Return to Turnage‟s First

Triumph

News No. 3 Spring/Summer 2011

An Unseen but all-seeing Presence MTW‟s Press Consultant Faith

Wilson interviews the man who

captures all our productions

through the eye of a lens

If opera and classical music photography has a

gold standard, Clive Barda is surely its

principle exemplar. For over forty years, his dynamic images have captured some the greatest names in classical music, and have

provided a vivid record of successive productions by all of Britain‟s leading opera companies.

Clive Barda is, unquestionably, the doyen of performance photographers, and Music Theatre Wales counts itself fortunate to have

him as its official photographer – a relationship which dates back to the company‟s production of Michael Berkeley‟s opera Jane

Eyre in 2000 – indeed, who amongst MTWs followers will forget his moody, allusive close-ups of a tightly-corseted Natasha Marsh

as the opera‟s eponymous heroine? (Continued on page 2)

As a composer, Mark-Anthony Turnage

has an uncanny knack of making an

impact. This was all too evident in

February when the Royal Opera House

premiered his latest opera Anna Nicole,

a production that it would not be

unfair to describe as a smash hit in

operatic terms and one that certainly

made the headlines in broadsheets and

tabloids alike.

Every bit as brilliant and provocative is

Turnage‟s first operatic venture, Greek

which we will be taking on tour in a new

co-production with Theatr Brycheiniog

this summer and autumn. It made a

sensational impact when it was first

staged at the Munich Biennale in June

1988 despite Turnage being a relatively

unknown composer at the time. Within

two years of its German premiere, the

opera travelled to the Edinburgh

Festival, transferred to the screen in an

award-winning film version by the BBC

and made the Laurence Oliver Awards

shortlist following its London staging by

English National Opera - quite a feat!

Based on the play of the same name by

S t e v en Be r ko f f , Gr ee k i s a

contemporary re-telling of the Oedipus

myth set in the East End of London.

Turnage has spoken of the “exhilarating

shock” he felt on first encountering

Berkoff‟s work. “His combination of

poetry, humour and physical theatre is

incendiary” he says, adding that

Berkoff‟s language “has exactly the right

combination of high-flown lyricism and

earthy, everyday speech - a heady

cocktail of Shakespeare and Cockney”.

From these ingredients Turnage

created a ground-breaking work: an

opera, yes but also a robust piece of

physical theatre fizzing with raw energy

and pungent melancholy.

Full Tour Dates on page 4

2

To find out what factors shaped his career and what excites

him as a photographer, I meet him on a wintry February

afternoon at London‟s Garrick Club, where he‟s perfectly at

one with his august surroundings – immensely affable, tweed-

suited and sporting the trademark bow-tie.

A career as a professional photographer, it seems, arrived

almost by chance: as a young man he doubled working in the

City by day and studying for a Modern Languages degree by

night. And yet, dig deeper and you see that there‟s a steely

determination there, and a capacity for hard work which

transformed the purest strokes of luck into golden

opportunities. With twinkling eyes he recalls his „Damascene

moment‟ – a chance encounter in Spain with a young woman,

the production secretary of a West Country lifestyle

magazine. “She asked me to photograph the harpist Susan

Drake for the magazine and I remember that I took them with

a Canon Canonet (my first camera, which my mother had

given me for my 21st birthday) much loved, but no more than

a tourist camera really”.

It was the beginning of a series of regular assignments with the

magazine, and of rapid camera upgrades. The Susan Drake

photos reached the marketing desk of Argo and, hey presto,

the classical music recording company commissioned a series

of album covers.

The real turning point, however, came in 1970 with an

altogether starrier chance meeting with Daniel Barenboim

backstage at the Festival Hall. With a characteristic

combination of chutzpah and ambition, Clive persuaded

Barenboim to spare the time for a photo shoot – and the die

(Continued from page 1)

was cast. It led to regular work with EMI and gave him access

to “all the most amazing names in the world of classical music

of the time” including, notably, Yehudi Menuhin and Jacqueline

du Pré.

But no opera yet?

“That came in 1974. I was taking photos of an orchestral

rehearsal in the Crush Bar of the Royal Opera House and

there was an opera dress rehearsal taking place in the main

auditorium. I was invited to attend.”

Interestingly, he doesn‟t remember what that first opera was,

but he certainly remembers the next one – John Copley‟s

classic production of La bohème with marvelously detailed set

designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman and a young José Carreras as

Rodolfo. His record of the production cemented his

relationship with the Royal Opera House and soon he was to

become the photographer of choice for many other British

companies.

I wondered what it is that engages him, that makes the

difference between a very good photo and one that leaps off

the page? I‟m thinking here of his electrifying portrait of

Simon Rattle - fist clenched and all of a roar as he urges his

players on - which graces the cover of Clive‟s book

Performance!. I‟m thinking, too, of his iconic photograph of a

Dame Joan Sutherland as Lucia di Lammermoor, in bloodstained

nightdress and full lamentation, or of the way he has so

perfectly captured Natalie Dessay‟s urchin antics in La Fille du

Regiment. The list is endless.

