | Susannah Glanville (Luisa), Arthur Davies (Rodolfo), Alan Opie (Miller), Matthew Best (Walter), Clive Bayley (Wurm) | Paul Daniel | Tim Albery | Stewart Lang |
1995–96 | La bohème | Puccini | Tito Beltrán/Alan Oke (Rodolfo), Margaret Richardson (Mimi), Karl Daymond (Marcello), Elena Ferrari (Musetta) | Jean‑Yves Ossonce /Martin Fitzpatrick | Revival of 1992–93 production | |
1995–96 | Love Life | Weill | Margaret Preece (Susan), Alan Oke (Sam), Geoffrey Dolton (Magician/Vaudevillian/Hobo) | Wyn Davies | Caroline Gawn | Charles Edwards/ Nicky Gillibrand |
1995–96 | Médée | Cherubini | Josephine Barstow (Médée), Thomas Randle (Jason), Nicola Sharkey (Dircé), Norman Bailey (Creon) | Paul Daniel | Phyllida Lloyd | Ian MacNeil/ Kandis Cook |
1995–96 | The Duenna | Gerhard | Susannah Glanville (Luisa), Ann Taylor (Clara), Adrian Clarke (Ferdinand), Neill Archer (Antonio), Richard Van Allan (Jerome), Eric Roberts (Isaac), Claire Powell (The Duenna) | Antoni Ros-Marbà | Revival of 1992–93 production | |
1995–96 | The Marriage of Figaro | Mozart | Clive Bayley (Figaro), Linda Kitchen (Susanna), William Dazeley (Count), Janis Kelly (Countess), Alice Coote/Ann Taylor (Cherubino) | Richard Farnes | Caroline Gawn | Alice Purcell |
1996–97 | The Marriage of Figaro | Mozart | Richard Whitehouse (Figaro), Mary Hegarty (Susanna), Roderick Williams (Count), Janis Kelly (Countess), Ann Taylor (Cherubino) | Paul Goodwin | Revival of 1995–96 production | |
1996–97 | Madama Butterfly | Puccini | Chen Sue (Butterfly), Mark Nicolson (Pinkerton), Peter Savidge/Simon Thorpe (Sharpless), Liane Keegan (Suzuki) | Marco Zambelli/ Martin Pickard/ Paul Daniel | Dalia Ibelhauptaitė | Oleg Cheintsis |
1996–97 | Iphigénie en Aulide | Gluck | Lynne Dawson (Iphigenia), Neill Archer (Achilles), Christopher Purves (Agammemnon), Della Jones (Clytemnestra), John Rath (Calchas) | Valentin Reymond | Tim Hopkins | Nigel Lowery |
1996–97 | Wozzeck | Berg | Andrew Shore (Wozzeck), Josephine Barstow (Marie), Peter Bronder (Captain), Clive Bayley (Doctor), Jacque Trussel/Keith Mills (Drum-Major) | Paul Daniel | Revival of 1992–93 production | |
1996–97 | Gloriana | Britten | Josephine Barstow (Elizabeth I), Thomas Randle (Essex), Susannah Glanville (Lady Rich), Karl Daymond (Mountjoy), Ruth Peel (Lady Essex), Clive Bayley (Raleigh), Eric Roberts (Cecil) | James Holmes/ Paul Daniel | Revival of 1993–94 production | |
1996–97 | Falstaff | Verdi | Andrew Shore (Falstaff), Rita Cullis (Alice Ford), Robert Hayward (Ford), Paul Nilon (Fenton), Margaret Richardson (Nanetta), Frances McCafferty (Mistress Quickly), Yvonne Howard (Meg Page) | Paul Daniel | Matthew Warchus | Laura Hopkins |
1996–97 | Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria | Monteverdi | Alice Coote (Penelope), Nigel Robson (Ulysses) | Harry Bicket/ Martin Pickard | Annabel Arden | Tim Hatley |
1996–97 | Tannhäuser | Wagner | Jeffrey Lawton (Tannhäuser), Rita Cullis (Elisabeth), Anne-Marie (Venus), Keith Latham (Wolfram), Norman Bailey (Landgrave) | Paul Daniel/ James Holmes | David Fielding | David Fielding |
1996–97 | Cosí fan tutte | Mozart | Susannah Glanville (Fiordiligi), Emma Selway (Dorabella), Paul Nilon (Ferrando), William Dazeley (Guglielmo), Linda Kitchen (Despina), Jonathan Best (Don Alfonso) | Claire Gibault/ Martin Fitzpatrick | Tim Albery | Matthew Howland Robin Rawstorne /Tania Spooner |
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the Arts Centre Melbourne, where it is accompanied by Orchestra Victoria. In 2004, the company gave 226 performances in its subscription seasons in Sydney and Melbourne, attended by more than 294,000 people.
