English National Opera (ENO) today, 10 April 2014, announced that Henriette Götz has been appointed as its new Executive Director.

Henriette has more than 20 years international business experience, the last ten of which were in international arts leadership. She was most recently Executive Director of the innovative Vlaamse Opera, Belgium, which she joined in 2009. Henriette will commence her role at ENO in May 2014.

Martyn Rose, Chair of ENO’s Board of Trustees said: “I am delighted to welcome Henriette as our new Executive Director.  She joins ENO at an exciting time, as the company celebrates an acclaimed Spring season and will soon announce a number of transformational projects for the future. Henriette’s financial acumen and deep knowledge of the international opera and classical music sector fully equip her to help shape and deliver our future strategy, which will create a sustainable future for ENO as one of the world’s most innovative opera houses.”

John Berry, Artistic Director of ENO, said: “Henriette is an excellent appointment to our executive team at ENO and I’m very much looking forward to working with her. She is an experienced and well respected opera administrator whose work with Vlaamse Opera,  a regular co -producing  partner of ours and one of Europe’s most exciting opera houses, will stand her in good stead for her work in London.”

Henriette Götz said: “I have a deep passion for the arts, and especially for opera, so I’m delighted by the opportunity to join an organisation as creative and courageous as ENO.  Their vision for the future is very exciting. I am very happy to work with John and I am looking forward to a productive future of great collaboration. I’m thrilled to be a part of this next chapter for ENO and I can’t wait to get started.”

The appointment of Henriette Götz comes as a result of the departure of Loretta Tomasi, who left ENO in December, after ten years with the company.

Top London choir Goldsmiths Choral Union is offering a young musician the chance to shadow and study with their Music Director, Brian Wright. The new role is designed for a student conductor as a two-season Apprenticeship starting in September 2014. Most student choral conducting tuition concentrates on the ‘a cappella’ repertoire. This is a unique opportunity to study the large-scale ‘symphonic’ choral repertoire and techniques, including 30 individual lessons per season. At the end of the second season it is envisaged the appointee would conduct at a concert.

The deadline for applications is 9 May 2014.

Full details and the application procedure can be downloaded at

www.goldsmithschoral.org.uk

Position of Trainee Conductor
This new role is designed for a student conductor as a two season
Apprenticeship starting in September 2014. Most student choral
conducting tuition concentrates on the “a cappella” repertoire. This is
a unique opportunity to study the large-scale “symphonic” choral
repertoire and techniques with GCU’s renowned music staff.
The appointment will be decided by short list, interview and practical
competition, with choir members involved in the choice. The
appointee will shadow the Music Director Brian Wright and also receive
tuition from him of approximately 30 lessons per season before GCU’s
Wednesday evening rehearsals at Baden Powell House in South
Kensington.
From time to time the appointee will conduct part of a full rehearsal
as a supervised session. He/she will also have the opportunity to direct
supervised sectional rehearsals. If a pianist, GCU’s accompanist
Stephen Jones will mentor choir accompaniment skills. At the end of
the second season it is envisaged the appointee would conduct at a
GCU concert.
Goldsmiths Young Voices Project
In addition, GCU has an ambition to establish Goldsmiths Young Voices,
a SATB youth choir based in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
The new choir could have a regular slot in GCU’s Christmas carol
concerts and participate in any of GCU’s concerts that require young
voices, as well as developing its own repertoire from popular
arrangements, as on “The Choir”, to more classical fare. This project
is currently in the early ‘concept stage’, and the Trainee Conductor
would be closely involved in its development, helping bring the idea
into reality, as well as training and conducting the Young Voices.

