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Un ballo in maschera Giuseppe Verdi

Programme

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ContentsCreative Team and Cast List 4

Orchestra and Chorus List 5

Synopsis 6

A Masked Ball 8Article by Professor Susan Rutherford

Un ballo in maschera: From the archives... 12

The Real Gustav III 14Article by Professor Jeremy Black

An interview with Alison Langer 18

Biographies

Creatives 19

Cast 21

Content editors Chloe Bridgen, Anna PicardDesigned by Olley DesignPrinted by Belmont Press

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Giuseppe Verdi Opera in three actsFirst performed in this version 17 February 1859, Teatro Apollo, RomeSung in Italian with English surtitlesItalian libretto by Antonio SommaNew production for the 2019 Season by Opera Holland ParkWith City of London Sinfonia and the Opera Holland Park Chorus

Conductor Matthew Kofi WaldrenDirector Rodula GaitanouDesigner takisLighting Designer Simon CorderMovement Director Steve EliasFight Director Bret YountSculptor Benedict Romain

The Opera Holland Park Chorus is supported by Angela and Richard Lascelles

Un ballo in maschera

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Let us knowwhat you think#OHPBallo@operahollandpark@operahollandpk

CastAmelia Anne Sophie Duprels Gustavo Matteo LippiAnckarström George von Bergen Oscar Alison LangerMadame Arvidson Rosalind Plowright OBE Ribbing Benjamin BevanHorn John Savournin Cristiano Ross Ramgobin Servant Mike Bradley Vicar Ian Massa-Harris

Répétiteur Alice TurnerChorus Master Richard HarkerAssistant Director Rebecca MeltzerAssociate Conductor Sonia Ben-SantamariaStage Manager Sidsel Pi AndersenDeputy Stage Manager Annette BurnbyAssistant Stage Manager Rachael MurrayLanguage Coach Paola QuagliaChorus Music Répétiteur Mairi GrewarMusic Staff Stuart WildSubtitles Translation Paul Hastie

Audio introduction provided by VocalEyes

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Chorus Soprano Hannah Boxall Susie Buckle Eve Daniell Laura Hudson Emily Kirby-Ashmore Lucy Northwood

Mezzo SopranoLynn Bellamy Lindsay Bramley Caroline Carragher Lara Rebekah Harvey Hyacinth Nicholls Ayaka Tanimoto

Tenor Nicholas Allen Mike Bradley Robert Jeffrey Ian Massa-Harris Robert Tilson Guy Withers Anthony Yates

Bass/Baritone Nathan Bellis Roy Chalmers Julian Chou-Lambert Jonathan Eyers Liam McNally Richard Moore Ben Newhouse-Smith Sindre Øgaard Victor Sgarbi Frank St John Matthew Tilley

Names correct at time of printing

Orchestra Violin IMartin Burgess leaderAnn LovattCharlotte ReidJoan AthertonJeremy MorrisCatalin Chelaru

Violin IIRuth FunnellAmanda BrittonEsther King SmithHelena RuinardTed Barry

Viola Matthew MaguireAlexandros KoustasBecky LowFay Sweet

CelloWilliam SchofieldRachel van der TangJudith Herbert

BassLynda Houghton Paul Sherman

Flute Alison HayhurstDebbie Davis (and pic-colo)

Oboe David ThomasMatthew Draper (andcor anglais)

Clarinet Katherine SpencerRachel Elliott

Bassoon Christopher RawleyStuart Russell

Horn Mark PaineTimothy CaisterStephen SmartClare Lintott

Trumpet Christopher DeaconJohn Young

Tenor TromboneRuth MolinsRory Cartmell

Bass Trombone Paul Lambert

Cimbasso Stephen Wick

Timpani Tristan Fry

Percussion Glyn MatthewsGeoff Boynton

Harp Stephanie Beck

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SynopsisAct I

Several officials are waiting for Gustavo, among them a groupof conspirators led by Horn and Ribbing. Gustavo arrives andexamines the list of guests for the coming ball. He’s elated tosee the name of his secret love – Amelia – but is embarrassedwhen interrupted by her husband, Anckarström. He isGustavo’s friend and advisor, and warns him of a conspiracy.Gustavo refuses to listen. A judge arrives demanding theexpulsion of the fortune-teller Madame Arvidson, but Oscar,Gustavo’s aide, defends her. Gustavo decides to witness the‘witchcraft’ for himself, and proposes they go to see her workincognito.

Gustavo arrives at Madame Arvidson’s before the others. Sheprophesies wealth and status to Cristiano. Gustavo ensuresher prediction comes true by slipping a commission, unseen,into Cristiano’s pocket. The crowd marvels at her powers, butare asked to leave when Arvidson agrees to meet a secretvisitor. Gustavo hides, and is shocked to see Amelia creep in.She wants respite from a secret love which is torturing her andis advised by Arvidson to find a drug which will help her forgether illicit passion. Astonished by Amelia’s revelation, Gustavo,still hiding, vows to be with her when she goes to get the drug.

Amelia slips away and the others arrive, including theconspirators. They wait as the disguised Gustavo has his ownfortune told. Arvidson correctly identifies him as a man whohas ‘lived under the star of Mars’, but refuses to say any more.When pushed by Gustavo, she finally relents and tells him hewill be killed by the man who next shakes his hand. The crowdrefuses Gustavo’s outstretched hand, but when Anckarströmenters he shakes his friend’s hand. Gustavo dismisses theprediction as absurd, and removes his disguise. The crowd isamazed to see Gustavo amongst them, while Horn andRibbing rue another missed opportunity to assassinate him.

