She has subsequently written one more "micro-opera", three full-length operas, and an opera for television. This was followed by a further three full-length operas The Vanishing Bridegroom (1990), Blond Eckbert (1994), the latter commissioned by the English National Opera[14] and Miss Fortune (Achterbahn) (2011). 5, Rimsky-Korsakov Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh LSO/Noseda. Silver Tassie Operas. . Tina, their daughter Erin Gwyn Rossington (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Cleo Lee McGowan (2 & 7 Mar) Julia Sanchez Merino Both portrayals were wonderfully convincing musically and dramatically, each singer having an easy stage presence and voices that hold the ear with roundness of tone and crystal-clear diction. Judith Weir - Wicipedia Judith Weir CBE (born 1954) is a British composer and the first female Master of the Queen's Music. Shana Moron-Caravel Years 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. In 2014-15 there were releases of The Vanishing Bridegroom (NMC) and Storm (BBC Singers/Signum). . The absence of an intermediary sparring partner in the shape of a librettist may have made it difficult for the right person to say to Weir "more here, less there". 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. But Weir creates much variety of timbre and a fair degree of potency throughout. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. A recording of this production will be available to watch online for free after the performances. Welcome to the rich musical world of Judith Weir | WNO It has been a hyperactive week for hubris, schadenfreude and any other not quite correctly used foreign words you care to scatter. slogan. Judith Weir Interview - CompositionToday.Com 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. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Judith Weir CBE (born 1954) is a British composer and the first female Master of the Queen's Music. Kosuke Shirai Pedro Marques Sad to say but Judith Weir's sixth opera is an embarrassment. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Lady Fortune - Kathryn Harries. [15] Weir's commissioned works most notably include woman.life.song (2000) for Jessye Norman and We are Shadows (1999) for Simon Rattle. In a stunning setting and scenery to rival these beautiful surroundings, Miss Fortune, the work of British composer Judith Weir, retraces the twisted steps of its bewildered female protagonist. The best in live events, streams, reviews and articles recommended by our editors, delivered to your inbox weekly. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Charlotte Antingham As resident composer with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the 1990s, she wrote several works for orchestra and chorus (including Forest, Storm and We are Shadows) which were premiered by the orchestras then Music Director, Simon Rattle. Having now heard the piece, and looked through the score, I would have asked: "Did you intend so many of the vocal lines to have a predominantly descending pattern, giving an impression of aural droop? What a waste of talent and resources. 9 Bavarian Radio Sinfonieorchester/Rattle, GRAMOPHONE Review: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. Judith_Weir : definition of Judith_Weir and synonyms of Judith_Weir 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. Kyra Coppini, Production Sound Engineers The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2012. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Indeed it has. Queasy chromatic scales rising and falling in the trombones is as close as we get to the dark happenings on the street. Above all, I felt justified in having written the opera in the first place. Josephine Lockwood a reference to Mozart's great scene where people on a beach are menaced by a sea monster. Strahinja Mitrovic, Clarinet 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. Antonio Daz Fernndez Judith Weir Fate Kieron-Connor Valentine 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. 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. Yn aml mae . This is a libretto which vacillates between the banal and the unintentionally comedic (or is that irony?) She struggles, wins the lottery, casts aside money and goes off with the handsome prince, in his mercifully clean shirt. Judith Weir | Wells Cathedral School The gap between failure and success in the theatre can be as narrow as a hair's breadth. 1 / 3. 