Digory Price Opera: Voices & Orchestra. And did the previous orchestra really play that F-natural all last summer and we never noticed? Composed 2000. Bogdan Skrypka Judith Weir. 7 Bayerisches Staatsorchester/Petrenko, NOTES FROM LOCKDOWN: Nigel Lilley in Conversation, GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. Are launderettes, kebab vans and bankers really the stuff of opera? woman.life.song. Steven van der Linden And Im not sure I want to think too hard about the statements it does make: for example, the breakdancing team Soul Mavericks are superb, but theyre cast as stereotypical hoodlums wrecking things with baseball bats. Natalie Alfille-Cook Benedict Swindells* She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Subscribe to our newsletters to hear about upcoming events. 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. When her life's course turns from bad to worse, she makes a date with Fate. Tina's wealthy family lose all their possessions overnight and she is thrown into a life of poverty. 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. Lady Fortune Amy Holyland (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Laura Fleur (2 & 7 Mar) Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Barbican Throughout the opera, in an impressive piece of singing, counter-tenor Andrew Watts sings a discordant overlay over the other music, reminding everyone that he is all-powerful and capricious. Find the perfect Judith Weir stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. 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. Weir, who succeeds Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, will be appointed for a. And the greatest irony of all - Miss Fortune wins the lottery. Queasy chromatic scales rising and falling in the trombones is as close as we get to the dark happenings on the street. Get discounted access to unmissable art, See more art, music, film and theatre for less, Log in to access bookings, re-print pdf tickets, update email preferences and check out faster. 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. Two days after this premiere, the Royal Opera House announced the 2012/2013 new season and defended contemporary work as adventure, not measured by normal standards of success. Judith Weir's music has been widely recorded, particularly on the NMC and Delphian labels; and is published by Chester Music and Novello & Co. . The best in live events, streams, reviews and articles recommended by our editors, delivered to your inbox weekly. At least that was Weirs intention - to be relevant and in touch. Weir, Judith. 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. Judith Weirs orchestral music is drawn from a similarly vivid palette. [2] See something missing? DAME PATRICIA ROUTLEDGE: Facing The Music - A Life in Musical Theatre, Meyerbeer "Robert Le Diable", Royal Opera House (Review), GRAMOPHONE Review: Bartk Duke Bluebeard's Castle - Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/Mlkki, GRAMOPHONE Review: Prokofiev Symphonies 1 & 7/Lieutenant Kij Suite - Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Sokhiev, GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. But now that the Royal Opera House's chorus has taken over, the opera seems to have moved into 3D. Judith Weir CBE (born 1954) [1] is a British composer and the first female Master of the Queen's Music. 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. But Miss Fortune is warm and fuzzy where it should be hard and edgy, its a social fable with contemporary resonances in everything but its words and music, and worst of all its an adult opera which sounds like its spoon feeding amateur philosophy to a child. Judith Weir CBE HonFRSE (born 11 May 1954)[1] is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. My first pieces were at secondary school. I decided to use the tale as a basis for a new opera. Judith Weir Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Julian Hepple. Most hurtle down the chute at once, all limbs flailing, and plunge straight into the wheelie bin of oblivion. The once-rich little heroine, dogged by cruel Fate,. Urban dystopia: Guildhall School's double bill of Judith Weir's Miss The work was made in co-operation with Margaret Williams. David Mellor savages first woman head of Queen's music Judith Weir Two outstanding performances by young singers light up a splendidly crafted revival of Caurier and Leiser's colourful production. Presented byGuildhall School of Music & Drama. . Since a central theme of Miss Fortune is the big part accident and chance play in life, I wanted to write a role for Fate, who emerges from the shadows whenever events take a downward or upward turn, accompanied by his own personal cloud of chaos. Dominic Wheeler conductorMartin Lloyd-Evans directorAnna Reid designerAnthony Doran lighting designerJoseph Beesley assistant conductorRachel Wise assistant director/movement, Lucy England Segomotso Shupinyaneng (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Ellie Neate (2 & 7 Mar) What drew me was finding something that would bring my performing friends together. Everyone is meaner, more downcast, more jubilant. Rodrigues The orchestral music also seemed much bolder and more colourful under Dominic Wheeler's direction, and in the hands of GSMD's vivid student orchestra. Bass clarinet Silly and naive. In spite of all this, the libretto has some decent moments, particularly in the short second act in which Weir lets her hair down a little. What you think of Miss Fortunes music will depend very much on personal tastes: I found it music to admire rather than to love. It didnt help that the singing from Rossington and Valentine lacked clarity and I had to second guess some of their dialogue. Voices & Orchestra. 