Frank Matcham (1854 – 1920) must be the most
distinguished and prolific late 19th century theatre designer. The writer Alan Bennett has commented that there
was a Matcham theatre (too many of his theatres have sadly been demolished) in
every corner of the UK. Across the country
in Brighton, Portsmouth, Morecambe, Leeds, Nottingham and Newport and in London
his theatres include the Coliseum, Palladium and Hackney Empire, to name but a
few. London Festival Opera has had the
pleasure and thrill to perform in several of Matcham’s most magnificent
theatres including the Buxton Opera House and Grand Theatre Blackpool.
Matcham married the daughter of his tutor, Maria Robinson,
and had two daughters Eveline and Constance.
He had a great interest in music and owned a Stradivarius violin though
he humbly admitted that he ‘wasn’t particularly good at it’. He also loved to stage amateur dramatics and
the ‘family troupe’ would present theatrical performances for their neighbours and
friends in the intimacy of his home – somewhat ironically as he had designed
some of the world’s greatest large scale theatres!
There is something very special about performing in
a period theatre and we usually perform in period costume. For a Frank Matcham theatre this would be
Victorian or Edwardian evening dress. For
the audience the effect is like going back in time both aurally, in the repertoire
of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Puccini, and visually with our set and
costumes.
It is always a thrill to arrive in a Victorian venue
where the back-stage and dressing rooms maybe a little shabby but make up for
that by having such atmosphere and there is a sense that many, many starts and
celebrities will have appeared in the theatre – from Lilly Langtry to Ken Dodd! Modern theatres are lovely and comfortable,
but there is something very special about arriving, rehearsing, changing and
performing in a period theatre – especially when they are designed by the great
Frank Matcham. For more details see the
excellent website for the Frank Matcham Society www.frankmatchamsociety.org.uk
Lesley Manville – Desert Island Discs
Festivals, Opera, Opera Magic, Special EventsThe Actress Lesley Manville created a really special Desert Island Discs including opera. She revealed that as a girl classical singing was an important part of her life and that she could have perhaps chosen an operatic career. Had she done so, we would have been deprived of one of the country’s most accomplished performers. She played W S Gilbert’s life very touchingly in Mike Leigh film ‘Topsy Turvey’. Her Desert Island Discs is well worth listening to and still available on the BBC BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs, Lesley Manville, actor
Memories of singing for Her Majesty The Queen
UncategorisedOver the years it has been an honour to perform for many members of the Royal Family at private and charity occasions. The most special and memorable must be a private and intimate occasion in Windsor in the presence of The Queen – so intimate that there were corgis at our feet. One barked during the rendition of Papageno’s aria – the baritone knelt down and serenaded the dog, which The Queen loved. Rest in deserved peace your Most Gracious Majesty.
Singing again!
Arts Festivals, Events, Festivals, Opera, Opera Gala, Opera MagicIt has been a very challenging 18th months for performers or all kinds – some normality seems to be returning to our profession as we proceed with caution and start planning performances. Philip Blake-Jones (Baritone and Artistic Director of London Festival Opera) had the opportunity to sing last week at a charity event in an delightful garden in the Cathedral Close of Salisbury.
The surprise ‘burst of opera’ included Papageno’s Aria from Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’. The sunny day, trees and colourful flower beds provided the perfect enchanting setting!
Here’s to the future and the return of live performances of all kinds!
Opera Choruses – with the Self Isolation Choir
Events, Opera, Opera for SchoolsCovid 19 has had a profound impact on the arts generally, particularly live music. Some normality is returning but we seem far away from complete freedom from restrictions. It is possible that things will not be as they were for a considerable time and that the online concepts, such as Zoom Opera Galas and Online Choirs, will remain a vital option for music making of all kinds.
The Self Isolation Choir is a pioneering company – they presented their first mass ‘Messiah’ with a chorus of nearly 4,000 singers and instrumentalists from 35 different countries last year – and now continues to develop and offer choral experiences in many new areas. The SIC now moves into the world of grand opera with their https://www.theselfisolationchoir.com/opera-choruses and London Festival Opera is thrilled to be involved in this new project of five celebrated choruses from the operas of Verdi, Bizet and Puccini. Philip Blake-Jones has worked with four of his most talented soloists creating the rehearsal tracks to teach and inspire the international choristers, as well as the piano track which is the fundamental foundation of the whole musical creation. The rehearsal and concert will be under the baton of the very talented Ben England, who received the BEM in HM The Queen’s Honours marking his leadership in this new virtual creative world. Additionally, the course will include the expert contribution of Donald Palumbo the Chorus Master from New York’s Metropolitan Opera New. The Self Isolation Choir has once again assembled and impressive creative team!