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. Silly and naive. Charlie Broad Luna De Mol, Violin II 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. The second act has greater pace and vitality: the wise, witty Weir of old is back on form, but too briefly. Was it a plane, a boat or a train? Photo:Judith Weir. Bogdan Skrypka 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. Honours for her work include the Critics Circle, South Bank Show, Ivor Novello and Elise L Stoeger awards, a CBE and The Queens Medal for Music. To those who ask what material like this is doing in an opera house, I can only reply that this story allowed me to write both opera and folk music at the same time, to invent work songs for modern jobs like dry cleaning, and to find present-day uses for beautiful operatic forms, such as the aubade, or dawn song which Hassan sings while tending his kebab van. It was a co-commission between two big opera houses (Bregenz and the Royal Opera House) - and it will also have a new production in Santa Fe in a couple of years time. The Sicilian tale on which the opera is based is a fairly standard story of the virtuous young girl who falls on hard times but whose virtue is ultimately rewarded; Weir changes it in two key ways. Mario Gutirrez Gorria, Viola From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at Covent Garden | Bachtrack The darker side of the "alienating effects of modern urban life" (as designer Anna Reid's programme note summarises both operas) are explored in Judith Weir's Miss Fortune (2011) based on a Sicilian folk story and dramatising a serious reversal of fortune and circumstances as its punning title implies, through the personified figure of fate. Opera: Voices & Orchestra. Its probably not a good idea to come to Miss Fortune looking either for deep meaning or for authentic folktale. Age 14-25? Allegra Totaro-Wainwright, Assistant Scenic Artists At least that was Weirs intention to be relevant and in touch. Opera on 3 Judith Weir's Miss Fortune. R. 70. Night AT the Chinese Opera (A) (1987) Operas. 145 Miss Weir Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE Collections Project #ShowUs Creative Insights EDITORIAL VIDEO BBC Motion Gallery NBC News Archives MUSIC BLOG BROWSE PRICING ENTERPRISE VisualGPS INSIGHTS BOARDS BASKET SIGN IN Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 10 Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse/Sokhiev, GRAMOPHONE Review: Sounds of America Jon Manasse, Park Avenue Chamber Orchestra/Bernard, GRAMOPHONE Review: Rachmaninov Symphony No. At the time, I was writing a chorus number called We Didn't See It Coming. I've had the misfortune of reading a few reviews already, and so far I seem to be flying solo on actually recommending it - but I do think the basic ingredients are there. Hugo Haag, Cello 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. Judith Weir's music is published by Chester Music and Novello & Co. 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. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. . 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 HonFRSE (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. Caroline Moores, Head of Recording & Audio Visual Miss Fortune Opera on Vimeo 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. The Telephone / Miss Fortune, GSMD - brilliantly-executed double bill Commissioned by Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera House and premiered in 2011, Miss Fortune is a contemporary re-telling of a Sicilian folk story. Location For more information visit their website, Hear music by Judith Weir online at Spotify. Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Judith Weir - Wikipedia Alice Warburton Jamie Hulme BBC Philharmonic/David, GRAMOPHONE Review: Shostakovich Symphony No 10, Mahler Symphony No 10 Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra/van Zweden, GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. The four days of programmes ended with a first performance of her new commission, CONCRETE, a choral motet. 4 - Julia Kleitner, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Gatti, A Conversation With LIISA RANDALU: Schumann Quartet release 2nd CD, ENCOUNTERS: Edward Seckerson talks to Broadway composer LUCY SIMON, Edward Seckerson talks to RENE FLEMING about The Light in the Piazza, A Conversation With VASILY PETRENKO: RLPO Shostakovich Symphonies, A Conversation With SIR PAUL McCARTNEY: BBC Radio 4 Kaleidoscope, A Conversation With VICTORIA WOOD: New TV drama, Loving Miss Hatto, A Conversation With DAVID McVICAR & SARAH CONNOLLY: Charpentiers Medea, GRAMOPHONE Review: Shostakovich Symphony No. Richard Jones' production is visually all over the place, but in a good way. Urban dystopia: Guildhall School's double bill of Judith Weir's Miss He is a musical omnivore interested in almost all types of music, but with a particular love of Italian opera. Miss Fortune Operas. Judith Weir "Miss Fortune", Royal Opera House - Edward Seckerson To book tickets visit:. Sad because Weir's folk inspired fables have won many friends, sad because she is a composerly. The booking fee may be reduced on certain events. In January 2008, Weir was the focus of the BBC's annual composer weekend at the Barbican Centre in London. Miss Fortune premiered last summer at the Bregenz festival in Austria, where local audiences received it warmly despite it being performed in English. The banality of the text follows the banality of the narrative, and the music doesn't rise above it. 