SAFFRON OPERA GROUP PRESENTS RICHARD STRAUSS’S DER ROSENKAVALIER
OUTSTANDING CAST OF RISING AND ESTABLISHED STARS
At SAFFRON HALL on SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 10 2023 at 2.30pm

‘Intense and shattering… Who would wish to go to Bayreuth after they can go to Saffron Corridor?’ Michael Tanner – The Spectator

After massively acclaimed performances of main Wagnerian operas the Ring cycle, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger, and Tannhäuser, and different works by Mozart and Stravinsky, Saffron Opera Group now turns its consideration to a live performance efficiency of one of the widespread however demanding operatic comedies within the repertoire: Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier.

The 1911 opera employs Wagnerian musical language to inform the story of Octavian, a younger eighteenth-century nobleman who turns into the love rival of a pompous and boorish outdated baron. Though a riotous comedy of cross-dressing and mistaken identities, the work additionally has a bittersweet tang due to the participation of the Marschallin, a classy older girl who step by step steels herself to surrender Octavian in order that he could discover love elsewhere.

Taking the pivotal position of the Marschallin is British soprano Sarah Redgwick. A singer with all of the richness of sound and vocal energy which the position calls for, Redgwick has appeared with many UK corporations (together with English Nationwide Opera, Opera North, Opera Holland Park, Scottish Opera) and at a number of worldwide venues, together with the Théâtre de Châtelet and the Gran Teatre del Liceu. ‘She has energy to burn, each musically and dramatically,’ stated Opera Journal.

Within the position of Octavian is mezzo Catherine Carby, (of whom The Unbiased wrote ‘That is world class singing’) who just lately triumphed as a passionate and commanding Waltraute in Götterdämmerung at Longborough Opera. She has additionally sung different main Wagnerian roles for the Royal Opera and Teatro Sao Carlos, Lisbon, and has carried out Octavian each in her native Australia and for Scottish Opera.

Andrew Greenan returns to the corporate because the blustering and blundering Baron Ochs. A specific favorite with Saffron Opera audiences for his large sound and incisive dramatic perception revealed in principal roles in Die Meistersinger, Parsifal, and Tannhäuser, he was additionally referred to as ‘irresistible… and spellbinding’ by The Guardian for his efficiency as The Wanderer in Siegfried. The checklist of homes at which he has carried out vital roles contains The Metropolitan Opera, The Royal Opera, and La Scala.

Finishing the principal forged is younger British soprano Lucy Corridor as Octavian’s ingénue love-interest Sophie. Famous for her ‘glittering coloratura and untiring prime notes’ (Bachtrack), she has sung for English Nationwide Opera, Scottish Opera and English Touring Opera, amongst many others.

Der Rosenkavalier is notable for having no massive tenor position. As an alternative Strauss provides the principal tenor a small however show-stopping cameo position referred to as ‘The Italian Singer’ in Act I, and for this SOG is lucky to have the much-lauded worldwide artist Bonaventura Bottone. He has carried out The Italian Singer at Covent Backyard and on the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, and likewise recorded the position.

In one of many many accompanying roles of the opera, SOG favorite Elaine McKrill (who has beforehand sung Isolde, Brünnhilde and Kundry for the corporate) seems as Marianne, Sophie’s duenna. Different vital supporting roles are taken by William Dazeley, Peter van Hulle, and Georgia Mae Bishop.

The orchestra is performed by SOG’s chief conductor Michael Thorne (‘at one with the spirit … and dramatic structure of the work’, Seen and Heard Worldwide), who has efficiently led all of SOG’s earlier performances with verve and fervour.

Saffron Opera Group was based by opera-loving Saffron Walden residents Paul Garland and Francis Lambert in 2013 and is now run by Lambert and Jeff Thomson. Its inaugural manufacturing was Wagner’s Die Meistersinger in 2014, and its bold concert events of the Ring cycle and Parsifal and Tannhaüser have been among the many most profitable UK Wagnerian occasions of latest years.

Saffron Opera Group performs Der Rosenkavalier at 2.30pm on Sunday 10 September 2023

Saffron Corridor
Audley Finish Highway
Saffron Walden
CB11 4UH
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