“I want to be creatively stimulated by what I see on stage, and

Jane E

yre

Dan

iel B

arenboim

and Jac

quelin

e d

u P

ré

3

of course it‟s important to have a rapport with the artists and

productions I‟m photographing”.

But it‟s not just the personal chemistry that makes a

difference. He needs to know each opera he photographs like

the back of his hand so that he can anticipate and capture

crucial moments and key characters.

When it comes to productions of contemporary opera –

Music Theatre Wales‟s stock-in-trade – they are often an

unknown quantity until the vital days in the theatre leading up

to the first night. That‟s why you will see Clive Barda in the

run-up to a new MTW production sitting, listening, observing

intently and documenting two, three and even four rehearsals

leading up to the first night.

Asked what are his most memorable Music Theatre Wales

productions, he immediately singles out Michael Berkley‟s Jane

Eyre for its hall-of-mirrors setting, Ace McCarron‟s

atmospheric lighting and for Natasha Marsh‟s grave,

concentrated performance as Jane.

He remembers, too, the madcap eccentricity of Lynne

Plowman‟s second opera, House of the Gods and, more

recently, the travails and triumphs of that other Michael

Berkley opera, For You, which he documented faithfully and

vividly during its protracted journey to the stage.

And despite the scores of other productions he must have

covered in the meantime, there‟s something he remembers

about each and every one of MTW productions over the last

ten years, because he‟s become like so many of us who work

regularly with the company – a member of the family.

House

of th

e G

ods

For

You

4

Glass Connections Continue

GREEK TOUR

DATES

Summer / Autumn 2011

BRECON

Theatr Brycheiniog

Saturday 2 July

7.30pm

CHELTENHAM FESTIVALS

Parabola Arts Centre

Thursday 7 July

8pm

BUXTON FESTIVAL

Opera House

Thursday 14 & Monday 25 July

7.15pm

EDINBURGH

Traverse Theatre

In collaboration with

Scottish Opera

Thursday 1 & Friday 2 September

7.30pm

OXFORD

Playhouse

Tuesday 6 September

7.30pm

BASINGSTOKE

The Anvil

Wednesday 21 September

7.45pm

MOLD

Clwyd Theatr Cymru

Sunday 25 September

7.30pm

ABERYSTWYTH

Arts Centre

Tuesday 11 October

7.30pm

HUDDERSFIELD

Lawrence Batley Theatre

Wednesday 26 October

7.30pm

NEWPORT

The Riverfront

Thursday 10 November

7.30pm

Another recipient of a Creative Wales

Award last November was our friend

Gerald Tyler a member of the In the

Penal Colony cast.

In his inimitable way, Gerald outlines his

plans to use the award to “behave

more like the artist I strive to be and

less like the producer that I have, out of

necessity, become. By working alone,

without deadlines and then with other

artists I respect and admire for their

bravery, I hope to re-acquire some of

my more youthful idealism and tally it

with what craft and experience I have

accrued in more „mature‟ years”.

We wish both Michael and Gerald a

productive year and look forward to

sharing with them the fruits of their

labours.

New Philip Glass

Commission ...

As our tour of Philip Glass‟s In the Penal

Colony came to an end last autumn, we

were thrilled to hear that the

composer has agreed to write a new

chamber opera expressly for the

company, based on the Kafka novel, The

Trial. The opera will go into production

in 2013 - the year we celebrate our 25th

anniversary.

MTW‟s relationship with Glass dates

back to 1989 when we gave the

European premiere of The Fall of the

House of Usher - a production the

composer greatly admired. In a BBC

Radio 3 interview prior to the opening

of Penal Colony Glass reiterated his

affection and respect for the company.

“I‟ve enjoyed working with Music

Theatre Wales,” he commented,

“they are wonderful to work with

and they seem to like these „odd‟

pieces of mine and do them very

well”. He has described his pocket

operas as “neutron bombs - small

but packing a powerful punch”. We

look forward to receiving the score

of The Trial in a package clearly

labelled „handle with care‟!

… plus a recording Watch out, too, for the first publicly

released recording of In the Penal

Colony made by Glass‟s own music

label, Orange Mountain Music. The

Music Theatre Wales Ensemble is

conducted by Michael Rafferty with

Omar Ebrahim as The Officer and

Michael Bennett as The Visitor.

Mic

hae

l R

affe

rty

(Pho

to: C

live B

arda

- w

ho

els

e?)

Finding Space

to Create ...

Over the last few months there have

been fewer sightings than usual in the

office of one of our Artistic

Directors, conductor Michael

Rafferty.

This is not to say that he has been

shirking his duties though - far from

it. Indeed he has been out and about

more than ever (just not necessarily

in Cardiff Bay) and this can be

attributed to the decision by Arts

Council of Wales last November to

offer him a Creative Wales Award.

As the title of the award suggests, the

purpose of these awards is to make it

possible for individual artists to take

time out and find space in their life to

„create‟. It‟s the equivalent of what in

many other industries is known as

R&D - research and development.