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's most recent major work is her opera Miss Fortune, which received its first performances on July 21, 2011 at the Bregenz Festival, directed by Chen Shi-Zheng and designed by Tom Pye. Bass clarinet In 1987, her first half-length opera, A Night at the Chinese Opera, was premiered at Kent Opera. Never should the final authority be taken away from the composer, but a question might stimulate a rethink. I registered a faint sense that my opera plot was already out on the street, but I didn't think all the detail it contained the violent destruction of property, the collapse of the middle class would soon become true as well. Book Only. Reonel Rafols 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. 2.1.1 Miss Fortune (Achterbahn) 2.2 Other key works; 3 Selected recordings; 4 External links; 5 References Biography. Most hurtle down the chute at once, all limbs flailing, and plunge straight into the wheelie bin of oblivion. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal . Its two central edifices the shape described above, as well as a big red louvred piece posed unsolved lighting problems, splitting instead of uniting the space. Mae Weir wedi ysgrifennu sawl opera llwyddiannus, gan gynnwys The Black Spider (1985), A Night at the Chinese Opera (1987), Blond Eckbert (1994) a Miss Fortune (2011). Meanwhile, the cast plunged into the nitty-gritty ("Four steps to the left, take the glass from Kathryn, turn "). 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. Galleries. SATB Choir and Organ Book Only Classical Composed by Judith Weir (1954-). But at least all other elements of this colourful staging coalesced into something that intermittently held my attention. Holly Woods 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? Her most recent opera, Miss Fortune, which opened in 2012, was . Judith Weir | British Music Collection Tina's wealthy family lose all their possessions overnight and she is thrown into a life of poverty. Subscribe to our newsletters to hear about upcoming events. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . 2010-2023 Bachtrack Ltd. All rights reserved. Dominic Stokes* And yet the characters are archetypes who grovel in the dirt of clich. Judith Weir CBE is a British composer and Master of the Queen's Music. 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. [8] In May 2015, Weir won The Ivors Classical Music Award at the Ivor Novello Awards. But I personally have been feeling thoroughly revived after. 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'. 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 . Claire Nicolas (freelance) Stanley Olden, Scenic Art Co-ordinator In a face-off between Gabriele Viviani's Scarpia and Malin Bystrms Tosca in this solid revival of Jonathan Kent's 2006 production, there could only be one winner. Benedict Swindells* 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) Biography. Weir, Judith. This is a past event. Indeed it has. Christos Maltezos* Silly and naive. Paul's Episcopal Church, Burlingame, CaliforniaThe Tree of Peace is by the contemporary English composer Judi. 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. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Tell us a little about the opera. Miss Fortune. Andr Soares Miss Fortune is Birtish composer Judith Weir's first operatic composisition in the last 17 years. 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. 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. Privacy Policy If you dont harbour too many expectations of a thought-provoking story, its worth going to see for the staging alone. But with few exceptions Weir has created cardboard characters that neither claim our attention nor engage our sympathy. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. In food terms this was a programme comprising starter and main course, a well-designed menu beginning with a romantic comedy and followed by a picaresque meditation on fate with much to nourish the ears, eyes and mind. 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. Only Anne-Marie Owens's Donna, who runs a launderette, and Hassan the kebab-van owner, beautifully sung by Noah Stewart (the closest we get to beefcake), show signs of humanity. Happy Birthday: Judith Weir, 58 | The Times It was a concept that worked well on paper, but the contrasting styles and libretti of Gian Carlo Menotti and Judith Weir one charming and unpretentious, the other angular and banal felt mismatched musically and made for an uneven night. A new production of an earlier opera is always welcome news, to its composer at least, and it doesn't feel right to term these "revivals" - implying that resuscitation or even raising from the dead has been necessary. Firstly, when disaster strikes the family, our heroine leaves home for the mean streets of her own accord (in the original, she is cast out by her superstitious mother). . OPERA NEWS, COMMENTARY, AND REVIEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. Interview by Joshua Saunders And did the previous orchestra really play that F-natural all last summer and we never noticed? Whether