25^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS INCLUDE BRITISH PREMIERE

AND FIRST CONCERT ON STAGE  AT WORMSLEY

Public booking opens on 14 April for Garsington Opera’s 25^th anniversary season.  The British premiere of Offenbach’s sparkling comedy Vert-Vert, Janá?ek’s 20^th century masterpiece The Cunning Little Vixen and a revival of Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio will be presented.  The season at Wormsley, sponsored by JLT, runs from 6 June to 13 July and includes the first ever concert given by Garsington Opera Orchestra at the Opera Pavilion on Sunday 6 July.  This is the culmination of a weekend commemorating the First World War with a celebrity recital by Steven Isserlis and masterclass with Ann Murray, tours of the world-famous Getty Library and a symposium with James Naughtie entitled  Peace in our Time?  For the first time, there will be a performance specially designated for schools as part of Garsington Opera’s OperaFirst education programme. For the third year running an opera performance will be relayed to the beach at Skegness as part of the SO Festival.

Public booking opens 14 April www.garsingtonopera.org or 01865 361636

THE EVENING AT GARSINGTON OPERA, WORMSLEY

Performances take place in the spectacular Opera Pavilion, which sits within the rolling landscape of the Chiltern Hills, less than an hour from London and 25 minutes by train to the nearest station at High Wycombe. Performances start in the early evening with a long dinner interval when patrons can dine in the elegant restaurant marquees overlooking the famous cricket ground or enjoy a picnic by the lake or in the garden. Performances resume as the evening light begins to fade and end by 10.15pm, when candles and the moon’s reflection in the lake provide a magical finale to an evening at Garsington Opera.

• ·         Liberty or Death!, Spellbound, and A Terrible Innocence to theme WNO’s             mainscale programme in 2014 | 2015
• ·         Eight productions for 2014 | 2015, of which five are new productions
• ·         Continuation of Bel Canto series, British Firsts programme and Royal                   Opera House residency

Welsh National Opera’s programme for 2014 | 2015 continues Artistic Director and Chief Executive David Pountney’s inspired approach to themed seasons.  The programme sees the Company exploring themes as varied and as current as national liberation, magic and enchantment, and the power of destructive innocence.

WNO’s Autumn 2014 season, which comes under the theme of Liberty or Death!, continues the Company’s Bel Canto series with new productions of Rossini’s William Tell and Moses in Egypt which will be staged within the same scenic environment.  Directed by David Pountney, both operas also see a return to WNO for internationally acclaimed conductor Carlo Rizzi.

An epic political and romantic work, and Rossini’s last opera, William Tell is the story of the Swiss struggle for independence against the repression of Austria; a narrative which spans ages and shares themes and ideas with many worldwide battles for national liberation.   The role of William Tell will be sung by David Kempster.

A grand biblical epic composed in Naples, Moses in Egypt was one of Rossini’s early operas.   Mezzo Soprano and former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Christine Rice will take the role of Amaltea in Moses in Egypt, returning to WNO following her performances as Rosina in The Barber of Seville in Autumn 2011.

British tenor Barry Banks whose esteemed career has seen him become synonymous with Rossini’s bel canto repertoire will perform with WNO in both Rossini operas, singing the role of Arnold in William Tell and Aronne in Moses in Egypt.

Completing the Autumn season will be a revival of Bizet’s Carmen, which tells the story of a free spirit who would rather die than surrender her liberty.  In one of his first roles as WNO Associate Artist for 2014 | 2015, Aidan Smith will sing the role of Zuniga.  Carmen will be conducted by Erik Nielsen with Alessandra Volpe in the title role and Peter Wedd and Gwyn Hughes-Jones sharing the role of Don Jose.

Spellbound is the theme for Spring 2015, which will highlight the natural affinity between music and magic with revivals of the enchanting operas Hansel & Gretel and The Magic Flute.  Both operas transport the audience into a world of magic, make-believe and delight, but are also ultimately about the power of rationalism over magic.

Both Hansel & Gretel and The Magic Flute will be conducted by WNO Music Director, Lothar Koenigs.

Completing the Spring 2015 Season will be a new production, Chorus!  Under the creative vision and direction of David Pountney, Chorus! will celebrate one of WNO’s greatest assets, the Chorus, as well as the choral tradition.  Chorus! will feature soprano Lesley Garrett CBE performing alongside WNO Chorus, and will be an enchanting, witty and spectacularjourney through the rich repertoire of operatic choral music.