Act II

Amelia has ventured out alone to get the drug that Arvidson toldher about. She is surprised by Gustavo, who declares his lovefor her. Unexpectedly Anckarström appears. Amelia hurriedlycovers her face, while her husband warns Gustavo of imminentdanger and urges him to flee. As he escapes, Gustavo urges his friend to escort the veiled woman back to town withoutasking her identity.

The conspirators appear and confront Anckarström. In thestruggle, Amelia’s veil drops and upon seeing her, Anckarströmaccuses his wife of infidelity. He asks Horn and Ribbing to meet him later.

Interval

Act III

Anckarström has resolved to kill Amelia but she protests herinnocence, begging to see their child one last time. Anckarströmrelents, privately declaring that is it Gustavo, not Amelia, whoshould die. Horn and Ribbing arrive, and Anckarström vows tojoin their plot. All three want the prize of killing Gustavo. Toresolve the matter, they agree to cast lots and call Amelia todraw the ‘winning’ name – Anckarström. Oscar arrives withinvitations to the ball. Horn, Ribbing and Anckarström agree this is where the assassination will take place.

Torn between love and duty, Gustavo has resolved to announcehis love for Amelia, and send her and her husband on a foreignposting. Oscar brings an anonymous note warning that anattempt on his life will be made at the ball. At the party,Anckarström tries to learn from Oscar which costume Gustavois wearing. At first the aide refuses, taunting Anckarström, butfinally answers. Meanwhile, Gustavo identifies Amelia and tellsher of the decision he has made. As they say goodbye,Anckarström attacks. Fatally wounded, Gustavo insists thatAmelia is innocent. ●

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Masks fall. They don’t dissolve, or dissipate. Masks fall, they drop, they plunge into space, intonothingness – sometimes with urgent swiftness,

sometimes with infinitesimal, agonising slowness. What isleft behind is often described as ‘naked’ truth or ‘stark’reality: unadorned, uncompromising, fixed. Things as theyare, not as we might wish them to be.

Giuseppe Verdi’s operas were designed around this veryprinciple. The conventions of 19th-century melodramarequired a building of tension towards a final scene ofrevelation, when the protagonists at last see each other intheir true light. In Un ballo in maschera (1859), the maskedball of the title is just such a denouement: a ruler isrevealed as a penitent libertine, a respectable wife as

implicated in adultery, a close friend as an assassin andtraitor. But the whole opera is a series of unmaskings, allsteps towards this ultimate, irrevocable disclosure.

Impatience with disguise – at least, with social hypocrisy –was also part of Verdi’s nature. Writing to a friend, CesareDe Sanctis, in Naples in 1854, Verdi anticipated a lack ofsuccess for La traviata in that city, because ‘your priestsand monks would be afraid to see on stage certain thingsthat they do very well in obscurity – and that it would bemuch better to do in the light of the sun in the publicpiazza in the manner of Diogenes’. A similar issue wouldarise again a few years later with Un ballo in maschera.Indeed, if thematically the opera was all about unmasking,its own history described precisely the reverse process. ➔

A Masked BallProfessor Susan Rutherford on concealment andcensorship in the history of Un ballo in maschera

The Dance by Susan Adams© Bridgeman Studio/Susan Adams

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The original source, Eugène Scribe’s Gustave III, ou Le Balmasqué (1833) – based on the real-life assassination of aSwedish king in 1792 – would gradually be obscured underother identities.

It all began with Verdi’s acceptance of a commission fromthe Teatro San Carlo in Naples in April 1856: a theatre forwhom he had previously composed Alzira (1845) and LuisaMiller (1849). Verdi initially offered a setting ofShakespeare’s King Lear, on which he had been workingwith the poet Antonio Somma. But the theatre could not(or would not) secure one of the only three singers Verdibelieved capable of playing the role of Cordelia: VirginiaBoccabadati, Maria Spezia, or Marietta Piccolomini. Withtime running out, Verdi searched frantically for a differentsubject, and finally alighted on Scribe’s drama.

It was an odd choice – at least, for a composer whofavoured innovation. Scribe’s play had already been set byDaniel Auber in 1833; later adaptations included those byVincenzo Gabussi and Gaetano Rossi (Clemenza di Valois,Venice, 1841), and Saverio Mercadante and SalvadoreCammarano (Il reggente, Turin, 1843). As Somma wouldremark in 1858, the drama would have been acceptedwithout difficulty in ‘Florence, Genoa, Trieste, Milan’. Butnot, it seems, Naples. The censors there demanded somany changes that Verdi withdrew the score and took itinstead to the Teatro Apollo in Rome. There, it had its first,

much acclaimed performance on 17 February 1859. Evenso, the Roman censors ensured that the opera appeared invery different guise to the source material.

