Bollington Festival Opera was a new group established in 2008
to bring to us the more serious operatic repertoire.
Nicholas Smith conducted the Bollington Festival
Opera Chorus and Orchestra. A Bollington resident and Musical Director
of recent Bollington Festivals, Nicholas has been Music Director
of orchestras and opera companies in Finland, Britain and the United
States.
However, most regrettably the group has not been able to permanently
establish itself and is now considered defunct.
Dido and Aeneas
Presented in St Oswald's Church in November 2008, this was an
outstanding performance with professional singers wonderfully supported
by the Bollington Festival Opera Chorus. The setting was ideal
with the scenes set beneath and in front of the stone arches in
the church. The precise lighting focused the audience's attention
and picked out the arches to enhance the set. Supported by the
excellent Bollington Festival Opera Orchestra of local players.
It may not be a long opera, but Purcell's Dido and Aeneas is one of the greatest. This new production by Janine Birkett highlights the inevitability of Dido's fate with masterful insight of the main characters.
The Sorceress attempts to control the fate of Dido by causing Aeneas's ship to come ashore during a storm. Her plan is to have Dido fall in love with him and make a fool of herself. Why? Partly because it appeals to the mischievous nature of her witches who just love to make humans suffer. Things go wrong: Aeneas, normally a one night stand sort of guy, himself falls in love with Dido. Not even the Sorceress had predicted the tragic result.
|
Margaret Ferguson Dido
Sarah Mallon Belinda
Fiona Key First Witch
Steve Thorpe Sailor
|
Wayne Holt Aeneas
Carol Taylor Sorceress
Abigail Walker Second Witch
Glynis Wells Second Woman
|
Bollington Festival Opera Chorus
BFO Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Smith
Don Pasquale
Comic Opera by Donizetti
Bollington Festival Opera's very first production, Don Pasquale was performed to great acclaim at the Arts Centre in June 2008. Almost full audiences ensured that a small surplus was made and we look forward to seeing the company on their next outing with Dido and Aeneas in the autumn and Tobias and the Angel at the 2009 Bollington Festival!
Stage direction was by Jeffrey Lawton. Jeffrey was Principal Tenor with Welsh National Opera, and has sung many leading roles all over the world, from the Met in New York to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
|
 One of the great comic operas, Don Pasquale is the much favoured story of the old man duped by a young, vivacious widow. Of course eventually he is only too glad to be rid of her. And in the meantime there are great tunes, and lots of moments which would embarrass even French Presidents and English football managers!
This was the first production of Bollington Festival Opera, and
preceded a major production of Tobias and the Angel for
the 2009 Bollington Festival. The Company was organised by Glyn Taylor and Nicholas Smith,
and brought together professional soloists and an outstanding community
based chorus and orchestra.
|
|
John Bispham Don Pasquale
Matthew Moss Ernesto
Stephen Thorpe The Notary
|
Ailsa Mainwaring Norina
Ian Gifford Dr Malatesta
|
Stage direction was by Jeffrey Lawton.
|
Contact
The group is now defunct.
|