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. WEI. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Unsolved problems: (l-r) Kathryn Harries, Alan Ewing and Emma Bell struggle to make an impression at Covent Garden. Weir was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 Birthday Honours for services to music. The much-publicised breakdancers of Chen Shi-Zengs efficient but actually rudimentary staging only serve to highlight how irrelevant Weirs musical language is to her conception. The spare orchestration, full of scurrying chromatics, often glistening string writing and crisply atmospheric percussion, including piano, was potentially attractive and melodic, though its variety was mostly lost in the ROH auditorium. 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. Charlotte Antingham Kyra Coppini, Production Sound Engineers But I personally have been feeling thoroughly revived after. 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". She has also created new music for many community groups and schools, including Burntwood School Wandsworth, Aberdeen Art Gallery, St Marys Church Dover and Greenacre School, Barnsley. Thus assured, they hurl themselves down with even greater animation. Thereafter, she encounters various low wage earners sweatshop workers (a chorus of seamstresses), a fast-food vendor (Florian Panzieri) and a laundrette owner (Laura Fleur). Giulia Lussoso 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. In January 2008, Weir was the focus of the BBC's annual composer weekend at the Barbican Centre in London. Register now, On sale to Guildhall Circle members Mon 29 Nov 10am. Ben Mills, Deputy Stage ManagerAndrea Stier Andersen, Assistant Stage Managers Silk Street Oliver Mears' new production of Britten's chamber opera is a visceral reflection on tyranny and sexual violence. Continue using the site as normal or read our 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. 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? Judith Weir - Minute of Listening 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. Intimate reinvention: Guildhall School of Music & Drama reassesses Judith Weir's Miss Fortune in a double bill with Giancarlo Menotti's The Telephone, directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans, conducted by. 9 Bavarian Radio Sinfonieorchester/Rattle, GRAMOPHONE Review: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Aina Miyagi Magnell Edit Now. 5, Rimsky-Korsakov Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh LSO/Noseda. Yn aml mae . In January 2008, over fifty of her works were performed during 'Telling The Tale', a three-day retrospective of her music, hosted by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre, London. Judith Weir - Wise Music Creative Ema Cunha She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Still, Glowing. Judith Weir. She was a visiting distinguished research professor in composition at Cardiff University from 2006 to 2009. Violin I Asked to fall to the ground in terror at news of an approaching financial disaster, they ask, "Like in Idomeneo?" 7. At the time, I was writing a chorus number called We Didn't See It Coming. Katie Wong, Production Assistants What drew you to composition? If you dont harbour too many expectations of a thought-provoking story, its worth going to see for the staging alone. Miss Fortune is a reinvention of a Sicilian folk tale in which the comfortable life of Tina (Erin Gwyn Rossington), the wealthy daughter of Lord and Lady Fortune (Jacob Harrison and Amy Holyland), nosedives after a financial catastrophe. was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents. I loved the witty set (designer, Anna Reid) a luxury housing development, with a big sign outside promising "No social housing", something I'm all too familiar with as a local resident to the Vauxhall-Nine Elms "transformation". Composer Judith Weir tells the story to her latest opera Miss Fortune at a recent Insights event at the Royal Opera House. Judith Weir "Miss Fortune", Royal Opera House - Edward Seckerson The result is closer to a classical myth in which the central message is that theres no point arguing with the gods. Lydia Haynes Caroline Moores, Head of Recording & Audio Visual My reworking begins with a financial crash and ends with an unlikely lottery win yet I didn't set out to write a piece about contemporary events. In recent years, Judith Weir has considerably expanded her choral catalogue, with regular performance by choirs worldwide of music such as her Christmas carolIlluminare, Jerusalemwritten for Stephen Cleobury and the choir of Kings College Cambridge. Judith Weir. 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. 