was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. 28 pages. It has been a hyperactive week for hubris, schadenfreude and any other not quite correctly used foreign words you care to scatter. Now in her 50s, she is too experienced, too knowledgable about the bloodied history of most operatic endeavour to have expected to get off lightly. 024 IN 2. By the end of the act, I was finding it all rather wearing, and theres little in the way of flowing vocal lines to lift the heart. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Queasy chromatic scales rising and falling in the trombones is as close as we get to the dark happenings on the street. I cannot find much to redeem Miss Fortune in its current form. 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. For Guildhall School performances please use the Guildhall School entrance on Silk Street. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . In 2014-15 there were releases of The Vanishing Bridegroom (NMC) and Storm (BBC Singers/Signum). What a waste of talent and resources. Weir is a warmly admired composer, modest in manner but gritty in ambition, as anyone in her field has to be first to achieve, second to survive. Composer Judith Weir tells the story to her latest opera Miss Fortune at a recent Insights event at the Royal Opera House. Vanessa Lingham, Stage Management Supervisor Noah Stewart on Miss Fortune - Interview - YouTube Opera on 3 Judith Weir's Miss Fortune. The UK premire of Miss Fortune is on March 12th at the Royal Opera House. Location She has been commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Music Untangled and Natural History) the Minnesota Orchestra (The Welcome Arrival of Rain) and the London Sinfonietta (Tiger under the Table); and has written concert works for some notable singers, including Jane Manning, Jessye Norman, Dawn Upshaw, Alice Coote, Ailish Tynan and Ruby Hughes. Judith Weir is a Honorary Patron for Sound and Music. Bogdan Skrypka She studied with . By contrast, the premiere production (as often happens) seemed to be aiming at a left-field reimagining of a piece which no-one had yet seen. Sad because Weirs 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. Caroline Moores, Head of Recording & Audio Visual Not something you often come across in opera. Stamatia Tsaroucha And the greatest irony of all Miss Fortune wins the lottery. Phil Sizer, Staff Production Manager Her struggles are closely shadowed by Fate sung by counter-tenor Kieron-Connor Valentine. She teaches at Cardiff University. WEI. Composed 2000. Daniel RobinsonAnja Urban. Theres usually plenty of hype surrounding a newly written opera performed at Covent Garden, but the carefully placed stories about Judith Weirs Miss Fortune are on the improbable end of the scale, featuring a flying kebab shop and a team of breakdancers. Happy Birthday: Judith Weir, 58 | The Times Jamie Hulme Is there another way?" A short 90 minutes of music later, Im still not entirely sure what it is Ive just seen. In July 2014 Judith Weir was appointed to the 395-year old royal post of Master of the Queen's Music, in succession to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. She has a large catalogue of performed works to her name, which will silence any who doubt her considerable gifts, especially vocal. Noah Stewart as Hassan and Emma Bell as Tina in the Royal Opera's production of Judith Weir's Miss Fortune directed by Chen Shi-Zheng and conducted. Much of her music has been recorded, and is available on the NMC, Delphian and Signum labels. First things first: Chen Shi-Zhengs production, created for the works premire at Bregenz Festival last year, is one of the most visually stunning opera productions I have ever seen. Luna De Mol, Violin II Its not standard opera house instrumentation - even with a grand piano and much percussion, relatively small string and woodwind sections leave a fair amount of space in the usually crammed orchestra pit. . Both the score and the individual performances Next year, George Benjamin's commission Written on Skin will enter the fray and Harrison Birtwistle's The Minotaur a tale of loneliness with a furious but poetic score which was unquestionably a success is revived. Tina, their daughter Erin Gwyn Rossington (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Cleo Lee McGowan (2 & 7 Mar) You can contact him from. To book tickets visit:. 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. The four days of programmes ended with a first performance of her new commission, CONCRETE, a choral motet. Everything about Miss Fortune is benign and comfortable - even Tom Pyes eye-catching geometric designs are thoroughly alienating, a garment sweatshop spotless and sanitised like the Royal Opera have re-deployed the spinning chorus from their last production of The Flying Dutchman. In London, the tricky proposition of portraying a chaotic cloud has been undertaken by Soul Mavericks, breakdancers with an amazing ability to perform hundreds of complex patterns, often in mid-air. Miss Fortune Operas. Not entirely, and not so extravagantly and hopelessly. . Whilst there is nothing especially laudable . Judith Weir. Judith Weir was appointed Master of The Queen's Music, in succession to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, in July 2014; and in January 2015 became Associate Composer . The gap between failure and success in the theatre can be as narrow as a hair's breadth. Charlie Broad Tina (Miss Fortune) - Emma Bell. Iben Bering Srensen Last month, as we reconvened in London to rehearse for this week's UK debut, conductor Paul Daniel considered the problems. Miss Fortune . Strahinja Mitrovic, Clarinet Mario Gutirrez Gorria, Viola When her life's course turns from bad to worse, she makes a date with Fate. No fee when tickets are booked in person. But Weir creates much variety of timbre and a fair degree of potency throughout. Everything about Miss Fortune is benign and comfortable even Tom Pyes eye-catching geometric designs are thoroughly alienating, a garment sweatshop spotless and sanitised like the Royal Opera have re-deployed the spinning chorus from their last production of The Flying Dutchman. Donna, proprietor of a laundry Laura Fleur (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Amy Holyland (2 & 7 Mar) Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. 