Pimlico Opera

Last updated

Pimlico Opera is an opera company and registered charity founded in 1987 by Wasfi Kani. [1] [2]

Contents

The company aims to use participation in opera to advance personal development –particularly with younger people and to engender a sense of community. [3] [4] [5]

The most recent production from Pimlico Opera was Sweet Charity staged in HMP Bronzefield in November 2018. Olivier award-nominated actress Laura Pitt-Pulford [6] played the leading role of Charity Hope Valentine. [7]

History

Though its focus today is solely in prisons and primary schools, Pimlico Opera was known for 19 years (1990-2008) as an Arts Council-funded small-scale touring company.[ citation needed ] In those years, repertoire included the Da Ponte trilogy, Cenerentola, Falstaff, Pagliacci, Turn of the Screw, Rigoletto, Gianni Schicchi and the company travelled from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Padstow in Cornwall.[ citation needed ] Pimlico Opera staged the European première of Shostakovich's musical comedy Cheryomushki at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on 20 October 1994. A translation was commissioned David Pountney and composer Gerard McBurney to create a reduced orchestration. A documentary was made by the BBC "Another Bite of the Cherry". [8]

In prison

Pimlico Opera has been staging productions in prisons since 1991. [9] In 1993, BBC Wales filmed the three-month process involved in putting on a show inside a prison. This was made into a documentary called Guys, Dolls and D-Wing that was aired on BBC2. [10]

Prison projects since 1991:

1991: HMP Wormwood Scrubs Sweeney Todd

1992: HMP Wandsworth West Side Story

1993: HMP Wandsworth Guys & Dolls

1995: HMP Wandsworth West Side Story

1996: Mountjoy Prison Dublin West Side Story [11] [12]

1997: HMP Bullingdon, Oxfordshire West Side Story

1999: HMP Downview Threepenny opera. [13]

2001: HMP Winchester Threepenny Opera

2002: HMP Winchester West Side Story

2003: HMP Wormwood Scrubs Guys & Dolls

2004 HMP Ashwell, Leicestershire Assassins

2005: HMP Coldingley, Surrey Assassins [14]

2006: HMP Bronzefield Middlesex Chicago [15]

2007: HMP Wandsworth Les Miserables [16]

2008: HMP Kingston Sweeney Todd (Project cancelled)

2009: HMP Wandsworth West Side Story

2010: HMP Wandsworth Carmen - The Musical

2011: HMP Send, Surrey Sugar

2012: HMP Erlestoke, Wiltshire Les Miserables [17]

2013: HMP Erlestoke, Wiltshire West Side Story [18]

2014: HMP Bronzefield Sister Act [19]

2015: HMP ISIS Our House [20]

2017: HMP High Down Les Miserables [21]

2018: HMP Bronzefield Sweet Charity [22]

In primary schools

Every week of the school year, Pimlico Opera gives 2,000 primary children a half hour singing class. Schools are selected in which there is little or no music provision, with KS2 results below the national average and a high percentage of free school meals. [23]

The project takes place in Hampshire, Surrey, Durham, Newcastle, and Nottingham. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musical theatre</span> Stage work that combines songs, music, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance

Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Mackintosh</span> British theatre and musical producer

Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York Times. He is the producer of shows including Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver!, and Hamilton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Panaro</span> American actor (born 1964)

Hugh Panaro is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his work in Broadway stage musicals, most well known for his role in The Phantom of the Opera being in over 2,000 performances in the Broadway production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodexo Justice Services</span> Private prison operator in the United Kingdom and several other countries

Sodexo Justice Services, a subsidiary of Sodexo, is a private prison operator in the United Kingdom and several other countries. The company changed its name to Sodexo Justice Services in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Bronzefield</span> Female prison in Surrey, England

HMP Bronzefield is an adult and young offender female prison located on the outskirts of Ashford in Surrey, England. Bronzefield is the only purpose-built private prison solely for women in the UK, and is the largest female prison in Europe. The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Gemignani</span> American actor and musician (born 1979)

Alexander Cesare Gemignani is a Broadway actor, tenor, musician, and conductor.

Moscow, Cheryomushki is an operetta in three acts by Dmitri Shostakovich, his Op. 105. It is sometimes referred to as simply Cheryomushki. Cheryomushki is a district in Moscow full of cheap subsidized housing built in 1956, and the word is also commonly used for such housing projects in general.