Censorship was itself an act of masking: a means ofconcealing any action or opinion that might disruptpolitical, religious or moral authority. With Un ballo inmaschera, both the Neapolitan and Roman censorswanted the opera removed from contemporary time orclose location, so that the plot’s vicissitudes could besuitably distanced from their own communities. ForNaples, Verdi and Somma dutifully retitled the work Unavendetta in domino, moved the action to 17th-centuryPomerania, and ensured that the king (now demoted to aduke) was murdered with a dagger instead of the ‘pistolet’of the original play. For Rome, the opera became Un balloin maschera and was set in Boston in North America at theend of the 1600s.

Did censors really believe that audiences were incapable ofmaking connections between their own lives and whathappened in a fictitious world a long, long way away? Thatspectators were as naive as, say, Fiordiligi and Dorabella inMozart’s Così fan tutte, where a mere change of costumeprevents them from recognising their lovers? In any event,few spectators, even in Italy’s turbulent 1850s, would havehad experience of conspiring for a political assassination.Adultery was a different matter.

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It was, Paolo Mantegazza wrote in 1873, ‘the mostcommon and venial sin we know’, yet subject to harshpenalties under the law. More, he argued, infidelity hadbeen institutionalised by the practice of arrangedmarriages, which were a form of prostitution: many of thejudiciary ‘sell their daughter to a rich husband who cannotlove her, who will never love her, and who will drag herdown to the irresistible necessity of adultery’. And therewas the double standard of how adultery was punished:women could be imprisoned for up to two years, whilemen faced no such sanctions (at least until 1899, and thenonly under certain circumstances such as introducing theirmistress into the family home). Most pernicious of all, menwho killed their erring wives received a much lesserpunishment than for other acts of homicide.

The opera’s heroine, Amelia, is therefore deeply imperilledby Gustavo’s love – even more, by hers for him. TheNeapolitan censors sought to obscure the situation bytransforming Amelia into Anckarström’s sister, rather thanhis wife, and pointedly removed her acknowledgement ofher feelings for Gustavo. Verdi was incensed:

‘For pity’s sake! If the words “I love you” don’t escape fromAmelia, the whole piece remains without life, withoutpassion, without warmth, without that enthusiasm andabandon that are necessary in scenes of this kind: if thesewords are taken away, the lines that follow becomemeaningless, and the duet no longer has any reason forbeing.’

Indeed, Amelia’s reluctant admission is one of the mostsignificant revelations of the opera. Of all the unhappilymarried wives in Verdi’s operas (Lida in La battaglia diLegnano, Lina in Stiffelio, Elisabeth in Don Carlos), Amelia’swillingness to own her emotions, even though she rejectstheir physical consummation, has a striking resonance. Yeta few hours later, facing imminent death at the hands ofher enraged husband, Amelia reveals that perhaps thegreatest love of her life, the one she thinks of in her lastmoments, is her infant son. If her earlier surrender toGustavo embodies sensual passion, the sparse lines of‘Morrò, ma prima in grazia’ as she pleads to see her childetch her pain into the musical fabric. Motherhood savesthe guilty Amelia from the fate Otello inflicts on theinnocent Desdemona. Seeing his wife not as anotherman’s mistress but as the mother of his own son,Anckarström relents. Besides, he reasons, there is anotheroutlet for his vengeance.

Before the fateful masked ball, Gustavo had decided that‘duty and honour’ must separate him from Amelia byarranging a new posting for Anckarström and his wifeabroad. Amid the ensuing festivities, however,Anckarström’s swift, remorseless blade severs that lastattempt to hide illicit love behind social convention. Notjust a mask, but a body falls. What is left is the mostimplacable reality of all – death. ●

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It is the duty of the people to take whatever means ofenfranchisement is presented to it; eternal right takesprecedence even of sweetest mercy. Clemency – notalways wise – may at times be the very type of folly. Let usexecute all the severity of justice when mercy to the tyrantis injury to the people. And though Justice come asVengeance, it never can come too soon? What matter theform, the instrument, the hour?

(From Tyrranicide: Is it Justifiable? by W.E. Adams, 1858)

It will gratify the lovers of pure morals, and the admirers ofvindicated laws, to learn that the Hon. Daniel E Sickles, andthat very pure-minded lady, Mrs Teresa Bagioli Sickles,have settled the domestic difficulty that for a timeinterrupted the course of their connubial felicity. It wasunfortunate that this difficulty should have led to the killingof a man, and the destruction of a woman’s reputation.

(Editorial on the acquittal of Daniel E Sickles of themurder of his wife’s lover, Philip Key, on the grounds of temporary insanity. Washington Evening Star, 16 July 1859)

From the archives...

Masked Ball at the Opera, 1873 (oil on canvas) by Edouard Manet © Bridgeman Images/Bridgestone Museum of Art

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An unpredictable meteor, Gustavus, born into thehouse of Holstein-Gottorp, became King of Swedenin 1771 on the death of his lacklustre father, Adolf

Fredrik. In 1756, Adolf Fredrik had been humiliated througha failed coup that attempted to recover some power forthe crown, which had lost it in the Swedish ‘Age of Liberty’after the death of Charles XII in conflict in 1718. Incontrast, helped by widespread dissatisfaction, the 26-year-old Gustav staged a bloodless coup on 19 August1772. The powers of the Crown were restored, the Senatewas arrested, and the Riksdag (Parliament) wasreconvened.