Two new productions lead the Summer 2015 Season under the theme of A Terrible Innocence.  WNO will give the British premiere of Richard Ayres’ Peter Pan alongside a new production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.  Both new productions explore the ways in which apparent innocence can mask destructive and dangerous forces.

Pelléas et Mélisande will bring together the creative team that worked on the much-celebrated WNO production of Berg’sLulu in 2013, and David Pountney draws a specific link between Lulu and Pelléas et Mélisande by setting it within a developed version of the Lulu design.  The new production will be conducted by WNO Music Director Lothar Koenigs with set design by Johan Engels and costume design by Marie-Jeanne Lecca.

As part of WNO’s British Firsts series, and in his first collaboration with WNO, Keith Warner will direct Peter Pan which is a co-production with the Komische Oper Berlin (KOB).  This new production sees the return of Marie Arnet to WNO in the role of Wendy following her critically-acclaimed performance in Lulu with WNO in 2013, with Iestyn Morris taking the role of Peter.  As well as performances in Cardiff and Birmingham, Peter Pan will be performed at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in Summer 2015 as part of WNO’s 3-year residency there.

In March 2014, Resonus Classics is delighted to release the world premiere recording of Daniel Purcell’s one-act opera The Judgment of Paris.

Written in 1701 to a libretto newly commissioned from William
Congreve, one of the leading dramatists of the day, the opera was
submitted for the Music Prize established by a group of opera-loving
aristocrats with the aim to foster the development of all-sung opera
in English.
This rarely performed opera is presented here by Spiritato! and the
Rodolfus Choir under the direction of Julian Perkins. The soloists
include: Anna Dennis as Venus – Goddess of Love; Amy Freston as
Pallas – Goddess of War; Ciara Hendricks as Juno – Goddess of
Marriage; Samuel Boden as Paris – a shepherd; and Ashley Riches as
Mercury – Messenger of the Gods.

Released solely in digital formats, these recording will be available from www.resonusclassics.com and other reputable
online retailers in formats ranging from MP3 up to 96kHz/24-bit studio quality masters.

25^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS INCLUDE BRITISH PREMIERE

AND FIRST CONCERT ON STAGE  AT WORMSLEY

To celebrate its 25^th anniversary year, Garsington Opera presents the British premiere of Offenbach’s sparkling comedyVert-Vert, Janá?ek’s 20^th century masterpiece The Cunning Little Vixen and a revival of Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio.  The season at Wormsley, sponsored by JLT, runs from 6 June to 13 July and includes the first ever concert given by theGarsington Opera Orchestra at the Opera Pavilion on Sunday 6 July.  This is the culmination of a weekend commemorating the First World War with a celebrity recital and a masterclass, tours of the world-famous Getty Library and a symposium entitled  Peace in our Time?. For the first time, there will be a performance specially designated for schools as part of Garsington Opera’s OperaFirst education programme. For the third year running an opera performance will be relayed to the beach at Skegness as part of the SO Festival.

DIARY OF EVENTS AT WORMSLEY

Fidelio  (sung in German)  6,8,15,18,21,28 June, 1,5,10,13 July  6.20pm

Vert-Vert  (sung in English) 7,9,14,19,24,26 June, 3,9 July 2014  6.15pm

The Cunning Little Vixen (sung in Czech)  22,25,27 June, 4,8,12 July 2014   6.45pm

Peace in our Time? 5, 6 July

BOX OFFICE:  GENERAL PUBLIC BOOKING OPENS  14 APRIL 2014  Tickets £102 – £180 Telephone 01865 361636  The Old Garage, The Green, Great Milton, Oxford OX44 7NP

www.garsingtonopera.org

Building on ENO’s reputation as the undisputed ‘House of Handel’, Richard Jones directs a new production of Rodelinda, featuring a stellar British cast conducted by baroque specialist Christian Curnyn.

ENO’s inaugural production of Rodelinda follows on from previous successful productions of Handel operas including Ariodante (1993),Alcina (1999),Semele (1999), Jeptha (2005), Agrippina (2007), Messiah (2009), Partenope (2009), Radmisto (2010) Julius Caesar (2012)and of course, Nicholas Hytner’s seminal production of Xerxes (1985).

