Season Brochure

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2017 SEASON
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Eugene Onegin, 2016
Absolutely everything was perfection.You have a
winning formula
Audience member, 2016
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SEMELE
George Frideric Handel
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE
Claude Debussy
IL TURCO IN ITALIA
Gioachino Rossini
SILVER BIRCH
Roxanna Panufnik
Idomeneo, 2016
G arsington O pera at W ormsle y
2017 promises to be a groundbreaking season in the 28 year history of
Garsington Opera.
We will be expanding to four opera productions for the very first time and we
will now have two resident orchestras as the Philharmonia Orchestra joins us for
Pelléas et Mélisande.
Our own highly praised Garsington Opera Orchestra will not only perform Le
nozze di Figaro, Il turco in Italia and Semele, but will also perform the world
premiere of Roxanna Panufnik’s Silver Birch at the conclusion of the season.
Pelléas et Mélisande, Debussy’s only opera and one of the seminal works
of the 20th century, will be conducted by Jac van Steen, who brought such
illumination and musicianship to our Intermezzo production of 2015. It will be
directed by Michael Boyd and designed by Tom Piper, who return following last
season’s inspiring production of Eugene Onegin.
I will conduct a re-creation of John Cox’s Le nozze di Figaro, last performed
during the final year at Garsington Manor. I am thrilled to be joining forces once
again with both John and designer Robert Perdziola to bring their much admired
production to the Wormsley stage.
Handel has never been performed at Garsington Opera so we are putting that
right in 2017! Semele will be conducted by early music visionary Jonathan
Cohen, making his Garsington debut, and directed by Annilese Miskimmon,
Artistic Director of Norwegian National Opera, who we welcome back nine
years after her Il re pastore at Garsington Manor.
Our fourth production will be a revival from 2011 of Rossini’s popular comedy,
Il turco in Italia. We are delighted to welcome back David Parry, who brings his
conducting expertise to his 13th production for us, and director Martin Duncan
who returns for his 6th season.
To cap the season off we are very proud to present a brand new work
commissioned by Garsington from composer Roxanna Panufnik, to be directed
by our Creative Director of Learning & Participation, Karen Gillingham, and I
will conduct. Silver Birch will involve a core of professional singers, a youth and
adult community chorus, young soloists and instrumentalists who will have the
fantastic experience of playing alongside our professional orchestra players. The
libretto, by Jessica Duchen, is an emotional and uplifting story of a family whose
lives are changed by war.
Do join us in 2017, when I hope you will continue to be moved and exhilarated
as we strive for the highest artistic standards, energy and commitment in our
English idyll.
Douglas Boyd, Artistic Director
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Semele
George Frideric Handel
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A
love story with a twist; the god Jupiter is captivated by the beauty of the all-too-human
Semele. Inspired by the dramatic and colourful mythological characters, Handel’s music is
powerfully seductive. Jupiter entrances Semele by promising that ‘Where e’er you walk’ he will
arrange for trees to provide welcome shade, and that at her every step, flowers will blossom into
life. She exults, with unabashed sensual delight, in everything that Jupiter has to offer, singing
triumphantly of ‘Endless pleasure, endless love’. In this parable of over-ambition and overindulgence Semele flirts with danger by demanding immortality and suffers the consequences,
leaving behind her one life-enhancing legacy – her son, Bacchus, god of wine.
Composed in 1744, Semele features some of Handel’s most exquisitely beautiful music, with soaring
choruses and splendid orchestral writing enhancing this most touching and humorous opera.
Annilese Miskimmon, Artistic Director of Norwegian National Opera, will direct, with Jonathan
Cohen making his Garsington Opera conducting debut. Heidi Stober and Robert Murray make
their role debuts as Semele and Jupiter with the renowned Christine Rice returning to Garsington
to sing Juno.
Performances
1, 3, 9, 15, 24, 30 June & 4 July
Start time 5.55pm
Pre-performance Talk
Saturday 3 June, 4.30pm
Semele
Jupiter
Juno
Cadmus & Somnus
Athamas
Iris
Heidi Stober
Robert Murray
Christine Rice
David Soar
Christopher Ainslie
Llio Evans
Conductor
Director
Designer
Lighting Designer
Jonathan Cohen
Annilese Miskimmon
Nicky Shaw
Mark Jonathan
Garsington Opera Orchestra & Chorus
Sung in English with supertitles
LE NOZZE
DI FIGARO
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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I
t is the wedding day of Figaro and Susanna, but will their marriage ceremony ever take place?
