Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Miss Fortune is based on a Sicilian folk tale, and Weir's own libretto abstracts the story and creates a sort of moral fable that rather reminded me of Georg Kaiser's From Morning to Midnight and David Sawer's brave attempt to turn it into an opera in 2001 at English National Opera. The once-rich little heroine, dogged by cruel Fate, becomes a low-wage earner cue sweatshops, ironing boards, an imploding fast-food van. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Unsolved problems: (l-r) Kathryn Harries, Alan Ewing and Emma Bell struggle to make an impression at Covent Garden. Weir, Judith (b1954) - Composer - Hyperion Records - CDs, MP3 and Silver Tassie Operas. Judith Weir Wiki - everipedia.org First things first: Chen Shi-Zhengs production, created for the works premire at Bregenz Festival last year, is one of the most visually stunning opera productions I have ever seen. To those who ask what material like this is doing in an opera house, I can only reply that this story allowed me to write both opera and folk music at the same time, to invent work songs for modern jobs like dry cleaning, and to find present-day uses for beautiful operatic forms, such as the aubade, or dawn song which Hassan sings while tending his kebab van. Miss Fortune: Why I wrote a real-life soap opera - the Guardian [13] Her first stage work, The Black Spider, was a one-act opera which was premiered in Canterbury in 1985 loosely based on the short novel of the same name by Jeremias Gotthelf. Julian Hepple. But this encyclopedic experience helps. During this time she began to write a series of operas (including, As resident composer with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the 1990s, she wrote several works for orchestra and chorus (including, In recent years, Judith Weir has considerably expanded her choral catalogue, with regular performance by choirs worldwide of music such as her Christmas carol. Judith Weir's music has been widely recorded, particularly on the NMC and Delphian labels; and is published by Chester Music and Novello & Co. In collaboration with director . Judith Weir. Two days after this premiere, the Royal Opera House announced the 2012/2013 new season and defended contemporary work as adventure, not measured by normal standards of success. Where Weirs orchestral writing is full and rich, the vocal parts are for the most part agile and harsh. Judith Weir tells the story to Miss Fortune - soundcloud.com Judith Weir's opera is a story about Tina and how her life dramatically changes course overnight; it is a story about fate and fortune. Judith Weir Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images By the end of the act, I was finding it all rather wearing, and theres little in the way of flowing vocal lines to lift the heart. Expressive of face and voice this champagne-quaffing pair fulfilled their roles with suitable vulgarity. Weir is a warmly admired composer, modest in manner but gritty in ambition, as anyone in her field has to be first to achieve, second to survive. Lord Fortune - Alan Ewing. Joshua Saunders Judith Weir (Composer, Arranger) - Short Biography - Bach Cantatas Website Miss Fortune Opera on Vimeo Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian. Miss Fortune - Wikipedia Composer Judith Weir tells the story to her latest opera Miss Fortune at a recent Insights event at the Royal Opera House. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2012. She studied with . Judith Weir | Oxford Lieder Yn ogystal, mae'n gyfansoddwr o ddarnau cerddorfaol a lleisiol, gan gynnwys Concerto i'r Piano (1997), The Welcome Arrival of Rain (2001), ac In the Land of Uz (2017). Judith Weir | NMC Frustration, frivolity and humour were all brilliantly served with a ready spontaneity that, with the chamber orchestras crisp playing, made this a delightful hors doeuvres for the darker humour of the evenings main event. Josh Law Book Only. Noah Stewart on Miss Fortune - Interview - YouTube [8] In May 2015, Weir won The Ivors Classical Music Award at the Ivor Novello Awards. Our heroine is clad in a bright red dress - the Chinese colour for luck - which makes her a constant point of focus through the action. Published by Chester Music (HL.14035701). A chance lottery win enables her escape from poverty, and like all good fairy tales, she goes off into the sunset with the handsome prince, Jack Holton whose paean to a freshly laundered shirt made one of the few amusing moments. In this role she has written music for national and royal occasions, including the Queens 90th birthday celebrations and the UKs official commemoration of the 1918 Armistice. Miss Fortune - review | Opera | The Guardian Right next to it was the ubiquitous fingers-crossed Lottery sign with its jaunty "Play here!" Judith Weir's Miss Fortune is an entertaining night out. was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Age 14-25? Gounod's Faust from the Opra Bastille, Paris. Charlie Broad Fate - Andrew Watts. Lady Fortune Amy Holyland (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Laura Fleur (2 & 7 Mar) Are launderettes, kebab vans and bankers really the stuff of opera? Ben Mills, Deputy Stage ManagerAndrea Stier Andersen, Assistant Stage Managers [9], Weir is a member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians. Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents. Definitions of Judith_Weir, synonyms, antonyms, derivatives of Judith_Weir, analogical dictionary of Judith_Weir (English) . Sad to say but Judith Weir's sixth opera is an embarrassment. The Royal Opera promise a feast for the eyes and dont disappoint. The spare orchestration, full of scurrying chromatics, often glistening string writing and crisply atmospheric percussion, including piano, was potentially attractive and melodic, though its variety was mostly lost in the ROH auditorium. After this she spent several years working in schools and adult education in rural southern England; followed by a period based in Scotland, teaching at Glasgow University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She struggles, wins the lottery, casts aside money and goes off with the handsome prince, in his mercifully clean shirt. For more access information, please visit ourAccessibilitysection. Julia Bermingham, Staff Costume Supervisors At least that was Weirs intention to be relevant and in touch. A recording of this production will be available to watch online for free after the performances. Sad to say but Judith Weirs sixth opera is an embarrassment. Violin I No fee when tickets are booked in person. [2] See something missing? As associate composer with the BBC Singers (2015-19) she completed two oratorios; In the Land of Uz, about the prophet Job; and blue hills beyond blue hills, to Zen-influenced verse by the Scottish poet Alan Spence. When her life's course turns from bad to worse, she makes a date with Fate. A new production of an earlier opera is always welcome news, to its composer at least, and it doesn't feel right to term these "revivals" - implying that resuscitation or even raising from the dead has been necessary. Shana Moron-Caravel This is a libretto which vacillates between the banal and the unintentionally comedic (or is that irony?) Two outstanding performances by young singers light up a splendidly crafted revival of Caurier and Leiser's colourful production. Kyra Coppini, Production Sound Engineers See the CVs for Guildhall School Final Year Production Arts students. It was a co-commission between two big opera houses (Bregenz and the Royal Opera House) - and it will also have a new production in Santa Fe in a couple of years time. Mae Weir wedi ysgrifennu sawl opera llwyddiannus, gan gynnwys The Black Spider (1985), A Night at the Chinese Opera (1987), Blond Eckbert (1994) a Miss Fortune (2011). She had taken a hiatus to focus her energies on a host of other endeavours including orchestral composition and leading the BBC's annual composer weekend at the Barbican in 2008. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . As Miss Fortune sings of entering the "shadows" and "dark streets" of the real world, she's set upon by six representatives of this rough shadowy place, a gang of bopping black thugs, who go on to destroy the factory she's working for and torch a kebab van she finds herself taking shelter in. Having now heard the piece, and looked through the score, I would have asked: "Did you intend so many of the vocal lines to have a predominantly descending pattern, giving an impression of aural droop? The much-publicised breakdancers of Chen Shi-Zengs efficient but actually rudimentary staging only serve to highlight how irrelevant Weirs musical language is to her conception. And yet the characters are archetypes who grovel in the dirt of clich. PDF Judith Weir at 70 A strong ROH2 schedule includes premieres by Scott Walker, Huw Watkins and Stuart MacRae in a season that will offer "fresh and interesting angles on the art form". Silly and naive. I registered a faint sense that my opera plot was already out on the street, but I didn't think all the detail it contained the violent destruction of property, the collapse of the middle class would soon become true as well. After this she spent several years working in schools and adult education in rural southern England; followed by a period based in Scotland, teaching at Glasgow University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Sad to say but Judith Weir's sixth opera is an embarrassment. Welcome to the rich musical world of Judith Weir | WNO Tina (Miss Fortune) - Emma Bell. Weir was appointed a CBE in 1995 Composer Judith Weir CBE is to become the first female Master of the Queen's Music. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. "But the good thing," she added, "is that I completely forget to worry about singing the music.". Antonio Daz Fernndez The Telephone / Miss Fortune, GSMD - brilliantly-executed double bill Christian Morris talks to Judith Weir, whose new opera Miss Fortune will receive its UK premire on 12th March at the Royal Opera House. Hoodies and drug dealing delineate subsequent reversal of fortune for Tina whose seamstress colleagues (vocally in fine fettle) provided an opportunity for some highly effective choreography. A. But now that the Royal Opera House's chorus has taken over, the opera seems to have moved into 3D. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. In July 2014 Judith Weir was appointed to the 395-year old royal post of Master of the Queens Music, in succession to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Judith Weir. Yn aml mae . Much of her music has been recorded, and is available on the NMC, Delphian and Signum labels. Despite the more than merely polite cheers which greeted the final curtain, and which might have persuaded her that, just possibly, she had a success on her hands, within hours Weir was beaten black and blue by a scrum of negative opinion. But at least all other elements of this colourful staging coalesced into something that intermittently held my attention. Night AT the Chinese Opera (A) (1987) Operas. One of these days someone might actually commission one of the many young composers at the sharp end of musical theatre - creative song writers with their finger on the pulse of contemporary living. Its not standard opera house instrumentation - even with a grand piano and much percussion, relatively small string and woodwind sections leave a fair amount of space in the usually crammed orchestra pit. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Bass clarinet Judith Weir Written specifically for performance on American television in 1947, Gian Carlo MenottisoperaThe Telephoneis a romantic comedy in one act, written for just two singers and a hand-picked chamber ensemble of instrumentalists. She has subsequently written one more "micro-opera", three full-length operas, and an opera for television. Photograph: Tristram Kenton, as it a plane, a boat or a train? The evening began with a compelling staging of Menottis frothy score, a romantic two-hander with music somewhere between Broadway and Italian verismo and first performed in the UK at the Aldwych Theatre in 1948. If you dont harbour too many expectations of a thought-provoking story, its worth going to see for the staging alone. In a face-off between Gabriele Viviani's Scarpia and Malin Bystrms Tosca in this solid revival of Jonathan Kent's 2006 production, there could only be one winner. I decided to use the tale as a basis for a new opera. Bogdan Skrypka If any does survive, before its next airing it is certain to have been cut, tweaked, titivated or subjected to bold surgery preferably by the composer, for whom performance is the only great lesson in revealing a work's weaknesses. Interview by Judith Weir explains why her latest work a parable about the financial crisis had to have them, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Straitened times Emma Bell and Anne-Marie Owens in Miss Fortune. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Both the score and the individual performances It will help us make your newsletter content more useful. Now based in London, she has had a long association with Spitalfields Music Festival; and has taught as a visiting professor at Princeton, Harvard and Cardiff universities. Judith Weir. But Weir creates much variety of timbre and a fair degree of potency throughout. Edit Now. Kosuke Shirai Judith Weir Interview - CompositionToday.Com Jamie Hulme Honours for her work include the Critics Circle, South Bank Show, Ivor Novello and Elise L Stoeger awards, a CBE and The Queens Medal for Music. Judith Weir | Wells Cathedral School Subscribe to our newsletters to hear about upcoming events. Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at Covent Garden | Bachtrack Judith Weirs Miss Fortune did not have a favourable reception when it premiered at Covent Garden in 2012, considered by some ill-suited to the Royal Opera House and lacking the musical engagement of her previously melodically rich operas and a decent libretto.