Hugo Haag, Cello Subscribe to our newsletters to hear about upcoming events. But when the once wealthy Tina (a self-consciously red-headed but vocally resolute Emma Bell) turns on Fate (a wasted Andrew Watts) and halfway through this short and pointless evening enquires: Was it you who turned my life upside down? we know weve come precisely nowhere very fast. Commissioned byBregenzFestival and the RoyalOperaHouse and premiered in 2011,Miss Fortuneis a contemporary re-telling of a Sicilian folk story. Sad to say but Judith Weir's sixth opera is an embarrassment. This is a past event. Phil Sizer, Staff Production Manager Sad because Weir's 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. Right next to it was the ubiquitous fingers-crossed Lottery sign with its jaunty "Play here!" Its story talks about the difference betweeen being rich and poor, and I was criticised at the time for imagining that this would be a permissable subject for an opera. 559. Not something you often come across in opera. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Bass clarinet Was it a plane, a boat or a train? A short 90 minutes of music later, Im still not entirely sure what it is Ive just seen. Composer Judith Weir tells the story to her latest opera Miss Fortune at a recent Insights event at the Royal Opera House. [2] See something missing? Unlike in the first act, the music lets up on the never-ending tension (the strident voiceover of Fate is absent for Simon's aria), and several of the subsequent scenes are more enjoyable for it. Winter Song. She has subsequently written one more "micro-opera", three full-length operas, and an opera for television. 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. Jamie Hulme Judith Weir is a composer who, despite a huge body of work that ranges from grand operas to piano concertos to songs for children, has never sought the limelight. If any does survive, before its next airing it is certain to have been cut, tweaked, titivated or subjected to bold surgery preferably by the composer, for whom performance is the only great lesson in revealing a work's weaknesses. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at . Despite the lively productions and well-defined characterisations, I was disappointed by the poor diction and overbearing orchestral support in Miss Fortune. And yet the characters are archetypes who grovel in the dirt of clich. Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Either way, it makes a good spectacle. But I personally have been feeling thoroughly revived after GSMD's energy-giving version of my 2011 opera "Miss Fortune" which opened at the beginning of March. It was a co-commission between two big opera houses (Bregenz and the Royal Opera House) - and it will also have a new production in Santa Fe in a couple of years time. 4 - Julia Kleitner, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Gatti, A Conversation With LIISA RANDALU: Schumann Quartet release 2nd CD, ENCOUNTERS: Edward Seckerson talks to Broadway composer LUCY SIMON, Edward Seckerson talks to RENE FLEMING about The Light in the Piazza, A Conversation With VASILY PETRENKO: RLPO Shostakovich Symphonies, A Conversation With SIR PAUL McCARTNEY: BBC Radio 4 Kaleidoscope, A Conversation With VICTORIA WOOD: New TV drama, Loving Miss Hatto, A Conversation With DAVID McVICAR & SARAH CONNOLLY: Charpentiers Medea, GRAMOPHONE Review: Shostakovich Symphony No. Only Anne-Marie Owens's Donna, who runs a launderette, and Hassan the kebab-van owner, beautifully sung by Noah Stewart (the closest we get to beefcake), show signs of humanity. Katie Wong, Production Assistants Night AT the Chinese Opera (A) (1987) Operas. The second act has greater pace and vitality: the wise, witty Weir of old is back on form, but too briefly. In food terms this was a programme comprising starter and main course, a well-designed menu beginning with a romantic comedy and followed by a picaresque meditation on fate with much to nourish the ears, eyes and mind. Published by Chester Music (HL.14035701). Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, 15% off orders using the Zavvi discount code, 10% off with this Book Depository student discount, 14% off all orders - Red Letter Days discount code, 20 extra entries with this Omaze promo code, 5% off tickets using this AttractionTickets.com discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. She studied with . Judith Weir. I hope that does not mean more trapeziums, please. Is there another way?" For Rap read rhyming couplets. Judith Weir's Miss Fortune is an entertaining night out. Joana Praa* The much-publicised breakdancers of Chen Shi-Zengs efficient but actually rudimentary staging only serve to highlight how irrelevant Weirs musical language is to her conception. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office.