During the course of a crazy day a series of confusing events unfolds. Count Almaviva has lost
interest in his wife and is intent on seducing Susanna. She and Figaro conspire with the Countess to
outwit him and to teach him a lesson in fidelity but his young page, Cherubino, inadvertently upsets
the carefully laid plans, and relationships are severely tested. All of this is brought to life by Mozart’s
music of consummate grace, wit and joyous invention, with Da Ponte’s sparklingly adroit libretto.
This recreation of John Cox’s much admired 2005 production will be conducted by Garsington
Opera’s Artistic Director, Douglas Boyd, and designer Robert Perdziola will adapt his elegant
18th century designs for the Wormsley stage. The cast includes Joshua Bloom (Leporello, Don
Giovanni, 2012) as Figaro and Jennifer France (Marzelline in Fidelio, 2014) as Susanna, with the
award-winning baritone Duncan Rock making his Garsington debut as the Count.
Performances
2, 4, 8, 10, 17 June & 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16 July
Start time 5.25pm
Pre-performance Talk
Sunday 4 June, 4pm
Figaro
Joshua Bloom
Susanna
Jennifer France
Count
Duncan Rock
Countess
Kirsten MacKinnon
Cherubino
Marta FontanalsSimmons
Bartolo
Stephen Richardson
Marcellina
Janis Kelly
Basilio
Timothy Robinson
Curzio Alun Rhys-Jenkins
Conductor
Director
Associate Director
Designer
Lighting Designer
Douglas Boyd
John Cox
Bruno Ravella
Robert Perdziola
Mark Jonathan
Garsington Opera Orchestra & Chorus
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Left: Le nozze di Figaro, 2010
Pelléas et
Mélisande
Claude Debussy
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P
rince Golaud finds a mysterious young woman in the forest and makes her his wife. Returning
with her to his kingdom of shadows and secrets, a dangerous love triangle emerges as she
grows perilously close to his brother, Pelléas.
The only opera completed by Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande evokes a claustrophobic environment in
which a world beyond hardly exists. It is shot through with shimmering beauty and iridescent colours,
creating an opera of intense hypnotic allure.
Michael Boyd and Tom Piper (director and designer of Eugene Onegin, 2016) return with Jac van
Steen (Intermezzo, 2015), who conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in its Garsington debut.
Jonathan McGovern and Andrea Carroll make their Garsington debuts in the title roles.
Performances
16, 18, 22, 25, 27 June & 1, 7 July
Start time 5.55pm
Pre-performance Talk
Sunday 18 June, 4.30pm
Pelléas
Jonathan McGovern
Mélisande
Andrea Carroll
Golaud
Paul Gay
Arkel
Brian BannatyneScott
Geneviève
Susan Bickley
Conductor
Director
Designer
Lighting Designer
Jac van Steen
Michael Boyd
Tom Piper
Malcolm Rippeth
Philharmonia Orchestra & Garsington
Opera Chorus
Sung in French with English supertitles
IL TURCO IN ITALIA
Gioachino Rossini
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P
rosdocimo, a toiling poet searching for inspiration, finds his muse in the flirtatious Fiorilla,
an advocate of free and unfettered love, and her devoted husband Geronio, who is more
interested in fidelity and a quiet life. When a dashing Turkish stranger is added to the mix, the
stage is set for a comedy with a deliciously layered plot full of games that go wrong and lessons to
be learned. With a glittering musical score and wittily observed characters, this complex and subtle
farce tells a tale of unrequited love and confused identities.
Martin Duncan’s joyous 2011 production returns to Garsington, conducted by Rossini expert David
Parry. Returning artists include Sarah Tynan (The Creation, 2016), Luciano Botelho, Quirijn de
Lang and Katie Bray (L’italiana in Algeri, 2016) and Mark Stone (Robert Storch, Intermezzo, 2015).
Performances
26, 29 June & 2, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15 July
Start time 5.55pm
Pre-performance Talk
Thursday 29 June, 4.30pm
Fiorilla
Narciso
Zaida
Selim
Don Geronio
Prosdocimo
Sarah Tynan
Luciano Botelho
Katie Bray
Quirijn de Lang
Geoffrey Dolton
Mark Stone
Conductor
Director
Designer
Lighting Designer
Movement Director
David Parry
Martin Duncan
Francis O’Connor
Mark Jonathan
Nick Winston
Garsington Opera Orchestra & Chorus
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Left: Il turco in Italia, 2011
SILVER
B I RC H
Roxanna Panufnik
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T
his exciting new commission from leading UK composer, Roxanna Panufnik, with a libretto from
writer Jessica Duchen, is a celebration of music, drama, poetry and dance and brings together
professional singers with 180 members of the local community. Designed to appeal to everyone from
age 8 upwards, Karen Gillingham, Creative Director of Garsington Opera’s Learning & Participation
programme, will direct and Douglas Boyd will conduct.