Widely considered to be one of Handel’s operatic masterpieces, Rodelinda is infused with compelling characters and ravishing music. It is an epic story of love, power and mistaken identity. Bertarido has been driven from his kingdom by Grimoaldo and is presumed dead, leaving behind his grieving wife, Rodelinda. Grimoaldo will imprison Rodelinda unless she agrees to marry him, but then the exiled king returns in disguise.

Richard Jones’s Rodelinda transports the action from the dark ages to 1950s Italy, presenting the conflict between political manoeuvring and emotional relationships in an intense, direct way reminiscent of a contemporary, dark political thriller.

Rodelinda is the third of five new productions Richard will direct for ENO before 2016, continuing his close relationship with the Company. In 2012, his The Tales of Hoffman, was described as “inspired” by Evening Standard and Martin?’s Julietta, of which the Financial Times said, “you couldn’t want a more intelligent or entertaining production”.

Conducting Rodelinda is baroque specialist Christian Curnyn. Christian debuted at ENO in 2008 conducting the Olivier Award-winning production of Partenope. Since then he has conducted a number of baroque operas for the company including After Dido, Castor and Pollux (2012 Olivier Award for Best Opera Production), Julius Caesar and most recently, Medea, described by The Independent as “the most brilliant show to have graced the Coliseum in years”. Following Rodelinda, Christian goes on to conduct L’Ormindo for The Royal Opera at the new Sam Wanamaker Theatre at the Globe.

Leading an exceptional British cast in the title role of Rodelinda is Rebecca Evans. Rebecca has previously performed at ENO as Romilda in Xerxes and most recently as the Governess in David McVicar’s production of The Turn of the Screw, in a performance described by The Guardian as “superbly judged, utterly humane”.

Countertenor Iestyn Davies plays the usurped Bertarido. Iestyn most recently played Oberon in Christopher Alden’s striking production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, described by New York Times as “brilliant”.

Internationally renowned tenor John Mark Ainsley plays Grimoaldo. John last performed at ENO as Emilio in Partenope. Susan Bickley plays Eduige. Susan last sang at ENO in Richard Jones’ production of Julietta.

Christopher Ainslie, who made his ENO debut in 2012 in the role of Helicon in the UK premiere of Detlev Glanert’s Caligula, plays the part of Unulfo.

Completing the cast is Richard Burkhard, playing Garibaldo and Matt Casey, playing Flavio.

Rodelinda opens at the London Coliseum on 28 February 2014 for 8 performances – 28 February & March 4, 6, 11, 13 at 7pm, March 2 at 3pm and March 8, 15 at 6pm.

Pre-performance talk: Tuesday 4 March, 5.00pm-5.45pm, £5/£2.50 concessions

A co-production with the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia

New production supported by Dunard Fund, Colwinston Charitable Trust, Friends of ENO and a syndicate of individual donors

 A New Scheme allows young audiences to experience chamber music for free

Young people aged between 8 – 25 years old will have the opportunity to attend Brighton Dome’s Coffee Concerts series – in association with Strings Attached – for free, following the latter organisation’s acceptance into a new scheme aimed at attracting new audiences to classical music.

CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust, which concentrates on increasing awareness of chamber music amongst young people, operates a ticket scheme that subsidises the attendance of young people (those aged 8-25 inclusive) to chamber music concerts around the country. The Trust have accepted Strings Attached into the scheme, encompassing the final two concerts in the 2013/2014 Coffee Concert programme at Brighton Dome – Trio Isimsiz (Sun 23 Feb) and Szymanowski Quartet (Sun 16 Mar) – and future seasons of the popular series.

‘Strings Attached are delighted at the opportunity the CAVATINA Scheme provides to share our love of chamber music with young people. We want to promote the scheme widely in Brighton and Hove over the next few months and would welcome contact with teachers as well as young people themselves’.  Mary McKean, Chair, Strings Attached

The popular Coffee Concerts series brings a national and international mix of emerging talent, established artists, and award-winning musicians to the south coast. Featuring world class chamber music, the intimate nature of these recitals – often performed in the round – offer audiences a sociable and enriching experience.