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? Happy Birthday: Judith Weir, 58 | The Times Reonel Rafols Judith Weir Interview - The Music of Christian Morris Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. In 2007, she was the third recipient of the Queen's Medal for Music. The subject of this piece was inspired by the Barbican building itself she describes it as 'an imaginary excavation of the Barbican Centre, burrowing through 2,500 years of historical rubble'. Andr Soares Much of her music has been recorded, and is available on the NMC, Delphian and Signum labels. Lord Fortune - Alan Ewing. For Rap read rhyming couplets. Her most recent opera, Miss Fortune, which opened in 2012, was . Photograph: Tristram Kenton, as it a plane, a boat or a train? Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Biography. Emma Bell, singing the title role perched five metres up on a rocky plinth, only now revealed that she was scared of heights. It will help us make your newsletter content more useful. But at least all other elements of this colourful staging coalesced into something that intermittently held my attention. Judith Weir is a Honorary Patron for Sound and Music. For Rap read rhyming couplets. Discover Judith Weir sheet music on nkoda.Find 133 Judith Weir pieces from leading publishers on the greatest digital sheet music library. Interview by Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Miss Fortune is Birtish composer Judith Weir's first operatic composisition in the last 17 years. But I personally have been feeling thoroughly revived after GSMD's energy-giving version of my 2011 opera "Miss Fortune" which opened at the beginning of March. My reworking begins with a financial crash and ends with an unlikely lottery win - yet I didn't set out to write a piece about. Judith Weir - Sound Scotland Miss Weir Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images We might use this to show you more relevant content, We might use this to let you know about interesting events to attend near you, We might use this to address you personally in our newsletters. Joana Praa* In 1987, her first half-length opera, A Night at the Chinese Opera, was premiered at Kent Opera. Indeed it has. Judith Weir. Amongst her priorities in this role are the support of school music teachers, of amateur orchestras and choirs, and of rural festivals. 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. The gap between failure and success in the theatre can be as narrow as a hair's breadth. The kebab shop and the breakdancers are great, but Tom Pyes sets have much more: giant, mirror-smooth geometric structures are brightly lit in primary colours and turned by video effects into a shifting industrial landscape, all set against a plain screen background lit with vividly coloured gradients. Each time her luck seems to take a turn for the better, she is beset by another misfortune until eventually, through a magical stroke of luck, she gains the hand of a prince, in town to collect his laundry. Miss Fortune Opera on Vimeo So, turning convention on its head, weve a fatalistic riches-to-rags tale transposed from a Sicilian original and relocated in time and place to take account of the financial ills and social unrest of the here and now. Opera on 3 Judith Weir's Miss Fortune Judith Weir's Miss Fortune Lisette Oropesa leads strong vocal performances in Handel's madcap tale of love and sorcery. The four days of programmes ended with a first performance of her new commission, CONCRETE, a choral motet. A chance lottery win enables her escape from poverty, and like all good fairy tales, she goes off into the sunset with the handsome prince, Jack Holton whose paean to a freshly laundered shirt made one of the few amusing moments. The opera reworks a Sicilian folktale as a contemporary parable. Joshua Saunders Winter Song. Judith Weir MusicFirst Young Composers Competition During this time she began to write a series of operas (including, As resident composer with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the 1990s, she wrote several works for orchestra and chorus (including, In recent years, Judith Weir has considerably expanded her choral catalogue, with regular performance by choirs worldwide of music such as her Christmas carol. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. . 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 . Judith Weir to be first female Master of the Queen's Music Florian Panzieri as the kebab seller Hassan impressed with his clear tenor and mezzo-soprano Laura Fleur as Donna brought verisimilitude to her scenes at the laundrette. Miss Fortune - Wikipedia Even Fate (countertenor Andrew Watts), with his "cloud" of street dancers, is no more than a mildly creepy stalker. 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. Miss Fortune - review | Opera | The Guardian But this time round, it seemed even more relevant than to pay onstage attention to this subject. Gabriel Francis-Dehqani, Double Bass She studied with . 4 booking fee per online/phone transaction. Judith Weir, Miss Fortune, Royal Opera, 12 March 2012 - Blogger See the CVs for Guildhall School Final Year Production Arts students. Meet the Artist - Judith Weir, composer - The Cross-Eyed Pianist Miss Fortune is Birtish composer Judith Weir's first operatic composisition in the last 17 years. As far as one could tell, Paul Daniel conducted a good performance. Guildhall School of Music & Drama It has been a hyperactive week for hubris, schadenfreude and any other not quite correctly used foreign words you care to scatter. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Judith Weir - Wikipedia Please note you may need to update your password. Alice Warburton Commissioned by the Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Alaric Green Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. So, turning convention on its head, weve a fatalistic riches-to-rags tale transposed from a Sicilian original and relocated in time and place to take account of the financial ills and social unrest of the here and now. 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. Ben Upthegrove Jonathan Eyers (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Jack Holton (2 & 7 Mar), Lord Fortune Jacob Harrison Our heroine is clad in a bright red dress - the Chinese colour for luck - which makes her a constant point of focus through the action. About Judith Weir: British composer (1954-) | Biography, Discography Judith Weir Miss FortuneLord Fortune Jacob Harrison, Lady Fortune Amy Holyland, Tina Erin Gwyn Rossington, Fate Kieron-Connor Valentine, Hassan Florian Panzieri, Donna Laura Fleur, Simon Jack Holton; Director Martin Lloyd-Evans, Conductor Dominic Wheeler, Designer Anna Reid, Lighting Anthony Doran, GSMD Orchestra. In 2014 she was appointed . Justin Anderson Judith Weir Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 Given the intimacy and physical support of the Linbury Studio (instead of the open wastes of the main auditorium) the work would at least have had a fair hearing, instead of becoming an object of near ridicule. Welsh National Opera's Youth Opera were due to perform Weir's opera The Black Spider in Spring 2020 but due to unforeseen circumstances, performances were cancelled. Judith Weir Wiki - everipedia.org Donna, proprietor of a laundry Laura Fleur (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Amy Holyland (2 & 7 Mar) Judith Weir explains why her latest work a parable about the financial crisis had to have them, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Straitened times Emma Bell and Anne-Marie Owens in Miss Fortune. Despite the lively productions and well-defined characterisations, I was disappointed by the poor diction and overbearing orchestral support in Miss Fortune. Nonetheless, having written her own libretto as well as the music, she was easy prey. Last year's Bregenz staging, the work's world premiere, was an opportunity to take strong action. Cludia Costa Gonalves, Ensembles, Programming & Instrument Manager ears ago, I read an Italian folk tale about a princess who, when her parents lose their money, is forced to live in poverty and make a living: weaving cloth, minding a wine store, washing clothes. Based on a Sicilian folk tale, Miss Fortune has some of the elliptical angularity of Weir's successful A Night at the Chinese Opera (1987). Meanwhile, the Chorus are a vital presence, losing all their money in the opening scene, only to reappear in increasingly direr straits. Judith Weir CBE (born 1954) is a British composer and the first female Master of the Queen's Music. Josh Law Jos Hita Garca* She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Strahinja Mitrovic, Clarinet Despite the layoff since summer, the staging soon exuded a dance-like motion we hadn't seen before. Judith Weir Sheet Music, Scores & Parts | nkoda Archie Buchanan I loved the witty set (designer. Meanwhile, the cast plunged into the nitty-gritty ("Four steps to the left, take the glass from Kathryn, turn "). Called Miss Fortune, the story is about money, fate and fortune. The score was published by Novello in 1982, and lasts under ten minutes, making it one of the shortest operas, and is possibly unique in having . Judith Weir | Wells Cathedral School Weir is far from incapable of working on a large canvas, but Miss Fortune is surely a chamber opera. When the curtain rose on the UK premiere of Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at the Royal Opera House, one thing at least was clear: this bright, coarse staging by Shi-Zheng Chen would flog the living daylights out of the opera's frail, pale construct, inflate it grotesquely beyond its natural size and, by this eye-catching but totally irrelevant visual aeration, render it all but nonsensical. Miss Fortune mis-fires, Royal Opera House - Opera Today Secondly and crucially, Weir turns Fate into a very real and live person. The booking fee may be reduced on certain events. EC2Y 8DT. World premiere at the Bregenz Festival on 21st July 2011 at the Festspielhaus, Bregenz, directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, with the Prague Philharmonic Chorus (director Lukas Vasilek) and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Daniel. . Judith Weir | The Tree of Peace - YouTube Miss Fortune (band), an American band Miss Fortune (album), a 2002 album by Allison Moorer Miss Fortune, an opera composed by Judith Weir "Miss Fortune", an episode of Ghost Whisperer "Miss Fortune", a song from the album Distance Inbetween by The Coral Miss Fortune, a character from the video game League of Legends See also [ edit]