As a result of the award Michael has

been travelling across the UK and

Europe meeting with internationally

e s t a b l i s h e d e n s e m b l e s a n d

conductors as he researches and

observes ways of presenting new

m u s i c t h r o u gh i m a g i n a t i v e

programming and presentation. At

the same time he has been refining

and expanding his conducting

technique beyond his current

expertise in contemporary chamber

opera.

5

A Soothing Balm - and

More

It‟s a small phrase and it‟s frequently relegated to relatively

small print, but never underestimate the importance of the

words “A co-production with ...” so often to be seen on

websites and print in today‟s world of the arts. Securing such

a relationship often marks the transition from the dream to

stage a new work or production to the reality.

But what is the role of a co-producer? We caught up with

Andy Eagle, Director of Theatr Brycheiniog to find out what

the venue brings to the table as co-producer of Julie, For You

and our forthcoming tour of Greek.

“I have been at Brycheiniog since 2000 and always wanted the

venue to enter into co-production work” says Andy. “At first I was only able to offer companies such as Music Theatre Wales a

complimentary production week and rehearsal time from which they could launch shows. This was the case with Lynne

Plowman‟s opera Gwyneth and the Green Knight. However, when Arts Council of Wales (ACW) awarded us funding specifically to

be used for production investment we were also in a position to offer a cash investment”.

So why support Music Theatre Wales? “New work is the lifeblood of the genre it works in” responds Andy. “Music Theatre

Wales truly strive to be original, creative and push the boundaries of the artform. That, their tenacity, and the sheer bloody

mindedness of the artistic team to be true to their artistic principles is something I admire greatly. I also applaud the management

team. The energy they have is remarkable and a model example”.

From Music Theatre Wales‟s point of view, Theatr Brycheiniog is a fabulous setting in which to launch a new production. There

are few in the company who don‟t enjoy escaping to the country for the last week of rehearsals. The theatre fulfils all our

technical requirements with a major added bonus - a picturesque canal-side setting against a beautiful rural backdrop. It‟s a very

effective balm to the jittery tension that inevitably builds among cast and crew as the opening night approaches.

Let Theatr Brycheiniog‟s special aura cast its spell on you. Join us for the opening night of Greek on Saturday 2 July. An afternoon

in the hills of mid Wales followed by a pre performance meal at the theatre and then the opening night of our tour. Can‟t be bad -

can it?

Many congratulations to Andy on his recent appointment as Chief Executive of Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff. We wish him every success as

he takes up his new role and hope to continue our working relationship with him there.

Carried along on a Cloud of Appreciation .... Your feedback to In the Penal Colony translated into a word cloud. Enjoy!

6

Mutual Appreciation Society News from some companies and organisations whose work we enjoy - and which we hope

you‟ll enjoy too.

Keeping

in Touch Follow us on Facebook and

Twitter www.facebook.com/musictheatrewales

www.twitter.com/mtw_tweets

Alternatively we‟re more than happy

keep in touch by email or good old

fashioned post. To sign up to our

mailing list either contact us directly at

the office or visit our website.

Music Theatre Wales

Pascoe Buildings

54 Bute Street

Cardiff CF10 5AF

029 2049 8471

enquiries@musictheatrewales.org.uk

www.musictheatrewales.org.uk

Royal Welsh College of Music

and Drama opens its doors to all The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in our home

city of Cardiff will be opening its doors to a state of the art

suite of facilities this June comprising an intimate 160-seat

courtyard theatre, a 420 seater recital hall and a stunning

glass-walled public café bar overlooking the beautiful

grounds of Bute Park.

The opening season includes a residency by Welsh National

Opera, a recital by the winner of the 2005 Cardiff Singer of

the World Rosenblatt Recital Prize, Andrew Kennedy

accompanied by Malcolm Martineau, The Opera Group/

BCMG‟s production of Luke Bedford‟s Seven Angels and an

eagerly awaited visit by the eccentric but unforgettable

Penguin Café.

Further information from www.rwcmd.ac.uk Tel: 029 2039 1391

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and

The Opera Group join forces Luke Bedford‟s long awaited first opera Seven Angels premieres next month at Birmingham‟s

CBSO Centre (17 June) after which the The Opera Group/Birmingham Contemporary Music

Group production tours to Cardiff, Glasgow, Brighton, Oxford and London culminating in a

performance at the Latitude Festival.

Inspired by Paradise Lost, the opera interprets the themes of John Milton‟s masterpiece bringing

to it pertinent resonances for a modern audience facing up to the urgent challenges of a

changing climate and ever-depleting resources.

Featuring seven singers and chamber orchestra, Luke Bedford‟s music is dark but seductive,

tense but lyrical, integrating both solo voices and choral textures.

Further information from www.theoperagroup.co.uk www.bcmg.org.uk

Penguin Cafe

Andre

w K

ennedy

(Photo

: B

enja

min

Eal

ove

ga)