The Roundabout Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Cassidy (actor)</span> American actor

Patrick William Cassidy is an American actor and singer best known for his roles in musical theatre and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grange Park Opera</span> English opera company based in Surrey

Grange Park Opera is a professional opera company and charity whose base is West Horsley Place in Surrey, England. Founded in 1998, the company staged an annual opera festival at The Grange, in Hampshire and in 2016–7, built a new opera house, the 'Theatre in the Woods', at West Horsley Place – the 350-acre estate inherited by author and broadcaster Bamber Gascoigne in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Erlestoke</span> Prison in Wiltshire, England

HM Prison Erlestoke is a Category C men's prison, to the east of the village of Erlestoke in Wiltshire, England. Erlestoke is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is the only prison in Wiltshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Theatre (London)</span> Theatre in Finsbury Park, London, England

The Park Theatre opened in Finsbury Park, north London in 2013. It describes itself as "a neighbourhood theatre with global ambition", offering a mixed programme of new writing, classics, and revivals. As well as the main auditorium seating 200, the building includes a 90-seat studio theatre, a rehearsal space and a café bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Charles Abell</span> American orchestral conductor

David Charles Abell is an American conductor of opera, orchestral music and musical theater. Described as “a protean talent” with “impeccable and inspired” skill as a conductor, he is active in symphonic music, opera and musical theatre. Abell was one of Leonard Bernstein's last protégés, and collaborated with Bernstein on many works during the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Maunder</span> Australian cabaret and theatre performer

Lucy Maunder is an Australian cabaret and theatre performer. She originated the role of Lara in the Australian premiere of Doctor Zhivago opposite Anthony Warlow, and has toured with her own cabaret Songs in the Key of Black, releasing an album with the same name. Maunder toured with the national touring company of Grease playing the role of Rizzo. She then starred in the role of Miss Honey in the Australian tour of Matilda the Musical, replacing Elise McCann. She is currently starring in the Australian production of Fun Home, in the adult lead role.

Michael Moody is general manager and co-founder of The Grange Festival.

Anna O'Byrne is an Australian actress and soprano singer best known for her portrayal of Christine Daaé in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the original Australian production of Lloyd Webber's sequel, Love Never Dies, for which she was nominated for a Green Room Award.

Wasfi Kani is the founder and CEO of Pimlico Opera and Grange Park Opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elise McCann</span>

Elise McCann is an Australian actress and musical theatre performer most well known for originating the role of Miss Honey in the Australian production of Matilda the Musical and as Lucille Ball in Everybody Loves Lucy.

Jill Martin was an English actress and singer who made her career in West End theatre from the 1950 to the 2000s. Born in Redruth, Cornwall, she was educated at The Lawn School at St Austell and a song teacher at the school believed her to have an opera singer's voice. Martin debuted in the theatre in 1950 and was an understudy to several actresses. She was the only actor to appear in all three runs of My Fair Lady and produced a studio cast recording in 1966. Other musicals that Martin portrayed characters in were Fiddler on the Roof,Side by Side by Sondheim, The Baker's Wife,Les Misérables and Allegro.

Oily Cart is a London-based national and international touring theatre company founded in 1981. The company specialises in creating original, immersive, multi-sensory productions for babies and very young children under 5, and for children and young people who have profound and multiple learning disabilities, are on the autism spectrum, or are deafblind/multi-sensory impaired. The emergence of Theatre for Early Years (TEY) has been credited to Oily Cart and Theatre Kit. The company is a registered charity.

References

  1. ↑ "Charity framework". apps.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  2. ↑ "OMTF Pimlico Opera profile". Opera and Musical Theatre Forum. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  3. ↑ Johnston, Rosie (1 March 2007). "Can opera save our prisons?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "House of Commons - Culture, Media and Sport - Written Evidence". publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  5. ↑ "Pimlico Opera". Opera and Musical Theatre Forum. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  6. ↑ Stage, Guardian (2016-02-29). "Olivier awards 2016: complete list of nominations". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  7. ↑ "Musical Theatre Review". 14 February 2019.
  8. ↑ "OPERA / House warming: Cheryomushki - Pimlico Opera". The Independent. 1994-10-22. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  9. ↑ "Charity framework". apps.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  10. ↑ "Media: How prisoners on cell block D acted with real conviction". The Independent. 1993-12-29. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  11. ↑ Sheridan, Kathy. "JAILHOUSE OPERA". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  12. ↑ Andy Pollak. "Pros and cons produce great show in Mountjoy's Prison Playhouse". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  13. ↑ Billington, Michael (1999-02-13). "Putting the screws on a prison opera". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  14. ↑ "Inmates to make a prison drama out of Sondheim's 'Assassins'". The Independent. 2005-03-04. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  15. ↑ Kennedy, Maev (2006-03-06). "Women prisoners stage Chicago". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  16. ↑ "Musical Theatre Review".
  17. ↑ "Musical Theatre Review".
  18. ↑ "West Side Story". darragholeary.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  19. ↑ Hugill, Robert. "Sister Act in Prison - Pimlico Opera at HMP Bronzefield" . Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  20. ↑ "Musical Theatre Review".
  21. ↑ "Musical Theatre Review".
  22. ↑ "Sweet Charity Success for HMP Bronzefield". Country.com HMP Bronzefield UK. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  23. ↑ "Pimlico Opera".
  24. ↑ "Pimlico Opera".

Further reading

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.