Host a Zoom Opera Party for a birthday or other celebration
Anniversary Parties, Birthday Parties, Charity Events, Events, Opera Gala, Private Events, Special EventsWe are still in the midst of lockdown limitations, but let’s look at what we can do in these times rather than what we can’t. It certainly seems that being able to go to the opera or present opera at a party is still some way off.
A client of ours wanted to do something operatic to celebrate a special birthday. The guests were in Israel, London, Kent and Oxford, but in these times of lockdown that is not an issue. A Zoom Opera Gala was the perfect solution.
Our Artistic Director turned up at the Zoom party in black tie resulting in some surprise. ‘Who is this?’ exclaimed the guest of honour. All was revealed and we created an opera celebration using wonderful footage from past performances with live spoken links. The result was magical with guests swaying to the rousing music and applauding enthusiastically.
The client now has a movie of the event as a memento of a wonderful party.
A Zoom Opera Party could be a useful option to anywhere in the world even after lockdown!?
Client comments:
What a truly super occasion! We all loved it so much, and as usual you were an incomparable master of ceremonies.
I cannot thank you enough for the excellent performance combined with your presence in person and the entertaining commentary which made it all so special and memorable.
The guest of honour really loved it and it was a joy to see her surprise and the sheer pleasure as she enjoyed the event.
Online Singing Teaching Worldwide!
OperaSinging for physical and mental health
The pandemic has savaged the arts and I am very concerned for the future, but there is some consolation in the opportunity to teach again. To be able to pass on what I have learned from some of the country’s best teachers. That this might help with health and morale is a precious added bonus.
In the programme Breathe English National Opera has concluded that singing could play a key part in helping to improve breathing and general wellbeing.
A singing teacher’s job is to spot and remove bad habits. My Professor at the Royal Academy of Music stressed that improving singing is about ‘taking away the mess’. If singing looks easy and natural it usually sounds it. Whether a total beginner, someone who sings in a choir, or you have ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ aspirations, you can improve.
Nothing compares to being in a room together, but the subtleties of good singing can be taught online. The wide range of people I am teaching are improving and most importantly enjoying the lessons
Lessons online make it possible for us to connect from wherever we are in the world from the comfort of our own homes. I’m working individually and in groups with singers online here in Wiltshire and also currently in Yorkshire, Scotland, Germany, Barbados and the USA.
Contact philip@londonfestival.co.uk
www.philipblake-jones.com
Puccini & Elvira – a real-life tragedy
Arts Festivals, Corporate Events, Events, Festivals, Music Education, Opera, Public PerformancesPuccini met Elvira Gemignani in 1884 whilst giving her piano lessons. She was to become his lover though she was already married. Soon it became clear that she was expecting a child and not her husbands. This is was a shocking situation in 19th century Roman Catholic Italy.
Undoubtedly Elvira and Puccini were happy in the early days before her possessiveness and jealousy dominated their lifelong relationship, and ultimately marriage.
Elvira had a jealous disposition and attempted to control Puccini. He was not only creative as a composer. For instance, he is known to have paid pupils to play the piano in his study giving the impressions that he was there composing. Meanwhile he slipped out of the windows and Elvira slept soundly thinking he was hard at work at home.
In September 1908 Elvira’s jealousy led to a real-life tragedy as dramatic as an operatic plot. She became suspicions of one of their servants, the twenty-three year old Doria Manfredi, and was convinced that the girl was sleeping with her husband. Not only did she dismiss her, but hounded Doria and spread rumours. The situation became so intolerable to the poor girl that she drank poison and suffered a lingering and painful death. Puccini, very fond of the Doria, was devastated. Knowing she was innocent her family sued for defamation and Elvira narrowly avoided imprisonment. She was in fact sentenced to five months but Puccini stepped in and he and his lawyers persuaded the family to drop the lawsuit and paid them off.
Elvira was right to have her suspicions: Puccini was having an affair with another woman at that time, but not Doria!
