Daily Archives: 29 April, 2016

Daniel Kramer announced as new Artistic Director of English National Opera

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Today (29 April 2016), ENO announces that award-winning opera and theatre director Daniel Kramer will become Artistic Director of the Company from 1 August 2016.

Daniel Kramer

British-American director Daniel Kramer’s work with ENO extends backs to 2008. He was selected as part of ENO’s young director’s initiative for which he directed Punch and Judy at the Young Vic which subsequently won the South Bank Show Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera. Kramer returned to ENO in 2009 to direct Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle at the London Coliseum and is currently directing Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, conducted by former ENO Music Director Edward Gardner and designed by Anish Kapoor.

Daniel Kramer has been an Associate at the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill and the Young Vic, and a Creative Associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The appointment was made by a panel of ENO Board Members chaired by Harry Brunjes, including Louise Jeffreys and Anthony Whitworth-Jones. The views of members of the Orchestra and Chorus and the senior artistic team were also taken into account. Daniel was unanimously chosen as the exceptional individual from a very strong field of candidates.

Speaking about his appointment, Daniel Kramer said,

“I am honoured to join this wonderful Company. The core of English National Opera is its unique Company spirit – its award-winning orchestra and chorus and its incredible staff, stage and house crew. My intention is to champion this family and to inspire audiences night after night with a thrilling programme of musical diversity, attracting audiences from opera to operetta through to popular music. We will work, too, with the wider community outside the Coliseum, to develop emerging talent and new audiences. We are here to play and sing for you. I hope you will join us in this new chapter of our evolution.“

St Nicolas, Pevensey

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18th May at 7:00 PM,  the first of two talks to be given this year as part of the 800th anniversary celebrations by leading historian and archaeologist, Dr Scott Mclean. Tickets are £7:00. Dr Mclean’s talk on ‘The Archaeology of St. Nicolas’, will be highly illustrated. Dr Maclean is an Associate Professor of History and was director of British Archaeology at the Herstmonceux Bader International Study Centre’s Field School.

The talk will provide a particular focus on the archaeological record and an overview of Pevensey’s early development and the factors that shaped it’s growth. Over several decades excavations have taken place in land adjoining St. Nicolas churchyard, close to where William the Conqueror may have landed, within easy reach of the then existing Pevensey Castle which he enlarged and fortified. Dr. Mclean’s most recent excavations took place in 2014 in an area in the north-east corner of Church Farm immediately south of St. Nicolas Church. This excavation made some interesting discoveries and demonstrated that the history of Pevensey is not only long but rich. Dr Mclean will show some of his excavated findings – some dating back centuries, and some from continental Europe

28th May at 7:00 PM, the first jazz concert to be held in the church’s 800 year history. It will be given by the ‘Pasadena Roof Orchestra ‘Hot Five’. The ‘Hot Five’ will play two sets of 50 minutes each. Tickets are £12:50

John Arthy who founded the world famous ‘PRO’ in November 1969, will be accompanied on double bass and tuba, by four other musicians: John Nichols, piano, Ron Drake, saxophone/clarinet, Martin Wheatley guitar/banjo and Andy Woon trumpet. All have played with some of the world’s most famous jazz bands and performers over the years in Britain, The United States and Europe.

The five musicians are all widely recognized jazz musicians in their own right and specialize in music from the 20’s and 30’s. Advance booking is strongly recommended.

Ticket Booking

If you choose to purchase tickets directly in advance, (especially advisable for the 28th May concert, as there is a strictly limited capacity) please email your ticket request and send your cheque to 10, Leasingham Gardens, Bexhill on Sea TN39 4DZ, made payable to ‘St. Nicolas Pevensey Restoration Fund’.

If tickets are purchased for the Concert on line, (http://www.wegottickets.com/event/348443) you will receive confirmation directly and this confirmation document should be shown at the church when attending.

LSO @ Barbican Hall

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Thursday 28 April 2016

Is Vaughan Williams’ Third Symphony really so rarely performed? Sir Mark Elder obviously thinks so and spoke strongly about its merits prior to the performance though, with fine playing throughout, it hardly seemed to need such a large plug. Moreover, performing it immediately after Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad and before Debussy’s Las mer gave it a solid context which hardly needed added explanation. I am not against conductors speaking to the audience but felt that, on this occasion, it did little to add to our understanding and lengthened an evening which, unfortunately, over-ran badly.

Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad can come across as a rural idyll but Elder finds levels of melancholy and loneliness in the work which are highly convincing. The touches of portamento in the strings hint at an understanding which is more than simply archaic. In the light of this interpretation we were well prepared for the ambivalence of the Vaughan Williams. Again this is very far from a pastoral idyll but none the less is clearly wedded to an understanding of the relationship of humanity to nature. The first movement, for all its introspection, seems to regularly flood with birdsong, calling us to a world of innocence which might exist if only man did not. This mood is carried over into the second movement where the solo trumpet provides a distant, cold, reminder of man’s presence and final judgement. It is a world away from the trumpet solos in Mahler and chillingly so. The third movement’s heartiness contrasts with the continuing bird song, but seems shallow in comparison and so we are led to the keening of the solo soprano in the final movement. Louise Alder, off-stage throughout, filled the hall easily with a gentle warmth and Mark Elder drew our attention to the different impact of the two passages she sings. At the opening her line is underpinned by a soft but uncomfortable tympani; at the end it is supported by high strings. Though the pain continues, we know we have moved from despair to resolution and compassion. It is a wonderful work, and yes we do not hear it often enough.

Cedric Tiberghien

After the interval we had moved from English impressionism to French, opening with a forthright account of Ravels’ Piano Concerto for the left hand, with Cedric Tiberghien as soloist. The strident writing and vivid colours contrast the fluid lyricism of the cadenzas which were given limpid clarity by the soloist. His sensitivity towards the period was exemplified in the Debussyan encore which followed.

Ending the evening with Debussy’s La mer almost came as a shock after the earlier works. The crisp open clarity, the sparkle and enthusiasm which the orchestra conjured up, was like a splendid cold shower after a very sweaty race. Detail was exemplary and dynamic changes always firmly focused. Those who had to slip away before the Debussy started, given that we were now running thirty minutes behind the expected time, missed a wonderful conclusion, and there was something of a scramble to get out following the final note. A pity, music making of this quality deserves better – and that is down to the planning.