Daily Archives: 12 April, 2012

ENO Announces Recipient of the Inaugural ENO Charles Mackerras Fellowship – Gergely Madaras

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ENO is pleased to announce young conductor Gergely Madaras as the inaugural recipient of the ENO Charles Mackerras Fellowship. This award to an exceptional emerging conducting talent is an initiative of ENO, in association with the Philip Loubser Foundation, and celebrates the great legacy of Sir Charles Mackerras.

Fast gaining an international reputation as one of the most exciting young European conductors of his generation, Gergely Madaras is currently completing his tenure as the Leverhulme Junior Fellow in conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music. He is resident conductor of the Grazioso Chamber Orchestra of the Hungarian National Philharmonic, and serves as assistant conductor to Pierre Boulez and the Lucerne Festival Academy, as well as to Sir Mark Elder and the Aldeburgh World Orchestra. Madaras has been a conducting fellow at Tanglewood, Aspen and Lucerne. He worked alongside and studied with conductors such as James Levine, Pierre Boulez, Herbert Blomstedt, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Mark Elder and David Zinman. His guest conducting engagements led him to work with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Wroclaw Philharmonic and Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne among others.

As the first ENO Charles Mackerras Fellow, Madaras has the unique opportunity to learn, work and develop through a structured two year programme, receiving mentoring from ENO’s Music Director Edward Gardner with the opportunity to assist him in his ENO work, prestigious guest conducting and recording engagements.

Madaras said, ‘I am delighted to have this opportunity to be part of the world-class team at ENO, under the guidance of Edward Gardner, a key figure in the international opera scene. To be granted this unique chance to assist a conductor leading his company is a great privilege and I look forward to benefiting from his guidance during my time at ENO.’

ENO worked with colleagues including other leading Music Directors and conservatoires to create a long list of potential candidates for the Fellowship. A selection panel then led an interview and audition process, involving singers and the ENO Orchestra. On the panel were Ed Gardner, ENO Music Director (chair) Martin Fitzpatrick, ENO Head of Music, Paul Hughes, General Manager BBC Symphony Orchestra, Valerie Masterson, singer and Gonzalo Acosta, ENO Associate Leader.

ENO Music Director Edward Gardner said, ‘When we met Gergely and saw him conduct the orchestra and the singers, it was clear to the whole panel and orchestra that we had found a real talent. His dynamic, assured style, and empathy for the musicians he works with is a pleasure to watch and I and everyone at ENO look forward to his development with us.’

 

Into The Woods

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 Renaissance Theatre Company, Phoenix Venue, Hastings 12 April 2012

With Sweeney Todd sold out in the West End it is surprising that we do not see more Sondheim in our local theatres. Perhaps the sheer complexity of his writing is beyond many smaller companies, but this was certainly not true of Renaissance who grasped the nettle with aplomb and came up smiling.

Nobody was credited with the design but this proved to be a key feature. In a venue with a flat auditorium, sight lines can be problematic, yet the multileveled set and subtle lighting enabled the majority of the action to be seen by all.

The large ensemble cast created credible characters within the overt fairytale environment which Sondheim stands on its head. While there were many children in the audience, the work has a serious purpose lurking behind the infectious humour of the lyrics, and we are regularly required to reflect on the impact of what we are hearing. Precise, though thankfully not over-loud, amplification enabled the text to be heard at all times and the complexities of the narrative to be easily followed. Mark Evans’ direction concentrated on maintaining a clear narrative line throughout, letting the humour run for itself but positioning soloists with intelligence both in terms of character and social status.

It almost seems unfair to mention individuals when the performance was so obviously an ensemble creation, but Imogen Willetts’ Rapunzel  was a masterly demonstration of a character who does not know when to stop. Her lyrical soprano was a joy from the beginning but her screams became increasingly annoying – just as Sondheim intended. I understand that Cathy Brown stepped in as Cinderella at a late stage though this was in no way obvious from the confidence of her anxious princess. Tuula Ward has an instinct for comedy which made her over-ripe Red Riding Hood a delight. Ryan Harman seemed a natural as Jack and the two princes were neatly differentiated.

If the level of vocal production was uneven this is to be expected even in the best of companies and the focus on communicating the text meant that we were always at one with the character singing.

Quite how Roger Wilcock kept everything together with the band positioned deep behind the set was presumably a mixture of high professionalism and good luck. The singers could not see him (there was no tv monitoring available) and he had no way of communicating with them in return. That there were no problems and the musical line was never interrupted was a tribute to all and a reflection of intense rehearsal to the point where all involved have trust in each other to simply be there. A splendid evening, and an appreciative and full audience.

Here’s to the next production.

BH