She has subsequently written one more "micro-opera", three full-length operas, and an opera for television. Silk Street Theatre, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London; Monday 28th February 2022. Paul's Episcopal Church, Burlingame, CaliforniaThe Tree of Peace is by the contemporary English composer Judi. 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. Meanwhile, the Chorus are a vital presence, losing all their money in the opening scene, only to reappear in increasingly direr straits. For Rap read rhyming couplets. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . I decided to use the tale as a basis for a new opera. Steven van der Linden Did it have to be this way? [8] In May 2015, Weir won The Ivors Classical Music Award at the Ivor Novello Awards. Where these singers find the energy isn't clear: this week, they are also being wood nymphs, Spanish aristocrats and Italian peasants, in several other operas. Judith Weir Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. 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. This is a past event. Miss Fortune . Iza Fordham Gian Carlo Menotti The TelephoneLucy Segomotso Shupinyaneng, Ben Jonathan Eyers. Also known as Achterbahn (rollercoaster), this apt allegory on fate - and the control we have over our own lives - delivers a timely update on the Italian folk tale Sfortuna. A strong ROH2 schedule includes premieres by Scott Walker, Huw Watkins and Stuart MacRae in a season that will offer "fresh and interesting angles on the art form". Much of her music has been recorded, and is available on the NMC, Delphian and Signum labels. 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. Aina Miyagi Magnell Commissioned by the Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Judith Weir. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. 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". Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. She struggles, wins the lottery, casts aside money and goes off with the handsome prince, in his mercifully clean shirt. Natalie Alfille-Cook Judith Weir is a composer who, despite a huge body of work that ranges from grand operas to piano concertos to songs for children, has never sought the limelight. Allegra Totaro-Wainwright, Assistant Scenic Artists 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. 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. It will help us make your newsletter content more useful. Violetta Suvini* By the end of the act, I was finding it all rather wearing, and theres little in the way of flowing vocal lines to lift the heart. Commissioned byBregenzFestival and the RoyalOperaHouse and premiered in 2011,Miss Fortuneis a contemporary re-telling of a Sicilian folk story. 28 pages. Sad to say but Judith Weir's sixth opera is an embarrassment. Above all, I felt justified in having written the opera in the first place. Judith Weir's Miss Fortune is an entertaining night out. Never should the final authority be taken away from the composer, but a question might stimulate a rethink. Despite the lively productions and well-defined characterisations, I was disappointed by the poor diction and overbearing orchestral support in Miss Fortune. 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. What doesnt change, at least in the 53 minute first act, is her accenting: the music is continually using devices to ratchet up the tension - chromatics, diminished and augmented chords. Giulia Lussoso Miss Fortune in name and deed. She studied with John Tavener while at the North London Collegiate School[3] and subsequently with Robin Holloway at King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1976. CONTENTS OPERA Blond Eckbert. 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. 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. It has been a hyperactive week for hubris, schadenfreude and any other not quite correctly used foreign words you care to scatter. Gabriel Francis-Dehqani, Double Bass 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. Weir was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 Birthday Honours for services to music. As associate composer with the BBC Singers (2015-19) she completed two oratorios; In the Land of Uz, about the prophet Job; and blue hills beyond blue hills, to Zen-influenced verse by the Scottish poet Alan Spence. Weir, who succeeds Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, will be appointed for a. 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. It didnt help that the singing from Rossington and Valentine lacked clarity and I had to second guess some of their dialogue. What you think of Miss Fortunes music will depend very much on personal tastes: I found it music to admire rather than to love. Weve plenty of places for you to relax and replenish, from coffee and cake to wood-fired pizzas and full pre-theatre menus. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. 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. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2012. Judith Weir has a net worth of $5.00 million (Estimated) which she earned from her occupation as Musician. . 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'. 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). 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. She was commissioned to compose an a cappella work for the state funeral of Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022, and wrote a setting of Psalm 42, "Like as the hart".[17]. [2] See something missing? Georgia Lloyd* Judith Weir's music is published by Chester Music and Novello & Co. Location . Miss Fortune in name and deed. Judith Weir's 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. 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. 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. 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. Unlike in the first act, the music lets up on the never-ending tension (the strident voiceover of Fate is absent for Simon's aria), and several of the subsequent scenes are more enjoyable for it. 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. Look out for the paean to the perfectly laundered shirt sung by Simon (the excellent Jacques Imbrailo), which is a moment of pure comic genius. The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. 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. 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. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. This product includes GeoLite2 data created by MaxMind, available from, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Semyon Bychkov leads a musically superior, To add a comment, please sign in or register. Judith Weir. 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. Yn aml mae . Archie Buchanan The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2012. [7] She was appointed for a decade. 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. In collaboration with director Margaret Williams, Weir has created several opera films, including Scipios Dream, Hello Dolly, and Armida. When her life's course turns from bad to worse, she makes a date with Fate. Josh Law 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). Subscribe to our newsletters to hear about upcoming events. [4] She received the Lincoln Center's Stoeger Prize in 1997, the South Bank Show music award in 2001 and the Incorporated Society of Musicians' Distinguished Musician Award in 2010. Yn ogystal, mae'n gyfansoddwr o ddarnau cerddorfaol a lleisiol, gan gynnwys Concerto i'r Piano (1997), The Welcome Arrival of Rain (2001), ac In the Land of Uz (2017). EC2Y 8DT. The work was made in co-operation with Margaret Williams. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at . 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. Benedict Swindells* Menottis parade of operatic models coloratura showpiece, rage aria and lament were effortlessly pointed up and the rapport between the singers was communicated with both tenderness and impatience. Our privacy policy was last updated on Friday 31 January 2020, Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 12 March 2012. For Guildhall School performances please use the Guildhall School entrance on Silk Street. 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. Above all, I felt justified in having written the opera in the first place. Miss Fortune in name and deed. Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents. Julia Sanchez Merino Our website uses cookies to give you the best possible experience. Kosta Popovic 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 Weir - Miss Fortune [Achterbahn] (2011) - YouTube 0:00 / 1:23:43 Judith Weir - Miss Fortune [Achterbahn] (2011) 2,550 views Oct 17, 2015 Digital broadcast from BBC Radio 3 .more. Judith Weir is a Honorary Patron for Sound and Music. Continue using the site as normal or read our 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. Reonel Rafols [13] Her first stage work, The Black Spider, was a one-act opera which was premiered in Canterbury in 1985 loosely based on the short novel of the same name by Jeremias Gotthelf. Much of her music has been recorded, and is available on the NMC, Delphian and Signum labels. Miss Fortune is based on a Sicilian folk tale, and Weir's own libretto abstracts the story and creates a sort of moral fable that rather reminded me of Georg Kaiser's From Morning to Midnight and David Sawer's brave attempt to turn it into an opera in 2001 at English National Opera. 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.