A new constitution, with greater powers for the crown, wasapproved on 21 August, by which Gustav regained thepower to summon and dismiss the Riksdag, to appointministers and to propose legislation. The preamble of the

new constitution declared that the king had tried ‘topromote the advancement, strength and welfare of thisrealm, as well as the improvement, safety and happinessof our loyal subjects... the present situation of the countryrequires an unavoidable amendment of the FundamentalLaws, adapted to the above-mentioned salutary purpose’.The ‘Age of Liberty’ was dismissed: ‘Under the name of theblessed Liberty, several of our fellow subjects have formedan Aristocracy, so much more intolerable, as it had beenframed under licentiousness, fortified by self-interest andseverities, and finally supported by foreign powers, to thedetriment of the whole society.’

Gustav claimed to be re-establishing the formerconstitution. Touring Sweden in 1768, he had written to his brother from the small settlement of Avesta: ‘AtStockholm, where one lives in plenty, it is impossible to ➔

The Real Gustav III

Professor Jeremy Black looks at the history of Gustav III, King of Sweden, whose assassination providedthe inspiration for Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera

The Coronation of King Gustav III of Sweden (oil on canvas) by CG Pilo © Wikimedia Commons

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imagine the condition of these poor people.’ In 1771, heobserved that the Riksdag was ‘no pleasant spectacle forany but cosmopolitan philosophers’. The political systemof the ‘Age of Liberty’ was indeed regarded as corrupt andprone to sectional interests. Power politics were involved.France backed the coup.

One of the most talented of the enlightened despots,Gustav instigated reforms that included limited religioustolerance, a reduction in the number of capital offences,and the reform of the currency. He sought and welcomedthe praise of the French philosopher, Voltaire. In Rome in1783, Gustav called upon Pius VI and attended aChristmas Mass at St Peter’s to publicise his tolerance ofCatholics in Sweden. In 1786, he both re-organised theAcademy of Letters and founded a Swedish Academydevoted to Swedish language and literature, selecting thefirst members, including the leading poets of the period.

Gustav was a Freemason. Indeed, in 1788, Hugh Elliott, theBritish envoy in Copenhagen, referred to him as an adeptof ‘mysterious arts’ and wrote that he was ‘infatuated’ by‘freemasonry combined with prophecy’, a reference to theIlluminati. However, Gustav paid insufficient attention tothe need to win elite support, and preferred to work withfavourites rather than through his council. After he failed towin widespread support at his first Riksdag under the newconstitution, that of 1778-9, where his proposed religiousand penal reforms were criticised, it is not surprising thathe displayed little interest in his constitutional limitations.

In his later years, Gustav became increasingly interested in a bolder foreign policy. He sought to break the linkbetween his opponents: Denmark, which ruled Norway,

and Russia. Prevented from invading Norway in 1784 byRussian pressure, he attacked Russia in 1788, threateningSt Petersburg. Gustav ignored the constitutionalprohibition on offensive war without the consent of theRiksdag. The war was begun when Swedish soldiersdisguised as Russians staged a border incident atPuumala. However, Gustav’s army was not in good shape,and a naval battle in the Gulf of Finland on 17 July 1788, inwhich the Swedes were hindered by ammunitionshortages, denied Gustav the control which he neededboth for his military operations in Finland and if he was tocarry out an amphibious attack on St Petersburg. Anoverland offensive was mounted without success.Unsurprisingly, the British diplomat Sir Robert Murray Keithdescribed Gustav as the ‘hare-brained heir and imitator ofCharles XII’.

The war, which ended in 1790, precipitated domestictension in Sweden, especially among the Finns. Theopposition of the aristocratic officer corps handicappedGustav, as did the Anjala Confederation, a league ofFinnish officers who declared to Catherine the Great thatthey sought perpetual peace with Russia and would notfight except in defence of their homeland. To break hisopponents, Gustav staged a new constitutional coup in1789. In co-operation with the non-noble Estates, hepushed through an Act of Union and Security, under whichthe crown’s power to introduce laws was considerablyextended. Most public offices were opened to commoners,and peasants’ rights to purchase land were extended.

Russia’s attempt to thwart this policy by supporting theanti-royalist noble opposition failed. The clear relationshipof domestic and international strength was displayed by

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Gustav’s reasonable success in the rest of the war. Underpressure from Gustav’s subsidy treaty with the Turks(1789) and his search for co-operation with Poland,Catherine concluded peace in 1790. Sweden made noterritorial gains but won a recognition of the constitution of1772 and a promise not to interfere in Swedish politics.This promise was fulfilled in the instructions to the newRussian mission to Stockholm.

From 1790, the situation became increasingly volatile.Gustav, who had observed ‘I am myself a democrat’,planned another coup to establish a new constitution witha re-organised legislature. He was greatly affected by theFrench Revolution and made plans to act against France.The British envoy reported him saying in March 1792 that‘popular assemblies were dangerous only when Princesdid not know how to manage them; and on my remarkingthat the manner of transacting the business of theSwedish Diet, in a committee in which His Majesty couldoverawe and direct debates, was a particular advantage tohim, he replied that this would be a great disadvantage toLouis XVI’.

An aristocratic conspiracy led to the mortal wounding ofGustav by Johan Jakob Anckarström that month. Atmidnight on 16 March 1792, at the masked ball in theStockholm opera house, Gustav, identifiable by his breaststar of the Royal Order of the Seraphim, was mortallywounded by gunshot in the lower back. He was able tothwart the uprising but died on 29 March fromsepticaemia. Anckarström fled the opera, but his discardedpistol was found and he was subsequently tried andexecuted.

