Mahogany Opera + Opera Group = Mahogany Opera Group

Mahogany Opera's recent successes include last year's tour of Britten's Church Parables). The Opera Group's recent successes have included Kurt Weill's Street Scene, George Benjamin's Into the Little Hill and David Bruce's The Firework-makers Daughter, but their output has also included some stinkers (though a friend over at Classical Iconoclast regards them as 'one of the most innovative companies in this country'). Now the two groups have announced that they are to merge and create Mahogany Opera Group. Frederic Wake-Walker is currently artistic director of both groups and he will be at the helm of the new group, with John Gilhooly as chair.

According to Wake-Walker the new group will, 'create bespoke operas customised to different spaces and places throughout the UK and internationally - presenting each distinct project with a vitality that stretches the boundaries of what opera can be and who it is for'. Hmmm.

Making musical fireworks - The Opera Group at the Linbury Theatre

Mary Bevan as Lila
Picture credit Robert Workman

The Opera Group's latest production, The Firework-maker's Daughter by David Bruce and Glyn Maxwell is currently on tour and arrived at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Theatre last night (3 April 2013). The performance was heavy with collaboration, the opera was a co-commission from The Opera Group and ROH2, it was co produced by The Opera Group and Opera North in association with ROH2 and Watford Palace Theatre. The instrumental ensemble was Chroma, and the director was John Fulljames, former artistic director of The Opera Group and now Assistant Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House. That's a lot of people to keep happy, you almost felt that there were more producers than performers (just five singers, two puppeteers and nine musicians, plus conductor), but then that's modern opera production for you. The weight of expectation would also lay heavy on the audience, as the opera is aimed at children and based on the book by beloved author Philip Pullman. Wednesday nights audience (a packed one) at the Linbury Theatre included plenty of children, and they provided an enthusiastic response so the event must be deemed a success. What of the opera?

The Firework-Maker's Daughter

Saturday 23 March at Hull Truck Theatre in Hull sees the premiere of David Bruce's new opera The Firework-Maker's Daughter. The opera is being produced by the Opera Group and Opera North, in associated with the Royal Opera House and the Watford Palace Theatre. After the premiere the production is being taken on tour to Huddersfield, London,  New York, Watford, Bury St. Edmunds, Buxton, Oxford and Newcastle. Described as a colourful new opera for children and families, Glyn Maxwell's libretto is based on the book by Philip Pullman.

Bow Down

Bow Down isn't exactly an opera, by any stretch of the imagination. But it is a music theatre piece by Harrison Birtwistle and Tony Harrison and as such a new production of it directed by Frederic Wake-Walker is being toured by the Opera Group. The production opened at the Brighton Festival and I caught up with it at the Spitalfields Summer Festival where two performances were given on 13 June, at Village Underground. The venue is a converted warehouse in Shoreditch now used as a performance space and linked to artists studios on the same site, notable for the fact that the studios include a pair of old tube-trains which are perched on top of the building.

Thomas O'Connell, Anita-Joy Uwajeh and Simon Kent in Bow Down by The Opera Group, photo - Simon Jay Price

Bow Down was created in 1977 when Harrison Birtwistle was working at the National Theatre during a strike, so that Birtwistle and Harrison created a piece which was simple to stage and required very few resources. It is a devised piece, and the existing score is simply a notation of what was created at that time; performers have a lot of freedom in deciding how and what to perform.  The simplicity of staging has meant that for  his new production Wake-Walker was able to put together a tour which encompassed some very varied spaces, not only the converted warehouse, but an abandoned municipal market in Brighton, a secret forest location in Norfolk and an open air stage.

Babur in London - UK premiere

Edward Rushton's opera Babur in London, which received its UK premiere last night (12 June) at the Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke, is the result of an interesting collaboration. The librettist is the Indian poet, novelist and musician Jeet Thayil (who lives in Dehli) and his collaboration with Rushton (who lives in Switzerland) was supported by the British Council and Pro Helvetia (the Swiss Arts Council in India). The Opera Group co-produced the work with Anvil Arts, Basingstoke and Opera North and it will be seen in India.

Omar Ebrahim as Babur

Babur in London premiered in Switzerland and tours to Leeds (14, 15 June), Birmingham (18 June), Oxford (24 June), London (26, 27, 28 June at the Lilian Baylis Studio as part of the City of London Festival), Hull (5 July) and Cheltenham (7 July, as part of the Cheltenham Music Festival). The production will be touring to India in November/December this year.