‘From the curious to those keen to try something new, this really is a wonderful opportunity for younger audiences to explore the rich world of chamber music, and an excellent example of organisations working together to make the arts accessible for all. For me, our Sunday morning coffee concerts are the perfect mix of magnificent artists performing wonderful repertoire in a beautiful, historic and welcoming space, and I look forward to seeing new audiences enjoy the experience.’  Andrew Comben, Chief Executive, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival

Trio Isimsiz was formed in 2009 at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, under the guidance of Louise Hopkins and Alasdair Tait. They have participated in masterclasses with the Belcea, Endellion and Takács Quartets at the GSMD and with Pavel Gililov, Wolfgang Reddick and Thomas Riebl at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Over the last year the Trio has undertaken a winter residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts working with Henk Guittart and given recitals at the Barbican and Royal Festival Hall. In 2013 they were accepted for representation by YCAT and this summer return to Salzburg.

Founded in Warsaw in 1995, Szymanowski Quartet is one of the most exceptional string quartets of its generation. In 2005 they were honoured with the Szymanowski Award in Warsaw and in 2007 they were awarded the Medal of Honour by the Polish government for their service to Polish culture.

CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust was formed in 1998 with the aim of developing young audiences for chamber music. It is the only organisation which concentrates solely on increasing awareness of chamber music amongst young people. As well as subsidising free tickets for chamber music concerts in over 20 venues across the UK, the organisation also presents around 50 school concerts a year; provides scholarships for young people in special circumstances; promotes chamber music competitions and sponsors master classes in order to raise the quality of chamber music in educational establishments.

The number of free tickets for 8 – 25 year olds are limited for each concert and need to be booked in advance. To apply for tickets, visit Brighton Dome Ticket Office on New Road with details of your name, email address and date of birth. Tickets are available immediately.

Ticket Office – 01273 709709 | brightondome.org

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English National Opera (ENO) has today announced that its highly-acclaimed Music Director Edward Gardner will leave his role at the end of the 2014/15 season to take up his new appointment as Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. He will be succeeded by Mark Wigglesworth, who takes up the ENO baton in September 2015.

John Berry, Artistic Director of ENO said:

“Ed Gardner has been a phenomenal Music Director, rightly winning plaudits across the board for the outstanding performances of our orchestra and chorus under his leadership. I’d like to thank him for his huge musical contribution to ENO and I look forward to working with him on a number of exciting company projects during 2014 and 2015.  I wish Ed every success with his symphonic work and I’m delighted he’ll be back with us in 2016 as a guest conductor.

“It’s tremendous that I am also able to announce Ed’s successor today. Mark is one of the most outstanding conductors of his generation and I’m thrilled to be working with him. His appointment highlights ENO’s current standing in the international opera world and our ability to attract the very best talent from across the arts and the wider creative industries. He has already had great success with us in recent seasons, conducting acclaimed performances of Katya Kabanova and Parsifal, and his brilliant technique and natural flair for the theatre make him a natural choice to lead the Company.

“I know Mark will make his presence felt and will support our mission to make ENO one of the most theatrically dynamic and musically exciting opera houses in the world.”

Equally at home in the concert hall or opera house, internationally acclaimed conductor Mark Wigglesworth has worked with orchestras across the UK, Europe and North America, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra.

He and ENO are no strangers, with Mark having conducted Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (2001), Così fan tutte (2002 and 2003) Falstaff(2004), Katya Kabanova (2010), and Parsifal (2011, “confidently shaped…masterfully calculated”, The Telegraph) at the London Coliseum. Elsewhere, he has worked with Glyndebourne, Welsh National Opera, Netherlands Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels, Sydney Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, New York and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where he will be conducting again shortly before taking up his post at ENO.

Photo: Mark Wigglesworth by Sim Canetty-Clarke