There is no basis for Anckarström’s operatic presentationby both Auber and Verdi as a victim of Gustav’s love for hiswife, nor for Gustav’s supposed pardon of theconspirators. Anckarström defended himself at his trial byaccusing Gustav of having violated his contract with thenation, and his young noble supporters saw Gustav as adespot while they espoused social equality and popularsovereignty, and praised the French Revolution. The bulk ofthe noble opposition, however, did not share these viewsand were shocked by the assassination.

In 1792, a British caricature, possibly by William Dent,called ‘Royal Masquerade’, or ‘the European PlottersDiscovered and Defeated and the Ex-Princes Crossed intheir Masked Design against Liberty’, showed Gustav III,his belt marked Tyranny, being attacked and killed by asmiling skeleton, while Liberty presided in the character ofDeath. His son and successor, Gustav IV (r. 1792-1809),had a less lurid overthrow. Displaying signs of instability.and with Sweden challenged by the Russian conquest ofFinland, he was deposed in a conspiracy by aristocraticarmy officers and replaced by his uncle Charles XIII.Transported to Germany, he finally died, poor and lonely, inSwiss exile in 1837. ●

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An interview withAlison LangerOscar in Un ballo in maschera

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A lison Langer made her Opera Holland Park main-stage debut in last year’s Young Artistsperformances of La traviata. ‘When I was asked to

audition for Violetta I was slightly dubious, as it isundeniably one of the largest Verdian soprano roles. I knewit would be a huge undertaking… I’ve not worked on acharacter that intensely before, but she deserved to bedissected and for every character trait to be surfaced.’

As part of the 2018 Young Artists programme, Langerperformed in the inaugural Schools’ Matinee to anaudience of 1,000 school children. ‘What was fascinatingabout this particular matinee was how attentive and quietthe children were. The final scene of La traviata is verymoving and usually has the audience hanging ontoVioletta’s every word. I couldn’t believe the silence.’

Langer had already made an impact in the role of YoungHeidi in Sondheim’s Follies at the National Theatre beforecoming to OHP last summer. ‘Follies has opened me up tothe music theatre world, and shown me how dedicatedthese performers are to their craft… It truly has been a‘pinch me’ experience.’ Her character, Heidi Schiller, is anopera singer, and the older version of the character wasplayed first by Dame Josephine Barstow and most recentlyby Dame Felicity Lott. Langer jokes that ‘I have now put arider in my contracts that I only work with Dames!’ On amore serious level, ‘they have both been so supportive ofmy career and have given me so much advice, especiallyspeaking with Dame Jo when I was working on Violetta. Iwas so lucky to get advice from someone who has sungthe role so successfully.’

A Sondheim musical and a Verdi opera might appear to beworlds apart, but Langer sees the similarities. ‘Thededication it takes to understand a Sondheim show is in aleague with understanding a Verdi opera… I don’t think youcan compartmentalise certain genres when it comes toperforming. Vocally it might require a different sort oftraining and technique, but when it comes to the actualperformance, the dedication and the preparation and thegrasp of a character should be approached in exactly thesame way across the board.’

Langer returns to OHP in Rodula Gaitanou’s production ofVerdi’s Un ballo in maschera, singing the role of Oscar,Gustavo’s page boy. ‘Without giving too much away, Ihaven’t had to take on as many of the challenges ofplaying a trouser role as you would think, but knowingRodula’s style of direction, I think Oscar will be a characterto remember! I have been following my husband aroundthe house trying to copy his way of walking and the way hesits. It’s completely different to the way I hold myself, so itwill be a challenge.’

Following her appearance at OHP this summer, Langer has her sights set on more new challenges. ‘I would love to take on some straight acting. It was what I wanted to do before I pursued an operatic career, and I really missstraight text and finding the millions of layers in aShakespearean play. I try to go to see the RoyalShakespeare Company as often as I can and I sit there fortwo hours in absolute awe of the actors. They have myutmost respect.’ ●

Interview by Philippa Peall

Alys Roberts (Annina) and Alison Langer (Violetta) in the Young Artists La traviata, 2018© Robert Workman

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Biographies Creatives

Conductor

Matthew Kofi WaldrenFor OHP: Associate Conductor Gianni Schicchi and Zanetto 2012,Conductor Fantastic Mr Fox 2012, Les pêcheurs de perles 2013, Ilbarbiere di Siviglia 2014, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 2014,2015, 2016, 2017 (and at the Linbury, ROH 2015), Lakmé 2015, Labohème 2016, La rondine 2017, La traviata 2018

Matthew Kofi Waldren was born in Geneva and is of Anglo-Ghanaiandescent. He studied at the RCM‚ Guildhall‚ and read music atFitzwilliam College‚ Cambridge. After a 10-year career as an operasinger, he swiftly gained a reputation as a dynamic young conductor‚receiving plaudits for his collaborative approach and his detailed‚dramatic readings. Matthew Kofi was a ‘Newcomer’ nominee in the2017 International Opera Awards and held the ENO MackerrasFellowship 2016-18. Most recent and upcoming engagementsinclude Texting Heer (Linbury Studio, ROH)‚ The Marriage of Figaro(ENO)‚ Paul Bunyan (ENO at Wilton’s Music Hall)‚ Don Giovanni (OperaNorth)‚ Les Mamelles de Tirésias‚ Gianni Schicchi (RoyalConservatoire of Scotland) and Pelléas Unwrapped (Scottish Opera).His acclaimed studio recording of Will Todd’s Alice’s Adventures inWonderland on Signum Classics entered the official specialistclassical chart at number one. In 2012 he was appointed MusicDirector of the inaugural Christine Collins Young Artists Scheme at Opera Holland Park.