Puccini died in 1924 and Elvira followed him in 1930
Frank Matcham – Theatre Designer
Music Education, Opera, Opera Gala, Opera Magic, Public Performances, UncategorisedFrank Matcham (1854 – 1920) must be the most distinguished and prolific late 19th century theatre designer. The writer Alan Bennett has commented that there was a Matcham theatre (too many of his theatres have sadly been demolished) in every corner of the UK. Across the country in Brighton, Portsmouth, Morecambe, Leeds, Nottingham and Newport and in London his theatres include the Coliseum, Palladium and Hackney Empire, to name but a few. London Festival Opera has had the pleasure and thrill to perform in several of Matcham’s most magnificent theatres including the Buxton Opera House and Grand Theatre Blackpool.
Matcham married the daughter of his tutor, Maria Robinson, and had two daughters Eveline and Constance. He had a great interest in music and owned a Stradivarius violin though he humbly admitted that he ‘wasn’t particularly good at it’. He also loved to stage amateur dramatics and the ‘family troupe’ would present theatrical performances for their neighbours and friends in the intimacy of his home – somewhat ironically as he had designed some of the world’s greatest large scale theatres!
There is something very special about performing in a period theatre and we usually perform in period costume. For a Frank Matcham theatre this would be Victorian or Edwardian evening dress. For the audience the effect is like going back in time both aurally, in the repertoire of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Puccini, and visually with our set and costumes.
It is always a thrill to arrive in a Victorian venue where the back-stage and dressing rooms maybe a little shabby but make up for that by having such atmosphere and there is a sense that many, many starts and celebrities will have appeared in the theatre – from Lilly Langtry to Ken Dodd! Modern theatres are lovely and comfortable, but there is something very special about arriving, rehearsing, changing and performing in a period theatre – especially when they are designed by the great Frank Matcham. For more details see the excellent website for the Frank Matcham Society www.frankmatchamsociety.org.uk
A Night at the Musicals!
Arts Festivals, Corporate Events, Events, Festivals, Special EventsCan opera singers sing songs from musicals? The short answer is a resounding yes, but in our experience it’s important to select the right musicals and the right singers.
Some shows like ‘West Side Story’, all the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein, ‘Porgy and Bess’, plus many of the works of Sondheim and Lloyd Webber can all work wonderfully, particularly if the singers can loosen their vocal production a little and ‘speak’ to the audience. But this repertoire can be thrilling when the opera singers open up with full throttle – the tenor singing ‘Maria’ for instance, or the ensemble ‘Do you hear the people sing’ from ‘Les Miserables’. Wonderful repertoire!!
Opera singers cannot really do justice to musicals that have more of a jazz concept, such as ‘Chicago’, or a Heavy Rock inspiration. If they did, it may well sound comical – but that could be fun too! French and Saunders’ version of ‘I should be so lucky’ is truly hilarious and inspired us to include some pop songs from time to time including operatic versions of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Rock around the clock’ and ‘Delilah’. This can create an unexpected and powerful encore in a conventional opera programme!
We return to the magnificent Goldsmiths’ Hall in London later in the Spring for ‘A Night at the Musicals’. This is one of our favourite venues. Our pianist is always particularly keen as the Hall has a superb grand piano!
The impact of period costume!
Arts Festivals, Birthday Parties, Charity Events, Corporate Events, Festivals, Opera, Opera Gala, UncategorisedEven if we are presenting an evening of popular opera for a private party or corporate event we would always recommend the singers appearing in period costume for some of the performance. This gives a wonderful visual impact and enhances the power of the music, and can work particularly well in a period setting. London Festival Opera has an impressive collection of costumes from the 18th Century, Regency, Victorian and Edwardian eras. Many have been designed and made especially for the company but some were purchased at the rare costume sales at the Royal Opera House and English National Opera.
Many of our performances are at close quarters, so not only must the costumes be of the highest standards and design, but the accessories of hair and jewellery must be convincing close up.
Additionally, we have sets of costumes for specific operas including ‘Madame Butterfly’, ‘La Traviata’, ‘The Magic Flute’ and ‘Carmen’. Similarly, these must look good close up and look convincing in historic settings. If we are presenting a performance in venues such as St James’s Palace in London, Blenheim Palace or the British Embassy in Paris the costumes must look fabulous enough for the settings.
In an opera gala evening in a theatre or special event we would often perform part one in period costume and then change into stunning contemporary evening dress as a contrast.