[2]. Daniel RobinsonAnja Urban. At least that was Weirs intention - to be relevant and in touch. Location Frustration, frivolity and humour were all brilliantly served with a ready spontaneity that, with the chamber orchestras crisp playing, made this a delightful hors doeuvres for the darker humour of the evenings main event. The opera reworks a Sicilian folktale as a contemporary parable. If your booking contains several events the highest booking fee will apply. In places, where the orchestral score was particularly busy, some of the singing felt forced, with students pushing their voices beyond reasonable limits. This product includes GeoLite2 data created by MaxMind, available from, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Semyon Bychkov leads a musically superior, To add a comment, please sign in or register. In fact, I think you should go. . But I personally have been feeling thoroughly revived after. He is a musical omnivore interested in almost all types of music, but with a particular love of Italian opera. If nothing has changed musically, this small staging worked well, at least in dramatic terms with terrific visuals and spot on acting. [8] In May 2015, Weir won The Ivors Classical Music Award at the Ivor Novello Awards. Andr Soares Two outstanding performances by young singers light up a splendidly crafted revival of Caurier and Leiser's colourful production. We remain indifferent to Miss Fortune (however persuasively sung by a red-wigged Emma Bell), her vulgar nouveau parents who lose their riches, the sharp-suited romantic interest, Simon (the lovely Jacques Imbrailo). Ben Upthegrove Jonathan Eyers (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Jack Holton (2 & 7 Mar), Lord Fortune Jacob Harrison Each time her luck seems to take a turn for the better, she is beset by another misfortune until eventually, through a magical stroke of luck, she gains the hand of a prince, in town to collect his laundry. Guildhall Schools Opera department presents a double bill of operatic works exploring romantic love, fate and fortune. Kosta Popovic We must question the ROH artistic management, perhaps caught in a transitional zone between the departure of Elaine Padmore and the arrival of Kasper Holten as director of opera. Voices & Orchestra. Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Much of her music has been recorded, and is available on the NMC, Delphian and Signum labels. Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 10:43, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, "Queen's new composer Judith Weir hails 'boss', "The wonderful Judith Weir With a Barbican weekend devoted to her music, the composer Judith Weir is being feted as never before", "Queen had 'immensely detailed knowledge' of music, says royal composer", "Judith Weir to be appointed first female master of Queen's music", "News Judith Weir appointed Master of the Queen's Music Music Sales Classical", "Judith Weir: the female music master with royal seal of approval", "The Ivors 2015 Winners, Ivor Novello Awards, Judith Weir", "Ms Judith Weir HonFRSE The Royal Society of Edinburgh", "Andrew Lloyd Webber piece among new coronation music", "Judith Weir Armida (2005) Music Sales Classical", "Musical Work rises from the concrete Barbican", "The State Funeral and Committal Service for Her Majesty The Queen", "The Black Spider review Weir's opera is ghastly gothic treat", https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=judith+weir+scipio%27s+dream#top, "A ringing coda: the music at the Queen's funeral was both solemn and sublime", Judith Weir on the British Music Collection, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Judith_Weir&oldid=1140504219, The Prelude (20182019, flute, violin, viola, cello), This page was last edited on 20 February 2023, at 10:43. Gounod's Faust from the Opra Bastille, Paris. BBC Philharmonic/David, GRAMOPHONE Review: Shostakovich Symphony No 10, Mahler Symphony No 10 Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra/van Zweden, GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. Bogdan Skrypka Judith Weir CBE HonFRSE (born 11 May 1954)[1] is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. It didnt help that the singing from Rossington and Valentine lacked clarity and I had to second guess some of their dialogue. S,Mz,Ct,T,Bar,bbar + 2(II:pic).1.3(III:bcl).1+cbn/, A series of performances taking place in London over the coming weeks shines a spotlight on the rich and varied output of composer Judith Weir, Spotlight on Judith Weir including orchestral works, opera and a world premiere. Where Weirs orchestral writing is full and rich, the vocal parts are for the most part agile and harsh. She was commissioned to compose an a cappella work for the state funeral of Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022, and wrote a setting of Psalm 42, "Like as the hart".[17]. Nonetheless, having written her own libretto as well as the music, she was easy prey. [9], Weir is a member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians. Weir was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 Birthday Honours for services to music. From 1995 to 2000, she was Artistic Director of the Spitalfields Festival in London. Yes, Tom Pye's design was beautiful, but stylised beyond the world of the circumstantial it could have accommodated any opera from Parsifal to Madama Butterfly. Judith Weir. Judith Weir is a Honorary Patron for Sound and Music. Indeed it has. 2010-2023 Bachtrack Ltd. All rights reserved. Miss Fortune is based on a Sicilian folk tale, and Weir's own libretto abstracts the story and creates a sort of moral fable that rather reminded me of Georg Kaiser's From Morning to Midnight and David Sawer's