Director

Rodula GaitanouFor OHP: The Queen of Spades 2016, La traviata 2018

Born in Athens, Rodula Gaitanou studied as a violinist beforecontinuing her studies in Musicology at La Sorbonne University inParis. She moved to Opera Staging at Université Paris 8 andundertook Physical Theatre studies at the International TheatreSchool Jacques Lecoq. In recent seasons, Rodula has had numeroussuccesses including L’oracolo/La Mala Vita (Wexford Festival Opera)and Revival Director for Pagliacci/Cavalleria rusticana (Gothenburg

Opera). Other highlights include Ariadne auf Naxos (GothenburgOpera), Guillaume Tell (Victorian Opera) and Lucia de Lammermoor(Opera Hedeland). After a season as resident director on the JetteParker Young Artists Programme at ROH, Rodula maintains an activerelationship with the ROH and frequently returns as revival director.Additionally, she has worked extensively as Associate and RevivalDirector for other major opera houses and festivals across Europe, aswell as establishing a career in Australia.

Designer

takisFor OHP: Die Fledermaus 2016, La rondine 2017, Isabeau 2018, Ilsegreto di Susanna and Iolanta 2019

Greek in origin, takis studied at the Romanian National University ofthe Arts in Bucharest (Costume and Set Design), RADA (TheatreTechnical Arts Course), London College of Fashion (DesignMethodologies) and Helsinki Aalto University (Doctoral studies in theMetasuit). Opera credits include Phaedra (ROH), Semele (RAM),Dialogues des Carmélites (Guildhall), Calisto, Ulysses’ Homecoming,Ottone and The Life on Moon (ETO). Musical credits include Five GuysNamed Moe (Marble Arch Theatre), The Toxic Avenger (Arts Theatre),Flashdance (Oslo and UK tour), Hairspray (UK tour), In the Heights(King’s Cross Theatre), Sweet Charity (Nottingham Playhouse), SideShow (Southwark Playhouse), The LKY Musical (Singapore SandsTheatre), Spring Awakening, Oliver, The Sound of Music, Chicago(Leicester Curve) and The Jungle Book (Citizens Theatre). Theatrecredits include Bacchae (Royal and Derngate), Fear and Am I DeadYet? (Bush Theatre), Napoli (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Measure forMeasure and Clytemnestra (Sherman Theatre), Stovepipe (NationalTheatre) and Ditch (Old Vic). Ballet credits include The Little Mermaid(Finnish National Ballet). Circus credits include Xanadu, My BeautifulCircus and Any Port in a Storm (Giffords Circus). Installations includeToyota Flow (Printworks), Plus or Minus, Suit Yourself (London andHelsinki Design Museum). Future plans include Don Quichotte(Wexford Opera), Don Giovanni (Finnish National Opera) and Optimist (Oslo).

Biographies as printed in June 2019

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Lighting Designer

Simon CorderFor OHP: Don Giovanni 2002, Lucia di Lammermoor and Stiffelio2003, Luisa Miller and Le nozze di Figaro 2004, L’amore dei tre re2007 and 2015, La traviata 2007 and 2018, Iolanta and La Gioconda2008, The Queen of Spades 2016

Simon Corder left school in 1978 and joined the circus as a ring boy.In 2017 he was awarded a Knight of Illumination for the OperaHolland Park production of The Queen of Spades. Work in operaincludes productions for La Scala, ENO, ROH, LA Opera, Teatro Colon,Greek National Opera, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro delle Muse,Ancona, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Teatro Verdi di Pisa, Opéra MunicipalMarseille, The Göteborg Opera, Fisher Center for the Performing Arts,Opera North, Palau des les Arts Valencia, Angers Nantes Opera, ETO,Scottish Opera, WNO and Hobart Baroque. He was nominated for anIrish Times Irish Theatre Award in 2013 for L’arlesiana (WexfordFestival Opera). His work has appeared several times in the West Endand he was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2004 for the RoyalCourt production of Hitchcock Blonde. Simon created lighting for theNight Safari attraction in Singapore, which opened in 1994, the firstnight-time zoo in the world, which has since been visited by over 20million people. He makes his own installation and art works, mostrecently Bough 3 for the 2018 Lumiere Festival in London. Plans in2019 include designing set and lighting for Un ballo in maschera(Oldenburgisches Staatstheater) directed by Rodula Gaitanou.