Inspired by the timeless themes of war and relationships affected by it, the opera draws upon Siegfried
Sassoon’s poems and the testimony of a British soldier, who served recently in Iraq, to illustrate the
human tragedies of conflicts past and present.
Jack joins the army to silence his father’s taunts for his love of poetry. Joined by his brother Davey, their
devastating experiences turn the whole family’s world upside down. Supported by the power of their
mother’s love as she tries to hold the family together they, like Sassoon himself, seek to help those
whose suffering they share.
Tickets £60 adults (£30 children under 18). This includes a suggested voluntary donation of £50 (£25
children) towards our Learning & Participation programme.
Performances
28, 29, 30 July Start time 7.30pm
There will be no interval. Pre-performance picnics available.
Jack
Anna
Simon
Siegfried Sassoon
Mrs Morrell
Davey
Sam Furness
Victoria Simmonds
Darren Jeffery
Bradley Travis
Sarah Redgwick
James Way
Conductor
Director
Designer
Composer Librettist
Movement Director Douglas Boyd
Karen Gillingham
Rhiannon Newman Brown
Roxanna Panufnik
Jessica Duchen
Natasha Khamjani
Garsington Opera Orchestra
Sung in English with supertitles
Tickets on sale from Tuesday 14 March 2017,
available online at garsingtonopera.org
or call 01865 361636.
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P re - season E V E N T S
Led by specialist scholars, with members of the cast, creative teams and with excerpts performed by singers
from the Alvarez Young Artists’ Programme, our Insight Talks are designed to offer historical context and
musical insight to enhance your enjoyment of the operas in the summer.
Tuesday 4 April 2017 Le nozze di Figaro Insight Talk
Leonard Wolfson Auditorium, Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford OX2 6UD
Tuesday 25 April 2017 Semele Study Event & Insight Talk
49 Queen’s Gate Terrace, London, SW7 5PN
4pm-6pm Study Event
What is Semele? An opera? An oratorio? Including Handel’s theatre, his music and the opera business in
18th century London. An in-depth guide by experts Sarah Lenton and John Snelson.
6pm Light refreshments following the lectures
7pm-8pm Insight Talk
Wednesday 3 May 2017 Pelléas et Mélisande Insight Talk
Leonard Wolfson Auditorium, Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford OX2 6UD
Wednesday 10 May 2017 Il turco in Italia Insight Talk
Killik & Co., 46 Grosvenor Street, London W1K 3HN
All Insight Talks will start at 7pm with guests invited to join us for a glass of wine from 6.30pm.
PRE-PERFORMANCE EVENTS
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Pre-performance Talks Garsington Opera Pavilion £12
Designed to enrich your experience of the opera to follow, Pre-performance Talks involve key members
of the Garsington Opera artistic and production teams in an informal discussion centred on the creative
processes of the productions, followed by questions from the floor. Talks are held in the Opera Pavilion
and last approximately 45 minutes.
Saturday 3 June
Sunday 4 June
Sunday 18 June
Thursday 28 June
4.30pm
4pm
4.30pm
4.30pm
Semele
Le nozze di Figaro
Pelléas et Mélisande
Il turco in Italia
Walled Garden Recitals
For the first time we are delighted to present short recitals by members of the Garsington Opera Alvarez
Young Artists’ Programme each Saturday (weather permitting) in the Walled Garden’s Green Theatre.
These free, informal performances offer opportunities for our young singers to explore new repertoire and
bring music to the gardens for your enjoyment.
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Highlight of the
operatic year
The Evening Standard
A N E V E N I N G AT G A R S I N G T O N O P E R A
Arrival Guests are encouraged to arrive from 3.30pm to enjoy the gardens and grounds of the
Wormsley Estate before performances begin in the early evening.
Make the most of your visit Enjoy traditional afternoon tea overlooking the famous Wormsley
Cricket Ground in the Long Room Restaurant; take a short journey in a complimentary vintage bus
to the beautiful 18th century Walled Garden, a favourite spot for a glass of champagne; admire the
spectacular views across the Deer Park and lake from the Champagne Bar or explore the exquisite
flower borders of the Opera Garden.
Interval The dinner interval lasts approximately eighty-five minutes. During this time the Long
Room Restaurant offers a range of sumptuous dining options using locally sourced ingredients. If
guests prefer to picnic they are welcome to order a hamper or bring their own. Complimentary scout
porters and chauffeured golf buggies are available to assist with carrying picnics.
