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Opera

Eddie Mair | 14:13 UK time, Thursday, 20 September 2007

on the programme tonight - or as Nigel Wrench writes:

"A civil war, a bloody feud, and a wedding. It's opera, not real life. And it's on PM this afternoon, set in Britain in 2080, called The Sacrifice.

This is James MacMillan, the composer and conductor doing something with his hands outside the Wales Millennium Centre where The Sacrifice has its first performance on Saturday. Nigel was at the last dress rehearsal yesterday and that's where he took these pictures. Here's James MacMillan conducting:

And two scenes from the opera:

And here's James MacMillan (blurred, centre, Nigel says no flash was allowed) taking a bow with the cast:

Nigel talks to James MacMillan on PM tonight and you can hear the first recording of parts of The Sacrifice broadcast anywhere. The whole opera is on Radio Three on October 13th if that's whetted your appetite.

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Comments

At 03:16 PM on 20 Sep 2007, witchiwoman wrote:
Am intrigued. I presume its in English? Am wracking my brain but don't think I've ever heard an opera sung in my first language. (I suddenly feel a bit of a philistine.)
At 03:47 PM on 20 Sep 2007, Humph wrote:
Do you mean that you have never heard any of the Savoy Operas by Gilbert & Sullivan, witchi (1)? You philistine, you ;o)

H.
At 03:56 PM on 20 Sep 2007, witchiwoman wrote:
Ah, Humph, of course....my synapses are obviously not connecting today (I blame the mucus). Oh, does the Greene Knight count? Maybe I'm not so dappy after all.
At 03:58 PM on 20 Sep 2007, wrote:
Was there a risk assessment done before the conductor climbed on that chair? I'm worried. They don't usually do that sort of thing. Not in the contract.

Reminds me of my favourite orchestral musician joke (probably a viola joke actually, but, hey, it could be any of us....)

A viola player was away sick from a concert one night. Came back to work in the orchestra the next day, said to his desk partner :

"Who was conducting last night?"

Other viola player answered:

"Dunno, sorry. Didn't look"
At 04:01 PM on 20 Sep 2007, Big Sister wrote:
Humph, G&S are classed as operettas (as you well know!), but we do have writers of serious opera, not least of which was Mr. Britten.

Anyway, there is a venue in London where opera is always sung in English, and a very fine company they are, too. Long live the ENO!
At 04:13 PM on 20 Sep 2007, Gossipmistress wrote:
Is that really the Wales Millenium Centre? The stage looks more like a village hall somewhere (Dibley, perhaps?)
At 04:30 PM on 20 Sep 2007, David McNickle wrote:
Annasee (4), Better him than that bride. Blimey, she's a big lass!
At 09:42 AM on 21 Sep 2007, Aperitif wrote:
But surely it's being sung in Welsh?

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