Choreographer

Steve EliasFor OHP: I gioielli della Madonna 2013, La rondine 2017, La traviata2018

Presenter and Choreographer of Our Dancing Town (BBC 2), TheDancing Club (UK Tour), Orpheus in the Underworld (RAM, HackneyEmpire), The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance (Scottish Opera and D’OylyCarte), Yeoman of the Guard, Iolanthe (BBC Proms, RAH), Ariadne aufNaxos andMirandolina (Garsington), Ariadne auf Naxos (Den Norske

Opera), The Beggar’s Opera (Linbury Theatre, ROH), The AmazingChinese Conjuror (Almeida Opera), Carl Rosas’s Gilbert and Sullivanseason 2007 (Gielgud Theatre), The Merry Widow (UK/South Africa),The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore Carl Rosa (UK/USA),Charlie Peace (CSSD), Cabaret (Mountview), Pinocchio, Wind in theWillows (Old Rep, Birmingham), Something Old, Something New(MTA), Silly Kings (National Theatre of Wales), Faustus, Oliver, PeterPan, Alice in Wonderland and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe(Chichester Festival Theatre), The Phantom Raspberry Blower (StJames Theatre), SwanSong (National Theatre Studio), The Rise andFall of Little Voice (Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds), Dad’s Army (UKTour), Evita, The Addams Family,Whistle Down the Wind and JesusChrist Superstar (CYO).

Fight Director

Bret YountFor OHP: La bohème 2016

Bret is a member of the Equity Fight Directors’ Register, BritishAcademy of Stage and Screen Combat and the Society of AmericanFight Directors. Opera Credits include Boris Gudonov and La bohème(ROH), La damnation de Faust (Glyndebourne), Rodelinda, BenvenutoCellini, Girl of the Golden West, The Mastersingers of Nuremberg,Sweeney Todd, The Pirates of Penzance (ENO) and Don Carlo (GrangePark). Theatre credits include Richard III (Headlong/Bristol Old Vic),Top Girls, Nine Night andMa Rainey’s Black Bottom (NationalTheatre), Caroline, or Change (Hampstead/Playhouse), As You Like It(Regent’s Park), Blueberry Toast and The One (Soho Theatre), The Girlfrom the North Country, The Caretaker, The Master Builder and TheHairy Ape (The Old Vic), The Painkiller, Red Velvet, Harlequinade, TheWinter’s Tale (Garrick Theatre, KBTC), Only the Brave (MillenniumCentre, Cardiff), Bad Jews (Theatre Royal, Haymarket), Cyprus Avenue(Royal Court/Abbey Theatre, Dublin), I See You (Royal Court Upstairs),Private Lives (ATG Tour), Waiting for Godot, Romeo and Juliet and TheEffect (Sheffield Crucible), X, Linda and Violence and Sons (RoyalCourt), The Winter’s Tale (Cheek by Jowl), The Wasp (TrafalgarStudios), First Love is the Revolution (Soho Theatre), Hamlet(Barbican), Richard II (Globe Theatre), Tipping the Velvet (LyricHammersmith) and Medea (Gate Theatre).

Biographies as printed in June 2019

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Cast

Amelia

Anne Sophie DuprelsFor OHP: Violetta La traviata 2001, Magda La rondine 2002, title roleLucia di Lammermoor 2003, title role Luisa Miller 2004, title roleJenůfa 2007, title role Kát’a Kabanová 2009, Mélisande Pelléas etMélisande 2010, Cio-Cio San Madama Butterfly 2013, Giorgetta Iltabarro and title role Suor Angelica 2015, title role Iris 2016, title roleZazà and Elle La voix humaine (in the Elgar Room at the Royal AlbertHall) 2017, title role Isabeau 2018

Anne Sophie Duprels trained at the Conservatoire National Superieurde Musique et de Danse, Paris. Her numerous operatic roles includeKatiusa Risurrezione (Wexford Festival Opera), Theresa BenvenutoCellini (Opera National du Rhin), title role Manon and MélisandePelléas et Mélisande (Teatro Colón), Angelica Suor Angelica, Cio-CioSan Madama Butterfly‚ Salud La vida Breve (Opera North), Lisa PiqueDame and title role Rusalka (Grange Park Opera), title roles Manonand Rusalka (Scottish Opera), title role Jenůfa, Cio-Cio San MadamaButterfly, Marguerite Faust (Opera New Zealand) and title role Thaïs(Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Theater Lübeck, Grange Park Opera).Future plans include Katiusa Risurrezione (Teatro Maggio MusicaleFiorentino) and Cio-Cio San Madama Butterfly (Opéra de Rennes andAngers Nantes Opéra).

Gustavo

Matteo LippiFor OHP: Ruggero La rondine 2017

Tenor Matteo studied with mezzo-soprano Laura Bulian, andattended the CUBEC-Academy of Belcanto in Modena as ascholarship holder in 2011. In 2013 he won the competition Toti dalMonte and debuted as Rodolfo in La bohème. His recentengagements include Alfredo La traviata (Palazzo Pitti) and RodolfoLa bohème (Bolshoi, Teatro San Carlo-Naples, Terme di Caracalla,

Opera in Florence, WNO, NNTT Tokyo). He has also performed asPinkerton Madama Butterfly and Il Duca Rigoletto (Glyndebourne,Dubai, La Fenice, Valencia, Florence), Alfredo La traviata (Oslo, Teatrodell’Opera in Florence) and Roberto Le Villi (Modena). Futureengagements include two major new productions of La bohème (LaFenice and Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow).