Performances start in the early evening. As the light begins to fade at the end of the interval,
performances resume ending by 10.15pm when candlelit pathways and the glow of the Opera
Pavilion light the way across the spectacular Chiltern landscape.
Getting to Wormsley Under an hour from London (30 minutes from Oxford) by car and 25
minutes by train with transfer buses and taxis available.
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dining A T G A R S I N G T O N O P E R A
The long dinner interval is a feature of an evening at Garsington Opera.
Dine in the restaurant Enjoy a delicious three-course dinner with menus designed by Michelin
Star chef, Michael North. Our spectacular Long Room Restaurant, designed by Robin Snell,
architect of the Opera Pavilion, has panoramic windows providing stunning views across the
splendid Wormsley Cricket Ground.
Bring a picnic Take in the view across the Chiltern Hills from the upper terrace of the Opera
Pavilion, enjoy a private party in the Granary looking out over the Opera Garden, reserve a picnic
tent in the Deer Park or find a table in one of our shared tents.
Order a picnic Prepared picnics are served in a wicker hamper and include a delicious selection
of gourmet picnic favourites. A table overlooking the Cricket Ground is reserved free-of-charge
for those ordering a picnic, or guests can choose to book a tent in the Deer Park for a small
additional charge.
Pre-performance Take traditional afternoon tea in the Long Room Restaurant or enjoy
champagne and canapés at the Champagne Bar.
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B O O K I N G I N F O R M AT I O N
Please return your booking form by the relevant membership deadline in order to receive
confirmation of dates and tickets.
Ingrams Circle, Constellation and Patron priority booking deadline
Members of the Ingrams Circle, Constellation of Garsington and Patrons are invited to return
booking forms online or by post by Wednesday 30 November 2016 to be included in their
priority booking allocation.
Special Friend and Friend priority booking deadline
Special Friends and Friends are invited to return booking forms online or by post by Monday
9 January 2017 to be included in their priority booking allocation.
Affiliate Member priority booking
Affiliate Members are invited to book online, by telephone or by post from 10.00am on Tuesday 28
February 2017.
GO<
_ 35 Member priority booking
GO<
_ 35 Members are invited to book online from 10.00am on Tuesday 7 March 2017.
Public booking
Public booking opens online and by telephone from 10.00am on Tuesday 28 March 2017.
B O O K I N G I N F O R M AT I O N
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Members are able to submit their priority booking request electronically via the Garsington Opera
website at priority.garsingtonopera.org. Upon submission, members will receive a confirmation
email. In due course, once allocation is completed, the Box Office will email confirmation of dates
and tickets, with an invitation to provide payment details.
Members wishing to continue to use the traditional paper booking form are very welcome to do so.
They will receive confirmation of their tickets in due course, once allocation is completed.
Guidance
• Please return your booking form online or by post as soon as possible, but please be aware that booking forms
will not be processed until the relevant booking deadline has been reached.
• Some evenings are more popular than others, particularly Saturdays, so we would ask that you specify as many
alternative dates and prices as possible in order that we can process your booking more quickly.
• Ticket allocations are prioritised by membership group and, within that, the date of submission of booking forms.
• If you would like seats allocated next to friends, please ensure both paper booking forms are submitted together,
in the same envelope. If you are submitting your booking form electronically, please specify your seating
requirements in the Notes section of the form.
• Please keep a copy of your booking form for your records. If you are submitting a booking form electronically,
you will receive a confirmation email for your records.
Eugene Onegin, 2016
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B ooking I nformation
Accessibility
Please inform us at the time of booking if you or your guests have restricted
mobility or special requirements. We have a number of Wheelchair spaces
and seats in the Orchestra Stalls and Front Stalls that are accessible with
very few stairs; a lift is available to the first level of the auditorium. There are a
limited number of parking spaces solely for the use of those with accessibility
requirements. These must be booked in advance through the Box Office who will
issue a parking permit. Our Long Room Restaurant has step-free access.
Conditions of sale
Tickets are not refundable. However, subject to availability, tickets may be either
exchanged up to a week before or accepted for resale. All requests must be
received in writing or by email. Garsington Opera’s exchange and resale facility is
subject to a £10 per-ticket administration fee.
If your tickets have been accepted for resale by the Box Office, the original tickets
must be returned before we can begin offering your tickets for resale. Please note
that a resale is never guaranteed and that Garsington Opera reserves the right to
sell any unsold tickets for that performance before returned tickets can be sold.
