Saturday 24th October 2009
Opera South celebrates its
SILVER JUBILEE
with a
Trafalgar Night Extravaganza
SING A SONG OF EMPIRE
"H.M.S. Victory, Trafalgar Day" Etching by W.L.Wyllie R.A. (1851–1931) |
Songs will be performed by
Branksome PlaceHindhead Road, Haslemere, Surrey GU27 3PN. |
| Tickets: | £60.00 (including wine) |
| 6.00pm | Drinks and canapés |
| 7.00pm | Concert |
| 8.30pm | Dinner |
| 11.00pm | Carriages |
| Dress code: | Black tie |
About the concert programme
Poems by Rudyard Kipling
and his contemporaries with music by, among others, some of Britain’s greatest composers.
Some of the songs are already familiar, whereas others have not been heard for years.
A user-friendly narration will place everything within context.
The programme will include:
The highlight of the show promises to be the first performance in modern times of Elgar’s The Fringes of the Fleet, a setting of four Kipling poems written in 1917.
The music for Sing-a-Song of Empire has been selected and arranged by Tom Higgins; the linking commentary is by Richard Fawkes.
Tom Higgins (Music Director) has conducted many leading British orchestras including the Hanover Band, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brandenburg Sinfonia, and the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2002 he conducted the Dresden Staatsoperette Orchestra’s traditional New Year’s Day Concert. For the BBC he conducted the world premiere recording of Sir Arthur Sullivan’s The Rose of Persia – chosen by the Observer as CD of the Week. He has appeared regularly at Opera Holland Park and is music director of Opera South. His extensive operatic repertoire ranges from Die Fledermaus to The Consul, from Orpheus in the Underworld to Beatrice di Tenda.
Richard Fawkes (producer, scriptwriter) is an award-winning film director and writer. He has directed The Yeomen of the Guard (for Opera Holland Park), La Bohème, and of course Faust and The Merry Wives of Windsor for Opera South. Richard also wrote and directed Waltzing in the Clouds for the Covent Garden Festival. His film credits include the award-winning Channel 4 series Tom Keating on Painters, Circle Within the Square and The Original Three Tenors (about Caruso, Gigli, and Bjorling). Richard wrote the librettos for Survival Song (nominated for an Olivier Award) and Biko, both with music by Priti Paintal; he has written a history of Welsh National Opera and ghosted Michael Langdon’s autobiography Notes from a Low Singer. His History of Opera for Naxos Audiobooks won a Talkie Award.
- The Fringes of the Fleet with music by Sir Edward Elgar
- The Absent-Minded Beggar with music by Sir Arthur Sullivan
- The Big Steamers set both by Elgar and by Sir Edward German
- Settings of Danny Deever and The Only Son by Percy Grainger
- Sir Edward German’s Rolling Down to Rio
- Boots composed by the great Australian baritone Peter Dawson (and recorded by Nelson Eddy among others)
- On the Road to Mandalay by American composer Oley Speaks
The highlight of the show promises to be the first performance in modern times of Elgar’s The Fringes of the Fleet, a setting of four Kipling poems written in 1917.
The music for Sing-a-Song of Empire has been selected and arranged by Tom Higgins; the linking commentary is by Richard Fawkes.
Tom Higgins (Music Director) has conducted many leading British orchestras including the Hanover Band, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brandenburg Sinfonia, and the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2002 he conducted the Dresden Staatsoperette Orchestra’s traditional New Year’s Day Concert. For the BBC he conducted the world premiere recording of Sir Arthur Sullivan’s The Rose of Persia – chosen by the Observer as CD of the Week. He has appeared regularly at Opera Holland Park and is music director of Opera South. His extensive operatic repertoire ranges from Die Fledermaus to The Consul, from Orpheus in the Underworld to Beatrice di Tenda.
Richard Fawkes (producer, scriptwriter) is an award-winning film director and writer. He has directed The Yeomen of the Guard (for Opera Holland Park), La Bohème, and of course Faust and The Merry Wives of Windsor for Opera South. Richard also wrote and directed Waltzing in the Clouds for the Covent Garden Festival. His film credits include the award-winning Channel 4 series Tom Keating on Painters, Circle Within the Square and The Original Three Tenors (about Caruso, Gigli, and Bjorling). Richard wrote the librettos for Survival Song (nominated for an Olivier Award) and Biko, both with music by Priti Paintal; he has written a history of Welsh National Opera and ghosted Michael Langdon’s autobiography Notes from a Low Singer. His History of Opera for Naxos Audiobooks won a Talkie Award.