brave attempt to turn it into an opera in 2001 at English National Opera. Public transport But I personally have been feeling thoroughly revived after GSMD's energy-giving version of my 2011 opera "Miss Fortune" which opened at the beginning of March. But Miss Fortune is warm and fuzzy where it should be hard and edgy, its a social fable with contemporary resonances in everything but its words and music, and worst of all its an adult opera which sounds like its spoon feeding amateur philosophy to a child. I loved the witty set (designer. Digory Price 1 / 3. Susan Jane Matthews, organ1929 Skinner OrganSt. The clarity of the costume design made the characters instantly knowable, too: a stroppy teenager, a lady from a launderette, a positive-thinking businessman these types look the same anywhere. Tina (Miss Fortune) - Emma Bell. She had taken a hiatus to focus her energies on a host of other endeavours including orchestral composition and leading the BBC's annual composer weekend at the Barbican in 2008. Do you remember your first pieces? By combining The Telephone and Miss Fortune, director Martin Lloyd-Evans and designer Anna Reid wished to explore aspects of the isolating effects of modern urban life. 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. Commissioned by the Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. 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? The Sicilian tale on which the opera is based is a fairly standard story of the virtuous young girl who falls on hard times but whose virtue is ultimately rewarded; Weir changes it in two key ways. She has composed Concertos for Piano (William Howard) and Oboe (Celia Craig). For Barbican performances, enter through the mainBarbican Centre entrance in Silk Street. 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) 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. Josh Law Miss Fortune . Galleries. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal . The Royal Opera promise a feast for the eyes and dont disappoint. Judith Weir CBE (born 1954) is a British composer and the first female Master of the Queen's Music. Noah Stewart on Miss Fortune - Interview 9,070 views Feb 22, 2012 American tenor Noah Stewart on his Royal Opera House debut role in Judith Weir's Miss Fortune. This is a libretto which vacillates between the banal and the unintentionally comedic (or is that irony?) Guildhall School of Music & Drama It has been a hyperactive week for hubris, schadenfreude and any other not quite correctly used foreign words you care to scatter. Justin Anderson 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. Set within Bayview Developments, an exclusive estate agents (where clients are assured of no social housing) we meet the sales girl and chatterbox Lucy, Segomotso Shupinyaneng, and the ever-patient and earnest Ben, Jonathan Eyers. Reonel Rafols Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. Paul's Episcopal Church, Burlingame, CaliforniaThe Tree of Peace is by the contemporary English composer Judi. Judith Weir's music is published by Chester Music and Novello & Co. She has also created new music for many community groups and schools, including Burntwood School Wandsworth, Aberdeen Art Gallery, St Marys Church Dover and Greenacre School, Barnsley. 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. Although she has achieved international recognition for her orchestral and chamber works, Weir is best known for her operas and theatrical works. But Weir creates much variety of timbre and a fair degree of potency throughout. YouTube Encyclopedic. The booking fee may be reduced on certain events. Silly and naive. 2.1.1 Miss Fortune (Achterbahn) 2.2 Other key works; 3 Selected recordings; 4 External links; 5 References Biography. [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. Miss Fortune is a reinvention of a Sicilian folk tale in which the comfortable life of Tina (Erin Gwyn Rossington), the wealthy daughter of Lord and Lady Fortune (Jacob Harrison and Amy Holyland), nosedives after a financial catastrophe. What you think of Miss Fortunes music will depend very much on personal tastes: I found it music to admire rather than to love. . She studied with John Tavener while at the North London Collegiate School[3] and subsequently with Robin Holloway at King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1976. JUDITH WEIR AT 70 OPERAS. Judith Weirs orchestral music is drawn from a similarly vivid palette. The absence of an intermediary sparring partner in the shape of a librettist may have made it difficult for the right person to say to Weir "more here, less there". Benedict Swindells* 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. Miss Fortune is Birtish composer Judith Weir's first operatic composisition in the last 17 years. A full list of Production Arts teaching staff and technicians can be found on our website. Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents. 145 Miss Weir Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE Collections Project #ShowUs Creative Insights EDITORIAL VIDEO BBC Motion Gallery NBC News Archives MUSIC BLOG BROWSE PRICING ENTERPRISE VisualGPS INSIGHTS BOARDS BASKET SIGN IN Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Albery's production allows the opera to speak for itself, although sluggish pacing in the pit detract from the musical merits of this revival. Watch online from 25 March. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. 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". Tina, their daughter Erin Gwyn Rossington (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Cleo Lee McGowan (2 & 7 Mar) At the time, I was writing a chorus number called We Didn't See It Coming. Meanwhile, the cast plunged into the nitty-gritty ("Four steps to the left, take the glass from Kathryn, turn "). Miss Fortune Operas. 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. Silk Street Last year's Bregenz staging, the work's world premiere, was an opportunity to take strong action. Alice Warburton Cludia Costa Gonalves, Ensembles, Programming & Instrument Manager Amongst her priorities in this role are the support of school music teachers, of amateur orchestras and choirs, and of rural festivals. Steven van der Linden [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. I've had the misfortune of reading a few reviews already, and so far I seem to be flying solo on actually recommending it - but I do think the basic ingredients are there. 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. A few quotes from suddenly redundant bankers made it into the libretto ("I'm going to clear my desk"; "I'll never find another job") but soon I and my opera were pondering the wider mystery of how random the universe is, and how it often seems there's nothing we can do about it. After this she spent several years working in schools and adult education in rural southern England; followed by a period based in Scotland, teaching at Glasgow University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She teaches at Cardiff University. Ivelina Ivanova Miku Yasukawa Presented byGuildhall School of Music & Drama. Opera: Voices & Orchestra. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. ears ago, I read an Italian folk tale about a princess who, when her parents lose their money, is forced to live in poverty and make a living: weaving cloth, minding a wine store, washing clothes. Yn ogystal, mae'n gyfansoddwr o ddarnau cerddorfaol a lleisiol, gan gynnwys Concerto i'r Piano (1997), The Welcome Arrival of Rain (2001), ac In the Land of Uz (2017). What a waste of talent and resources. You can contact him from. Nicole Ma, Percussion Applying that usage, it has had many "adventures" over the years and the discard pile is high. But now that the Royal Opera House's chorus has taken over, the opera seems to have moved into 3D. The four days of programmes ended with a first performance of her new commission, CONCRETE, a choral motet. In 1987, her first half-length opera, A Night at the Chinese Opera, was premiered at Kent Opera. She struggles, wins the lottery, casts aside money and goes off with the handsome prince, in his mercifully clean shirt. Judith Weir's most recent major work is her opera Miss Fortune, which received its first performances on July 21, 2011 at the Bregenz Festival, directed by Chen Shi-Zheng and designed by Tom Pye. 28 pages. Meanwhile, the Chorus are a vital presence, losing all their money in the opening scene, only to reappear in increasingly direr straits. Lord Fortune - Alan Ewing. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . Paula Guerra The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal . 1 / Symphonic Dances Philadelphia Orchestra/Nzet-Sguin, GRAMOPHONE Review: Nielsen Symphonies 1 & 3, 4 & 5 Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Luisi, GRAMOPHONE Review: Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements, Symphony in C etc. Ami-Louise Johnsson Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at Covent Garden By David Karlin, 13 March 2012 There's usually plenty of hype surrounding a newly written opera performed at Covent Garden, but the carefully placed stories about Judith Weir's Miss Fortune are on the improbable end of the scale, featuring a flying kebab shop and a team of breakdancers. The subject of this piece was inspired by the Barbican building itself she describes it as 'an imaginary excavation of the Barbican Centre, burrowing through 2,500 years of historical rubble'. Judith Weir - Miss Fortune [Achterbahn] (2011) - YouTube 0:00 / 1:23:43 Judith Weir - Miss Fortune [Achterbahn] (2011) 2,550 views Oct 17, 2015 Digital broadcast from BBC Radio 3 .more. Hassan - Noah Stewart She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Also known as Achterbahn (rollercoaster), this apt allegory on fate - and the control we have over our own lives - delivers a timely update on the Italian folk tale Sfortuna. . 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. Her struggles are closely shadowed by Fate sung by counter-tenor Kieron-Connor Valentine. 10 Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse/Sokhiev, GRAMOPHONE Review: Sounds of America Jon Manasse, Park Avenue Chamber Orchestra/Bernard, GRAMOPHONE Review: Rachmaninov Symphony No. On 21 July 2011, her first opera for 17 years, Miss Fortune (Achterbahn), premiered at the Bregenz Festival in Austria. Both the score and the individual performances I decided to use the tale as a basis for a new opera.
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