Reimbursement for resold tickets is made only to the original purchaser. Tickets
may only be sold for the original value.
Customers reselling tickets are responsible for contacting the Box Office if they
would like to know the status of their resale. Unsold returned tickets may be
withdrawn from resale at any time at the original purchaser’s request and/or at
the Management’s discretion.
All tickets are sold subject to the right of the Management to make any alterations
to the published operas, dates or casts which may be necessary owing to illness
or other unavoidable circumstances.
Photography, filming and sound recording of any kind are strictly prohibited. By
entering the Wormsley Estate you agree to being filmed or photographed which
may be used for marketing or promotional purposes.
Privacy notice
By giving Garsington Opera your information you agree to us using the
information you provide in accordance with our privacy policy (garsingtonopera.
org/privacy-policy/). In addition to our supporter newsletter, we would like
to send you information about our events and services. You can opt out of
receiving marketing information at any time, please let us know by writing to us
at Garsington Opera, The Old Garage, Great Milton, Oxford OX44 7NP or by
email to [email protected].
All details correct at time of going to print. Photos: Clive Barda, Mark Douet, Alice Pennefather, Johan Persson, Mike Hoban. Design: Franks and Franks
seating plan & T icket P rices
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Operas
Price band Ⓐ
Mon, Tues, Weds
Price band Ⓑ
Thurs, Fri, Sun
BOXES
£160
£180
£200
REAR STALLS
£105
£115
£135
MIDDLE STALLS
£140
£150
£170
FRONT STALLS
£160
£180
£200
ORCHESTRA stalls
£135
£145
£165
inc. wheelchair platform
Ⓓ Silver Birch ticket prices can be found on page 13
All tickets include a suggested, but non-obligatory, donation of £70.
Price band
Sat
Ⓒ
P erformance diary 2 0 1 7
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Thursday
1 June
Semele
Ⓑ
Sunday
2 July
Il turco in Italia
Ⓑ
Friday
2 June
Le nozze di Figaro
Ⓑ
Monday
3 July
Le nozze di Figaro
Ⓐ
Saturday
3 June
Semele  ♣
Ⓒ
Tuesday
4 July
Semele
Ⓐ
Sunday
4 June
Le nozze di Figaro 
Ⓑ
Wednesday
5 July
Il turco in Italia
Ⓐ
Thursday
8 June
Le nozze di Figaro
Ⓑ
Thursday
6 July
Le nozze di Figaro
Ⓑ
Friday
9 June
Semele
Ⓑ
Friday
7 July
Pelléas et Mélisande
Ⓑ
Saturday
10 June
Le nozze di Figaro ♣
Ⓒ
Saturday
8 July
Il turco in Italia ♣
Ⓒ
Thursday
15 June
Semele
Ⓑ
Sunday
9 July
Le nozze di Figaro
Ⓑ
Friday
16 June
Pelléas et Mélisande
Ⓑ
Monday
10 July
Il turco in Italia
Ⓐ
Saturday
17 June
Le nozze di Figaro ♣
Ⓒ
Tuesday
11 July
Le nozze di Figaro
Ⓐ
Sunday
18 June
Pelléas et Mélisande 
Ⓑ
Thursday
13 July
Il turco in Italia
Ⓑ
Thursday
22 June
Pelléas et Mélisande
Ⓑ
Friday
14 July
Le nozze di Figaro
Ⓑ
Saturday
24 June
Semele ♣
Ⓒ
Saturday
15 July
Il turco in Italia ♣
Ⓒ
Sunday
25 June
Pelléas et Mélisande
Ⓑ
Sunday
16 July
Le nozze di Figaro
Ⓑ
Monday
26 June
Il turco in Italia
Ⓐ
Friday
28 July
Silver Birch
Ⓓ
Tuesday
27 June
Pelléas et Mélisande
Ⓐ
Saturday
29 July
Silver Birch
Ⓓ
Thursday
29 June
Il turco in Italia 
Ⓑ
Sunday
30 July
Silver Birch
Ⓓ
Friday
30 June
Semele
Ⓑ
Saturday
1 July
Pelléas et Mélisande ♣
Ⓒ

Pre-Performance Talk
♣
Walled Garden Recital
A
Price Band
The setting was beautiful, the organisation was faultless,
and the gardens looked spectacular
Audience member, 2016
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Idomeneo, 2016
28
L’italiana in Algeri, 2016
G arsington O pera at Wormsle y
The Old Garage, The Green, Great Milton, Oxford OX44 7NP
Telephone 01865 361636 Email [email protected]
www.garsingtonopera.org