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1897 clown band.

Reconnect with your Inner Child…

Opera director Jenny Miller invites you to ‘reconnect with your Inner Child’ and enjoy a remarkable Handel opera next Saturday, 19 July, at St Mary in the Castle, as part of the Longborough Opera tour. HOT’s Chris Cormack talks to Jenny about the staging of Handel’s Rinaldo.

Title role, Rinaldo - set and costumes by Faye Bradley.

Rinaldo was the first full opera ever to be written in Italian for the London stage.  Prior to this 1711 performance of Handel’s opera, there had been performances of popular arias from existing Italian operas or settings in English to music in the Italian style.  However, here was a demand for proper Italian from the young elite, who had benefited from The Grand Tour, which was then the fashionable way of rounding off a classical education.

Rinaldo caused a sensation: the music, the costumes and the spectacular stage effects, which included such things as a release on stage of hundreds of real sparrows.

The production at St Mary in the Castle, with a full Baroque orchestra and outstanding young singers, should prove every bit as colourful and zestful – in an all new setting of the circus!  It includes some of Handel’s most famous arias: Lascia ch’io piangaCara Sposa and Augelletti, che cantate.

How do you go about directing an opera, Jenny?

My usual practice is to listen to the music of any opera I am directing and respond first and foremost to the spirit and character of the piece, as the music speaks to me. I then look in detail at the story and how it connects with the music. I then do the research: when was this written, for whom, what is the context and what are the references?

How does this music speak to you and how does it connect to the story?

The spirit of Handel’s music in Rinaldo is extraordinarily rich and daring, vibrant, sparkling, vivid. A lot of typical baroque effects are used in a varied and imaginative way – themes of ‘Glory’ (of battle, manhood and honour) and ‘Love’ – (Eros versus Agape, sexual love versus godly love, a constant preoccupation certainly for Handel) – coloured with strong rhythms, chromaticism and brilliant harmonies.

The way the music connects to the story reveals Rinaldo as an early opera. Later, Handel will explore the same themes with much more intricate and psychologically complex story lines.  Rinaldo is quite simply a Boy’s Own adventure story. The goodies fight the baddies and win.  Wicked sorceresses with magical powers steal princesses. Any young follower of Harry Potter would feel entirely at home.  Plot consistency? Not really! The director has to find a way around often arbitrary groupings of arias and extremely sudden shifts: “meanwhile, back at the palace…”.

Rinaldo tells of Saracens and Crusaders, dragons and demons… how does this fit with clowns?

Armida: 'Queen of Damascus,' Argante's mistress - set and costume by Faye Bradley.

The story can be told in a variety of ways.  I chose clowns and the world of the circus: the maestro is the circus magician, who conjures up the entire magical story. (This is, of course, a way of describing any opera – and was the premise for Walt Disney’s Fantasia!).  He is aided in his work by an army of clowns – there are many wonderful records of clown bands in circuses (see photo above).  It is a circus because the circus is the arena of childhood and I want my adult audiences to reconnect with their Inner Child. The clown is not a slapstick caricature with big shoes, but a child, telling  a story of derring-do, princesses and battles – and the audience is a child with him/her.  A child’s emotions are huge, all-encompassing and can change on a sixpence. This makes the plot’s crazy shifts and sudden utter contrasts actually an advantage in this version. I am hoping for theatrical magic of the most immediate kind when I bring Rinaldo to the circus.

Could retaining the Christian/Muslim conflict in the original story help to make this opera more topical?

The Saracen/Christian scenario is utterly thin and if we even attempted to take it seriously and topically, it could lead to terrible blunders and misrepresentations. One would be very ill-advised to try to address our current deeply complex political and religious travails with this opera. The heart of the opera has simply nothing to do with those politics, not even in Handel’s day.  The real heart of the opera, in my view, is a classic and much mined dilemma: Love versus Duty or Honour; both difficult words in our era.

Tell us about the casting of this opera.

Jake Arditti - a star in the making.

We are fantastically lucky with our cast.  Jake Arditti is a real star; there is just no other word for him. He will be singing this role in Europe in the autumn. He is supported by a brilliant team.  Nicholas Merryweather as Argante has a voice of gold and a fabulous stage presence.  Eloise Irving is coming out of the Gareth Malone choir to find her first feet in opera, as the ingenue princess, Almirena – and a brilliant young graduate of the Royal Academy, Rhiannon Llewellyn, is our spicy sorceress, Armida. Goffredo is sung by Martha Jones, already establishing her name, especially in this repertoire.  Our team of five ‘demon clowns’ are all featured in small parts – and by their constant theatrical play, keep the story sizzling along. Our conductor, Jeremy Silver, works internationally and recently garnered fantastic reviews for his English Touring Opera’s production of Handel’s Agrippina.

Rinaldo at St Mary in the Castle, Pelham Crescent, TN34 3AF on Saturday 19 July. Doors open 7pm. Performance starts at 7.30pm. Tickets available in advance at a discounted rate of £13 online, at Shimizu Flowers in the High Street, Old Town, and Who’s Wearing What boutique on London Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. Alternatively, phone 07814 87 39 68 and leave a message.

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Posted 20:50 Saturday, Jul 12, 2014 In: Music & Sound

2 Comments

  1. Chris Cormack

    If you can’t wait till next week for your opera, how about today at the St Leonards Festival?

    Sunday 13th July, 12noon – 5pm
    Audiences are encouraged to dress up, bring a picnic and relax as Warrior Gardens fills with five hours of live music. Featuring Barefoot Opera, Opera South East, Soprano Susannah Appleyard and Baritone George Humphreys, the programme includes classic arias, duets, chorus numbers and all-time opera favourites from Carmen, The Beggars Opera, The Pearl Fishers and more.
    In between opera, Master Drummer Nana Tsiboe will provide a shift in mood and Rajathani Gypsy Music from Musafir will enchant. Audiences can also enjoy a cool Pimms from the bar and browse the craft market, nature and garden zone and, for children, there’s live storytelling. Party-goers will be wowed by breath-taking live opera-themed performances from Osadia Hair Art, flying in to St Leonards from Barcelona to transform willing spectators into walking sculptures.
    The Opera Garden Party is £12 and free for under 16s. Event organiser, Mandy Curtis, from local Events Company, 18 Hours said ‘Five hours of live opera in central St Leonards for just £12 is a massive achievement. This is a true summertime treat for opera virgins and aficionados.
    Please be aware that we have a licensed bar at this event. Visitors are requested not to bring alcohol onto the site, but to purchase alcohol only from the bar. This is not to be a kill joy, but to ensure we are allowed a bar in future years! Thank you
    Black tie isn’t compulsory, but dress up if you’re in the mood!
    For more information visit http://www.18hours.org.uk.

    Comment by Chris Cormack — Sunday, Jul 13, 2014 @ 08:32

  2. Terence

    I am so excited about a HANDEL opera coming to HASTINGS, especially as I have never seen `RINALDO` …. especially in the setting of St Mary in the Castle

    Comment by Terence — Saturday, Jul 12, 2014 @ 23:20

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