presents Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian-Carlo Menotti Saturday January 5th St. Peter s Church Oundle Sunday January 6th St. John the Baptist Church Peterborough
Amahl and the Night Visitors A one-act opera written for television by Gian-Carlo Menotti The Three Kings are on their way to see the baby Jesus. As the sun sets, they decide to stop and rest, and knock on the door of a humble dwelling to ask for warmth, shelter and food. The mother and child who live there have nothing, but call on their shepherd friends to bring food and wood. The mother is desperate, and thinking of begging for the survival of herself and her son. She is tempted by the riches brought by the kings, and what follows is the result of her trying to take just a few coins, thinking the kings would never miss them. Amahl is sung by a boy soprano, in this production played by James Turner. Liz Williams plays his mother, and the kings are sung by Mark Ellse, Martin Muir and Simon Thompson, with Mark Lee as their page. The performance will be semi-staged, and accompanied on the piano. This opera was commissioned by NBC for television, and was broadcast live from the NBC studios on Christmas Eve 1951. The conductor was Arturo Toscanini, who thought it the best work Menotti had composed. Menotti wrote that it was based on his childhood Christmases in Italy, where presents at the time were brought by the Three Kings, not Santa Claus. He remembers trying to stay awake to see them, and hearing camels hooves crushing the snow outside his window, and the mysterious tinkling of their silver bridles. His inspiration for the opera was Heronymus Bosch s Adoration of the Magi, which he saw in the Metropolitan Museum whilst trying to think of an opera subject for the commission.
Cast: Amahl, a crippled shepherd boy His mother King Melchior King Kaspar King Balthazar The Kings Page The Kings Attendant James Turner Liz Williams Martin Muir Mark Ellse Simon Thompson Mark Lee Rowan Thompson Shepherds: Evie Ablett*, Diana Awdry*, Carolyn Browse, June Davy, Jean Fisher, Dina Gomez*, Diane Harcourt, Marie Hayes, Jan Haylock*, Lydia Montgomery*, Helen Reece*, Audrey Springford, Alex Steel*, Julie van Haperen*, Lorna Wheel, Ann Williams John Attwell, Vincent Davy, Phil Hammersley, Michael Hammond, Laurence Lewis, Clive Morton, Adrian Wall, Adam Wheel*, Dan Woodhouse * Dancers Soloist in The Three Kings by Peter Cornelius Michael Hammond Reader Diana Awdry Music Director Kate Wishart Artistic Director/ Choreographer Liz Williams Pianist Kate Wishart Promotion Lyndsey Evans Costumes courtesy of St James Church, Thrapston, with thanks to June Davy Front of House Shirley Burchell Bobbie Turton Programme Diana Awdry
Kate Wishart - Musical Director Kate started her professional life as an orchestral timpanist, joining the Academy of the BBC at age 19. Before deciding to become a doctor she worked with several opera companies including Phoenix Opera, D Oyly Carte and Kent Opera, then directed by Roger Norrington. She has always loved opera, having first played in the orchestra at the Birmingham School of Music s annual opera performances from age 14 to 16. At medical school she took up the baton to conduct the music society, including performances of Ruddigore and Pirates of Penzance, Carmina Burana and Vivaldi s Gloria. More recently Kate was the musical director for Oundle G&S Players, and took the role for Peterborough G&S for one year to fill their MD s sabbatical. Kate has been repetiteur for Chelsea Opera Group, and recently Thrapston Opera as well as Peterborough Opera. She retired from her work in medical education in 2016. James Turner - Amahl James is just 12 years old, and first sang Amahl in January 2018 at St James s Church, Thrapston. He attends Casterton College in Rutland, and lives in Oundle. Liz Williams - Amahl s Mother Liz has frequently appeared in concerts, oratorios and recitals, predominantly as a mezzo-soprano. Stage roles include Carmen, Azucena (Il Trovatore), Amneris (Aida), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), Musetta (La Bohème), Mrs Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Amelia (A Masked Ball) and the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors in Thrapston. She has also directed Madam Butterfly, Die Fledermaus and La Vie Parisienne for Thrapston Plaza Opera. Most recently she appeared for Peterborough Opera as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus.
Martin Muir - King Melchior Martin gained an Honours B.Mus degree in Voice from the ANU in Australia and has sung numerous roles for amateur London companies, Peterborough Opera and Thrapston Plaza Opera. Recent roles include Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Sharpless (Madam Butterfly), Guglielmo (Cosi fan Tutte), Essex (Merrie England), Renato (A Masked Ball), Friar Laurence in Romeo & Juliet and the Judge in Sweeney Todd. He is a Biomedical Scientist by profession, a qualified youth football coach and a Trustee of a Uganda based charity, Friends of North Kigezi Diocese. Mark Ellse - King Kaspar After university, Mark studied singing privately and his teacher encouraged him to join the opera school at Morley College, London. He received mention from Opera Now for his performance in his first full opera, taking the taxing role of Percy in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. He developed a wide repertoire on the concert platform from the Bach passions to works as large as Janáček s Glagolitic Mass, Verdi s Requiem and Beethoven s 9 th Symphony. More recently turning to opera, he has performed some twenty different roles. In the last few years these have included Faust, Don José (Carmen), Manrico (Il Trovatore), Idomeneo, Radames (Aida), Pinkerton (Madam Butterfly), Eugene Onegin, and Ricardo in A Masked Ball. Simon Thompson - King Balthazar Simon performed in several shows in his youth and returned to singing with Peterborough Opera in 2014. Recent principal roles include: Zuniga in Carmen Captain Petrovich and chorus leader in Eugene Onegin, Marcel in,la Vie Parisienne, Carlino in Don Pasquale, Long Tom in Merrie England, Foreman in Trial by Jury, Dr. Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro (scene), Papageno in The Magic Flute (scene). Recently Simon has played Dr. Grenvil in Thrapston Plaza Opera s production of Verdi's La Traviata, and Sam in A Masked Ball for Peterborough Opera.
Mark Lee - The Kings Page I began singing as a boy treble having obtained a choral scholarship to Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire and have continued singing ever since. A founder member of Thrapston Plaza Opera I am looking forward to next year s performance of The Daughter of the Regiment. In addition I have sung with Ravenshead G&S Society and also The Kimbolton Singers. Married to Catherine and with 2 daughters, I have lived in Thrapston for the past 20 years. Forthcoming performances: Verdi Requiem - Saturday March 30 th 2019 Queen Katharine Academy Peterborough with City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra and Take Note Community Choir Soloists: Conductor: Maureen Brathwaite Soprano Liz Williams: Mezzo-soprano Andrew Powis: Tenor Martin Muir: Baritone Steve Bingham Our next opera production will be Mozart s The Magic Flute, to be performed in October 2019. Auditions will be held on 14 th April. If you would like to audition, please contact us on admin@peterboroughopera.co.uk.
Come and sing with us The health benefits of singing, and especially singing with others, are well researched and documented. Singing uses the brain and the body, and improves breathing, posture and muscle tone. It is believed to release endorphins that help pain relief, and there is some evidence that it is beneficial for the immune system as well. Learning new music is good for the memory, and singing produces a sense of happiness and wellbeing. We meet weekly on a Friday evening at Folksworth Village Hall, and we always welcome new singers, of any voice. You will only audition if you wish to sing a principal role in an opera. We do occasional concerts, as well as operas, and rehearse throughout the year. We have social events too, and most importantly lots of fun! We also need non-singers to help with productions and concerts backstage and front of house helpers. You can also support us as a Patron for a small donation. You can find out more on our website: www.peterboroughopera.co.uk Or contact us at: admin@peterboroughopera.co.uk