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Music
in the Minster presents:
MIRACLE! An Opera of Two
Halves
Sunderland Minster, High Street West, SR1 3ET
Friday 27th - Sunday 29th November
2015
Writer:
David Almond
Composer:
Marcos Fernandez
Drama,
teamwork, passion, training...opera and football have more in common that you
might think. So what better subject for Wearside’s first opera than Sunderland AFC? Written by
award-winning author David Almond and composer Marcos Fernandez, Miracle! An
Opera of Two Halves has been commissioned by Music in the Minster - a
registered charity that brings experts from the world of opera to share their
skills with the communities of Wearside.
The
charity’s patron, the renowned baritone Sir Thomas Allen CBE, was born in the North
East mining village of Seaham and educated at Ryhope Grammar School. A star of the great
opera houses of the world, Sir Thomas is a great supporter of music education.
He is Chancellor of Durham University and in July was awarded an honorary
doctorate from the Royal College of Music, where he used his speech to urge new
graduates to “embrace a bigger world than just music”.
 |
|
David Almond at
An Opera for Sunderland launch
at the Stadium of Light
Photo: North News
|
He
explains, “There are several memories that are indelible when it comes to
looking back over an upbringing in the Sunderland area. One has to be the
sport, and whilst I was never talented enough to get onto a football team at
any age from 9 to 18, I did enjoy rugby and usually managed to get to Roker
Park after a Saturday morning match with my Ryhope teammates including Stan
Anderson, Jimmy Montgomery, George Mulhall and of course the great Charlie
Hurley.
“And
as if that wasn't enough, there were also those occasions when I had a concert
in the evening...Dream of Gerontius and St Matthew Passion both come to mind at
the Sunderland Empire. So you see it is possible to enjoy all these things both
cultural and sporting in one go. Music in the Minster are just about to prove
it once more and I send all my best wishes to the team for great success.”
 |
|
l-r Baritone Miles Horner
and Tenor Jonathan Cooke
rehearse with chorus
Photo: David Tiernan
|
The
creative team includes award-winning North East author David Almond (Skellig,
Sage Gateshead), international award-winning composer Marcos Fernandez (Noctum,
Cre.Art Ensemble, New York), director Annie Rigby (Lands of Glass, Unfolding
Theatre), designer Gayle Playford (Wolf Hall, BBC), and Sunderland-born
mezzo-soprano Alison Barton (Artistic Director of Music in the Minster).
 |
|
Chorus rehearse on the
terraces for MIRACLE
Photo: David Tiernan
|
42
local singers aged 12-70 will join a cast of professional soloists.
Nottingham-born baritone Ian Priestley will play God/Larry. After studying at
Guildhall, Ian has toured with the D’Oyly Carte and Carl Rosa opera companies
and has appeared at the Buxton International Festival, with the Welsh National
Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera North and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Angelo will be played
by Cheshire tenor Jonathan Cooke (La Bohème, Grange Park Opera); baritone and
keen sportsman, Miles Horner (Don Giovanni, Focus Opera) plays Sunderland AFC legend Hughie Mann; and
Veronica will be sung by soprano Caroline Kennedy (The Magic Flute, Scottish
Opera).
 |
|
Soloist Fiona Gill with
baritone
Miles Horner as SAFC legend
Hughie Mann
Photo: David Tiernan
|
Writer
David Almond explains the plot, “All teams need a miracle when they’re heading
for the drop. Things are getting desperate in the Stadium of Light. But God
looks down and takes pity on the Black Cats. An angel named Angelo is sent to
earth to play in red and white, and the miracle begins to unfold. But what
about Hughie Mann, the local lad, who has been star striker until now? And what
about the temptations of fame?
Will
Angelo be seduced by Barcelona, Bayern Munich, or Man
United? And is he just a flash in the pan, another false messiah? And what
about God, who wants his angel back again?
Miracle! is a football opera for Sunderland. It takes place in the
Stadium of Light, in Sunderland’s streets, on Roker Beach. It's sung in the lovely
Sunderland voice. It’s driven by
the chanting and singing of the crowd, and by a love of the beautiful game.
It’s an opera that’s filled, like football itself, with reckless hope and dread
despair. It echoes with the triumphs of the past, and points towards the
glories of the future.
Miracle! is a love story, in which an angel sent from Heaven falls in love with an
ordinary town and its ordinary streets - an angel who is swept off his feet by
a lovely local lass from Pennywell.”
 |
|
An Opera for Sunderland creative
team at the Stadium of
Light
Photo: North News
|
As
with all of Music in the Minster’s work, An Opera for Sunderland is very much about
opportunities for local people to take part – from sharing their stories, to
workshops and performance opportunities. Music in the Minster have been working
with Foundation of Light, The Cultural Spring and Sunderland City Council Library
Services to involve as many local residents as possible, including Black Cats’
Stories – fans’ digital stories about their experiences as supporters, creating
a snapshot of what football means to people in the city; free singing
roadshows, and open workshop auditions.
Sunderland-born
Artistic Director Alison Barton explains, “I remember the atmosphere in Sunderland when the Black Cats won
the FA cup in 1973. It was like an electric current running right through every
home, school, workplace and street. Bobby Kerr even visited my school. Everyone
felt part of it.
“The
next time I felt that way was on stage as a teenager, appearing in my first
opera. Sadly over the years, the opportunities for people in the region to
experience that same thrill dwindled, but now, thanks to funding from Arts
Council England, Music in the Minster is creating an Opera for Sunderland, set in the world of football.
Parallels between football and opera are legion. The elite performers in both
dedicate their lives to training and discipline – but anyone can ‘have a go’.”
Tickets:
MIRACLE!
An Opera of Two Halves is at Sunderland Minster from 27-29 November 2015 at 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinee on
Sun 29 November.
Tickets
priced £10 / £8 concessions are now available online at
ticketsource.co.uk/musicintheminster
0844
8700 887*
*No
booking fees for e-tickets; Ticket Source fees apply for phone bookings or
tickets delivered by post
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