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. Urban dystopia: Guildhall School's double bill of Judith Weir's Miss Guildhall School of Music & Drama She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Molly Hands, Assistant Carpenters . Judith Weir (b1954 in Cambridge, England) first studied composition with a few lessons from John Tavener during her schooldays in London. She went on to Cambridge University, where her composition teacher was Robin Holloway; and in 1975 attended summer school at Tanglewood, where she worked with Gunther Schuller. Miss Fortune is Birtish composer Judith Weir's first operatic composisition in the last 17 years. 7. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2012. King Harald's Saga, Grand opera in three acts for unaccompanied solo soprano singing eight rles (based on the saga 'Heimskringla' by Snorri Sturlson, 1179-1241) is a monodrama by Judith Weir, commissioned by Jane Manning and premiered on 17 May 1979. Judith Weirsoperais a story aboutTinaand how her life dramaticallychanges course overnight; it is a story aboutfateand fortune. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Dominic Stokes* Silver Tassie Operas. Kosta Popovic Judith Weir - Delphian Records Judith Weir | Oxford Lieder 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. The helicopter view: Opera Europa's Nicholas Payne, At the helm of the aircraft carrier: The Royal Opera's Oliver Mears, Raising the curtain: Jacquelyn Stucker on building momentum and opera's digital challenge, Meeting the Maestro: in conversation with Fabio Luisi, Spring and summer in Prague: your musical guide, Koen entrances the Rudolfinum with Martin miniatures, Lucid in music and narrative: ENO and Richard Jones, David is a co-founder of Bachtrack. Judith Weir, Miss Fortune, Royal Opera, 12 March 2012 (British premiere) A member of Soul Mavericks Images: Royal Opera/Bill Cooper: Royal Opera House. Do you remember your first pieces? Full marks on all fronts. In collaboration with director Margaret Williams, Weir has created several opera films, including Scipios Dream, Hello Dolly, and Armida. 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. Aoife Moran 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. As associate composer with the BBC Singers (2015-19) she completed two oratorios; In the Land of Uz, about the prophet Job; and blue hills beyond blue hills, to Zen-influenced verse by the Scottish poet Alan Spence. The work was made in co-operation with Margaret Williams. Miss Fortune - judithweir A first performance of a new opera is the start of a precipitous journey. Miss Fortune in name and deed. Steven van der Linden 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. Voices & Orchestra. Aina Miyagi Magnell Judith Weir - Wise Music Classical full of truisms and clunky metaphors and for all its images of deprivation and violent disorder is about as streetwise as a visitor from Venus. Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at Covent Garden | Bachtrack Miss Fortune is Birtish composer Judith Weir's first operatic composisition in the last 17 years. BBC Radio 3. Tina's wealthy family lose all their possessions overnight and she is thrown into a life of poverty. 14 | March | 2012 | The Theatre Reviewer In some ways I feel I've seen the piece for the first time, in a staging (by Martin Lloyd-Evans) which very closely expressed my intentions when I first imagined it. Although she has achieved international recognition for her orchestral and chamber works, Weir is best known for her operas and theatrical works. Amongst her priorities in this role are the support of school music teachers, of amateur orchestras and choirs, and of rural festivals. Reonel Rafols Her music often draws on sources from medieval history, as well as the traditional stories and music of her parents' homeland, Scotland. Ivelina Ivanova 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 most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . Miku Yasukawa Edward Seckerson in The Independent (London) wrote of "Miss Fortune in name and deed" and described the opera as "silly and naive" and "a waste of talent and resources", with a libretto that "vacillates between the banal and the unintentionally comedic (or is that irony? On 21 July 2011, her first opera for 17 years, Miss Fortune (Achterbahn), premiered at the Bregenz Festival in Austria. a reference to Mozart's great scene where people on a beach are menaced by a sea monster. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Judith Weirs Miss Fortune did not have a favourable reception when it premiered at Covent Garden in 2012, considered by some ill-suited to the Royal Opera House and lacking the musical engagement of her previously melodically rich operas and a decent libretto. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. The Silk Street Theatre, Music Hall and Lecture Recital Room arelocated in the main Guildhall School building on Silk Streetand for Barbican produced events the venuecan also be accessed from the Barbican if you exit via the doors next to Barbican Kitchen on Level G. Address The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2012. Judith Weir CBE HonFRSE (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. And yet the characters are archetypes who grovel in the dirt of clich. I decided to use the tale as a basis for a new opera. Winter Song. Judith Weir - Infinite Women Hugo Haag, Cello Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at Covent Garden | Bachtrack Nonetheless, having written her own libretto as well as the music, she was easy prey. Joana Praa* Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents a performance of Judith Weir's opera Miss Fortune. I hope that does not mean more trapeziums, please. But now that the Royal Opera House's chorus has taken over, the opera seems to have moved into 3D. Ensemble. One of these days someone might actually commission one of the many young composers at the sharp end of musical theatre - creative song writers with their finger on the pulse of contemporary living. Queasy chromatic scales rising and falling in the trombones is as close as we get to the dark happenings on the street. Issy Jordan Iza Fordham . Continue using the site as normal or read our 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. She has written orchestral music for the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony and Minnesota Orchestras. Shana Moron-Caravel In 1987, her first half-length opera, A Night at the Chinese Opera, was premiered at Kent Opera. . Hassan, a kebab seller Florian Panzieri (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Innocent Masuku (2 & 7 Mar) [9], Weir is a member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians. In 2007, she was the third recipient of the Queen's Medal for Music. Even Fate (countertenor Andrew Watts), with his "cloud" of street dancers, is no more than a mildly creepy stalker. Where Weirs orchestral writing is full and rich, the vocal parts are for the most part agile and harsh. Classical. A full list of Production Arts teaching staff and technicians can be found on our website. Serendipity, rather than the fate which clings to the protagonist of Judith Weir's Miss Fortune, led me to catch the last night of a double-cast spectacular at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.What a tonic to find a top-notch young cast and orchestra working their disciplined socks off for conductor Dominic Wheeler and director Martin Lloyd-Evans after the dog's dinner of English . Judith Weir's Miss Fortune is an entertaining night out. In 2008, as I began writing, I walked past a sandwich board bearing the headline: "Blind panic as shares crash." . Judith Weir, Miss Fortune, Royal Opera, 12 March 2012 - Blogger Sad to say but Judith Weirs sixth opera is an embarrassment. slogan. YouTube Encyclopedic. My first pieces were at secondary school. Expressive of face and voice this champagne-quaffing pair fulfilled their roles with suitable vulgarity. Despite the lively productions and well-defined characterisations, I was disappointed by the poor diction and overbearing orchestral support in Miss Fortune. [16], The first public performance of Weir's arrangement of "God Save the Queen" was performed at the reburial of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral on 26 March 2015. 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. What drew me was finding something that would bring my performing friends together. Judith Weir's Miss Fortune did not have a favourable reception when it premiered at Covent Garden in 2012, considered by some ill-suited to the Royal Opera House and lacking the musical engagement of her previously melodically rich operas and a decent libretto. JUDITH WEIR AT 70 OPERAS. Tiago Costa Miss Fortune. Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Book Only. Silk Street Theatre, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London; Monday 28th February 2022. Watch online from 25 March. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office.[2]. 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). Above all, I felt justified in having written the opera in the first place. At least that was Weirs intention to be relevant and in touch. The role in Bregenz was taken up by the Prague Philharmonic Chorus, who gave touching performances while mastering illogical-looking English spellings like "rough" and "tough". Kyra Coppini, Production Sound Engineers Judith Weir Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Charlotte Antingham Richard Jones' production is visually all over the place, but in a good way. The upper floor of The Telephones split staging neatly morphed into Miss Fortunes roof top balcony where Harrison and Holyland made their mark as the nouveau riche parents of Tina. 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. Cludia Costa Gonalves, Ensembles, Programming & Instrument Manager 5, Rimsky-Korsakov Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh LSO/Noseda. The best in live events, streams, reviews and articles recommended by our editors, delivered to your inbox weekly. For Rap read rhyming couplets. King Harald's Saga - Wikipedia