were in the initial scene of the casting of our heroines horoscope, the various pieces of mayhem that envelop her or the poetic aubade sung by kebab-shop owner Hassan: the music is overlaid by urgent stridency. No fee when tickets are booked in person. Alaric Green 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. Judith Weir CBE (born 1954) [1] is a British composer and the first female Master of the Queen's Music. If nothing has changed musically, this small staging worked well, at least in dramatic terms with terrific visuals and spot on acting. . Judith Weir's opera is a story about Tina and how her life dramatically changes course overnight; it is a story about fate and fortune. Iben Bering Srensen Judith Weir - Delphian Records Nina Lim 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). Daniel RobinsonAnja Urban. Above all, I felt justified in having written the opera in the first place. YouTube Encyclopedic. Miku Yasukawa Expressive of face and voice this champagne-quaffing pair fulfilled their roles with suitable vulgarity. Ivelina Ivanova Please note you may need to update your password. Lord Fortune - Alan Ewing. For Guildhall School performances please use the Guildhall School entrance on Silk Street. 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. Tobias Campos Santinaque Yes, Tom Pye's design was beautiful, but stylised beyond the world of the circumstantial it could have accommodated any opera from Parsifal to Madama Butterfly. Ben Upthegrove Jonathan Eyers (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Jack Holton (2 & 7 Mar), Lord Fortune Jacob Harrison Judith Weir Wiki - everipedia.org Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. Malena Benavent A. I decided to use the tale as a basis for a new opera. 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. Weve plenty of places for you to relax and replenish, from coffee and cake to wood-fired pizzas and full pre-theatre menus. Judith Weir is a Honorary Patron for Sound and Music. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Hoodies and drug dealing delineate subsequent reversal of fortune for Tina whose seamstress colleagues (vocally in fine fettle) provided an opportunity for some highly effective choreography. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, 15% off orders using the Zavvi discount code, 10% off with this Book Depository student discount, 14% off all orders - Red Letter Days discount code, 20 extra entries with this Omaze promo code, 5% off tickets using this AttractionTickets.com discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. [2] See something missing? . or you can purchase and download online, The music of Judith Weir is published by Chester Music Ltd and Novello & Co Ltd, part of Wise Music Group. 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. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office.[2]. Both the score and the individual performances Albery's production allows the opera to speak for itself, although sluggish pacing in the pit detract from the musical merits of this revival. Eva Gaidoni 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. Nonetheless, having written her own libretto as well as the music, she was easy prey. Guildhall Opera Double Bill | Barbican In July 2014 Judith Weir was appointed to the 395-year old royal post of Master of the Queens Music, in succession to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. 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". Published by Chester Music (HL.14035701). 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. Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at Covent Garden By David Karlin, 13 March 2012 There's usually plenty of hype surrounding a newly written opera performed at Covent Garden, but the carefully placed stories about Judith Weir's Miss Fortune are on the improbable end of the scale, featuring a flying kebab shop and a team of breakdancers. Sad to say but Judith Weirs sixth opera is an embarrassment. Judith Weir - Wise Music Creative ), full of truisms and clunky metaphors" and "about as streetwise as a visitor from Venus". Natalie Alfille-Cook 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. Although she has achieved international recognition for her orchestral and chamber works, Weir is best known for her operas and theatrical works. Sad because Weir's 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. . Kosta Popovic London 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. 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. What drew you to composition? Judith Weir. The opera reworks a Sicilian folktale as a contemporary parable. 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 Miss Fortune | Judith Weir - Wise Music Classical SELECTED WORKS BY shows" JUDITH WEIR "Weir is a creature of the theatre and it FINANCIAL TIMES. 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. Jos Hita Garca* Miss Fortune . 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.
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