Anckarström

George von BergenFor OHP: Marcello La bohème 2009, Ostasio Francesca da Rimini2010, Count Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro 2011, Ford Falstaff 2012,Belcore L’elisir d’amore 2013, Steward Flight 2015, CorneliusIsabeau 2018

A recent ENO Harewood Artist, George von Bergen studied at theUniversity of Bristol, RAM and NOS in London, going on to win theRoyal Overseas League singing competition. George’s numerousoperatic roles include Sharpless Madame Butterfly, Marcello Labohème, Zurga The Pearl Fishers (ENO), Enrico Lucia di Lammermoor(Danish National Opera), Renato Un ballo in maschera (West GreenHouse), title role Hamlet (Croatian National Opera), title role DonGiovanni (ETO), title role Eugene Onegin (Mid Wales Opera) and NedKeene Peter Grimes (La Scala and Teatro Regio, Turin). George hasalso performed roles at Garsington, Wexford and Longborough, andrecently worked as cover Redburn Billy Budd (ROH).

Biographies as printed in June 2019

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Oscar

Alison LangerFor OHP: Edith The Pirates of Penzance (Inspire) 2015, Violetta Latraviata (Young Artists Performance) 2018

British soprano Alison Langer studied at the Guildhall. Engagementsinclude a Whistlestop Tour (Opera North), Musetta La bohème (IfordArts)‚ Bridesmaid Le nozze di Figaro (Glyndebourne), Young HeidiFollies (National Theatre), Lisette La rondine (Opera in the Open‚Dublin)‚ Norina I pazzi per progetto‚ title role Erodiade‚ The CountessThe Cunning Peasant and New Queen Snow (The Opera Story). Alisonis grateful to be the recipient of a Richard Angas Memorial Award.

Madame Arvidson

Rosalind Plowright OBEFor OHP: Rosa Mamai L’arlesiana 2003, La Zia Principessa SuorAngelica 2015, The Countess The Queen of Spades 2016

One of the most celebrated artists of our time, Rosalind PlowrightOBE has, since winning the 1979 Sofia Competition, appeared at theworld’s great houses, including the ROH, Metropolitan Opera, ParisOpera, La Scala, Verona Arena and the Vienna State Opera, singingopposite José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.Recordings include La forza del destino conducted by GiuseppeSinopoli and Il trovatore conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini. Nowsinging as a mezzo-soprano, recent engagements have included TheOld Baroness Vanessa (Glyndebourne), Mrs Sedley Peter Grimes(Palau de les Arts, Valencia), Contessa di Coigny Andrea Chénier(ROH), Mamma Lucia Cavalleria Rusticana (Gothenburg Opera) andMadame de la Haltière Cendrillon (Angers Nantes Opéra).

Ribbing

Benjamin BevanFor OHP: Zaretsky Eugene Onegin 1996, Hanezo L’amico Fritz andCristiano Un ballo in maschera 2000, Geronte di Ravoir ManonLescaut 2019

Benjamin Bevan originally worked in the wine trade before studyingvoice at the Guildhall. His operatic roles include Marcello La bohème,Lescaut Manon Lescaut, Fleville and Fouquier-Tinville Andrea Chénierand Riccardo I Puritani (Scottish Opera), Sprecher Die Zauberflöte andHenry Cuffe Gloriana (ROH), Ferryman Curlew River (Opéra de Dijon),Lescaut Boulevard Solitude (Royal Danish Opera and WNO), RoderickUsher Usher House (WNO), The Speaker The Magic Flute, NotaryIntermezzo, Der Haushofmeister Capriccio (Garsington) and BaronDouphol La traviata (ENO).

Horn

John SavourninFor OHP: Director/Major General The Pirates of Penzance(Inspire) and Immigration Officer Flight 2015, Colline La bohème2016, Leporello Don Giovanni 2017, Sante Il segreto di Susanna2019

John Savournin studied with a scholarship at Trinity College ofMusic, where he was awarded the Founder’s Prize for Excellenceand the Paul Simms Opera Prize. Recent projects have includedSarastro The Magic Flute, Angleotti Tosca, Armchair/Tree L’enfantet les Sortilèges, Leporello Don Giovanni, Alidoro La Cenerentola,Peter Quince A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Schaunard Labohème (Opera North), Second Gunman Kiss Me, Kate (OperaNorth and WNO), Alidoro La Cenerentola (Scottish Opera) and The King Eight Songs for a Mad King.

Biographies as printed in June 2019

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Cristiano

Ross RamgobinFor OHP: Kuligin Kát’a Kabanová 2017

Ross trained at RAM and the National Opera Studio.Engagements have included The Protector Written On Skin(Melos Sinfonia), First Mate Billy Budd and Rambashi TheFirework Maker’s Daughter (ROH), Demetrius A MidsummerNight’s Dream (Israeli Opera), title role Owen Wingrave (Aldeburghand Edinburgh Festivals), Belcore L’elisir d’amore (VerbierFestival), Pallante Agrippina (Brisbane Baroque, GöttingenFestival), Masetto Don Giovanni (Angers Nantes Opera), FigaroThe Marriage of Figaro and Grosvenor Patience (ETO), TheCounsel Trial by Jury (BBC Proms) and Yuri The Ice Break(Birmingham Opera Company). Future engagements includeGaveston Lessons in Love and Violence (St Petersburg), TheProtector Written On Skin (Paris, Vienna), Moralès Carmen andGuglielmo Così fan tutte (WNO).

Biographies as printed in June 2019