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. ENO's productions are sung in English.
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne. It was also called the Théâtre-Italien up to about 1793, when it again became most commonly known as the Opéra-Comique. Today the company's official name is Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique, and its theatre, with a capacity of around 1,248 seats, sometimes referred to as the Salle Favart, is located at Place Boïeldieu, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, not far from the Palais Garnier, one of the theatres of the Paris Opéra. The musicians and others associated with the Opéra-Comique have made important contributions to operatic history and tradition in France and to French opera. Its current mission is to reconnect with its history and discover its unique repertoire to ensure production and dissemination of operas for the wider public. Mainstays of the repertory at the Opéra-Comique during its history have included the following works which have each been performed more than 1,000 times by the company: Cavalleria Rusticana, Le chalet, La dame blanche, Le domino noir, La fille du régiment, Lakmé, Manon, Mignon, Les noces de Jeannette, Le pré aux clercs, Tosca, La bohème, Werther and Carmen, the last having been performed more than 2,500 times.
The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam.
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013, and again since 2016 when it was revived.
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle. The Company's orchestra, the Orchestra of Opera North, regularly performs and records in its own right. Operas are performed either in English translation or in the original language of the libretto, in the latter case usually with surtitles.
The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.
San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. San Francisco Ballet was the first professional ballet company in the United States. It is among the world's leading dance companies, presenting more than 100 performances annually, with a repertoire that spans both classical and contemporary ballet. Along with American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet has been described as part of the "triumvirate of great classical companies defining the American style on the world stage today".
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.
Albert Louis Wolff was a French conductor and composer of Dutch descent. Most of his career was spent in European venues, with the exception of two years that he spent as a conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and a few years in Buenos Aires during the Second World War. He is most known for holding the position of principal conductor with the Opéra-Comique in Paris for several years. He was married to the French mezzo-soprano Simone Ballard.
David Matthias Lloyd-Jones is a British conductor who has specialised in British and Russian music. He is also an editor and translator, especially of Russian operas.
Boston Baroque is the oldest period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman, to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical performance movement.
Barry McDaniel was an American operatic baritone who spent his career almost exclusively in Germany, including 37 years at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He appeared internationally at major opera houses and festivals, and created roles in several new operas, including Henze's Der junge Lord, Nabokov's Love's Labour's Lost, and Reimann's Melusine. He was also a celebrated concert singer and recitalist, focused on German Lied and French mélodie. He was the first singer of Wilhelm Killmayer's song cycle Tre Canti di Leopardi. He recorded both operatic and concert repertory.
Margaret Harshaw was an American opera singer and voice teacher who sang for 22 consecutive seasons at the Metropolitan Opera from November 1942 to March 1964. She began her career as a mezzo-soprano in the early 1930s but then began performing roles from the soprano repertoire in 1950. She sang a total of 39 roles in 25 works at the Met and was heard in 40 of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. She was also active as a guest artist with major opera houses in Europe and North and South America.
Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second oldest opera company in the United States. Beginning with its first season in 1920, Cincinnati Opera has produced operas in the summer months of June and July with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's providing orchestral accompaniment.
Opera North is an opera company based at The Grand Theatre, Leeds. This article covers its establishment and early years.
Opera North is an opera company based at the Grand Theatre, Leeds. This article covers the period between the severing of its ties with English National Opera and the departure of its founding music director David Lloyd-Jones.
Opera North is an opera company based at The Grand Theatre, Leeds. This article covers the period between the departure of Paul Daniel and the arrival of Richard Farnes.
Opera North is an opera company based at The Grand Theatre, Leeds, England. This article covers the period during which the Music Director has been Richard Farnes.
Chester Watson was an American bass-baritone who had an active performance career in operas and concerts from the late 1940s into the 1970s. He was particularly active as a performer in opera on American television with the NBC Opera Theater. He also made appearances with several American opera companies, including the New York City Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Opera Society of Washington. He is best known for creating roles in the world premieres of several American operas, including the First Police Agent in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul (1950), Father Julien in Norman Dello Joio's The Trial at Rouen (1956), Palivec in Robert Kurka's The Good Soldier Schweik (1958), and Leonard Swett in Thomas Pasatieri's The Trial of Mary Lincoln (1972). He notably starred opposite Maria Callas as Goffredo in the American Opera Society's lauded 1959 production of Giuseppe Verdi's Il pirata; a performance which was recorded for EMI Classics. On the concert stage he appeared frequently with the National Symphony Orchestra during the 1950s, and also made guest appearances as a soloist with other American symphonies like the New York Philharmonic.