Opera North: history and repertoire, seasons 2004–

Opera North is an opera company based at The Grand Theatre, Leeds, England. This article covers the period during which the Music Director has been Richard Farnes.

History

Unusually, the 2004-5 season opened with five new productions. One of them, Orfeo ed Euridice, premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival and was subsequently seen at the Monaco Dance Centre in Monte Carlo as well as in Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham and Salford. It was the company's first collaborative production with a dance company (Emio Greco | PC).

After the Grand Theatre's closure in June 2005 for the commencement of the Leeds Grand Theatre Transformation project, the final three productions in the theatre toured to Hull New Theatre, the Theatre Royal, Norwich, the Lyceum Theatre (Sheffield) and the Grand Opera House (Belfast) as well as the company's regular venues in the North of England. One of these productions was One Touch of Venus, with a libretto by S. J. Perelman and Ogden Nash and music by Kurt Weill, another of the company's trademark performances of musical theatre works.

During the Transformation project, Opera North presented a number of semi-staged and concert performances in venues such as Leeds Town Hall, the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, The Sage Gateshead and Symphony Hall, Birmingham, as well as performances at the Bradford Alhambra and other theatres, including, for the first time, His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen.

Phase 1 of Transformation was completed in the autumn of 2006. As well as much-needed renovations to the Grand Theatre itself, it created a permanent home and Opera Centre for Opera North, with two large rehearsal spaces that are the same size as the theatre's stage. The company returned to the theatre in October of that year with new productions of Rigoletto and Peter Grimes. The latter production, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, was garlanded with awards from The South Bank Show, the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Theatre Management Association.

During 2007-8, a mini-festival of operas inspired by William Shakespeare was presented by Opera North. It comprised Verdi's Falstaff and Macbeth, Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette and Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi. The latter saw the first appearance with the company by Sarah Connolly, who returned in 2010 for Donizetti's Maria Stuarda.

A second phase of Transformation, completed in 2009, focused on restoring the former Assembly Rooms, which originally opened in 1879, as a small-scale performance space managed by Opera North. Now called the Howard Assembly Room, it hosts a variety of musical and other events, one of which was the world premiere performance by Opera North in late 2009 of Jonathan Dove's chamber opera Swanhunter, based on the Lemminkäinen legend.

Opera North's collaborations with other opera companies and festivals during this period included:

• Così fan tutte, a co-production with Glimmerglass Opera, which premiered in Leeds and was also seen at New York City Opera
• Kurt Weill's Der Kuhhandel (Arms and the Cow), a co-production with the Bregenz Festival and the Vienna Volksoper
• Reinhard Keiser's Croesus, a co-production with Minnesota Opera
• Jonathan Dove's The Adventures of Pinocchio, a co-production with Chemnitz Opera

Company visits abroad included taking Julietta and One Touch of Venus to the Ravenna Festival and Skin Deep, Of Thee I Sing and Moscow, Cheryomushki to Bregenz.

Repertoire

Below is a list of main stage^[1] operas performed by the company during this period.

Season	Opera[2]	Composer	Principal cast	Conductor	Director	Designer[3]
2004–05	OrfeoOrfeo ed Euridice	Gluck Gluck	Taylor Daniel Taylor (Orfeo), Isabel Monar (Euridice), Claire Ormshaw (Amor)	Kok Nicholas Kok	Greco Emio Greco	Scholten Pieter C Sholten /Clifford Portier
2004–05	Manon LManon Lescaut	Puccini Puccini	Dercho Natalia Dercho (Manon), Hugh Smith (Des Grieux), Christopher Purves (Lescaut)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Slater Daniel Slater	Hopkins Robert Innes Hopkins
2004–05	CosiCosì fan tutte	Mozart Mozart	Bystrom Malin Byström (Fiordiligi), Ann Taylor (Dorabella), Iain Paton (Ferrando), Roderick Williams (Guglielmo), Claire Wild (Despina), Peter Savidge (Don Alfonso)	Abel Yves Abel	Albery Tim Albery	Hoheisel Tobias Hoheisel
2004–05	One touchOne Touch of Venus	Weill Weill	Coker Karen Coker (Venus), Loren Geeting (Rodney Hatch), Christianne Tisdale (Molly), Ron Li-Paz (Whitelaw Savory)	Holmes James Holmes	Albery Tim Albery	Macdonald Antony McDonald /Emma Ryott
2004–05	Don GDon Giovanni	Mozart Mozart	Williams Roderick Williams (Don Giovanni), Susannah Glanville (Donna Anna), Giselle Allen (Donna Elvira), Andrew Foster-Williams (Leporello), Iain Paton (Don Ottavio)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Fuchs Olivia Fuchs	Turner Niki Turner /Emma Ryott
2004–05	GazzaLa gazza ladra	Rossini Rossini	Hegarty Mary Hegarty (Ninetta), Ashley Catling (Giannetto), Robert Poulton (Podestà), Jonathan Best (Fernando), Anne-Marie Gibbons (Pippo)	Parry David Parry	ZZZ Revival of 1991-2 production
2004–05	Bluebeard’sBluebeard's Castle[4]	Bartok Bartók	Tomlinson John Tomlinson (Bluebeard), Sally Burgess (Judith)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Havergal Giles Havergal	Wiltshire Adam Wiltshire
2005–06	SaulSaul[5]	Handel Handel	Hayward Robert Hayward (Saul), Tim Mead (David), Lucy Crowe (Michal), Sarah Fox (Merab), Mark Wilde (Jonathan)	Curnyn Christian Curnyn	Fulljames John Fulljames	Gilmour Soutra Gilmour
2005–06	HanselHänsel und Gretel[6]	Humperdinck Humperdinck	Young Julianne Young (Hansel), Jeni Bern (Gretel), Peter Hoare (Witch), Christopher Purves (Peter)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Fulljames John Fulljames	Gilmour Soutra Gilmour
2005–06	MarriageThe Marriage of Figaro	Mozart Mozart	Pencarreg Wyn Pencarreg (Figaro), Jenni Bern/Lucy Crowe (Susanna), Howard Reddy/James McOran-Campbell (Count), Linda Richardson (Countess), Julianne Young (Cherubino)	Gansch Christian Gansch	ZZZ Revival of 1995-6 production
2005–06	RondineLa rondine	Puccini Puccini	Kelly Janis Kelly (Magda), Rafael Rojas (Ruggero), Alan Oke (Prunier), Gail Pearson (Lisette), Peter Savidge/Jonathan Best (Rambaldo)	Farnes Richard Farnes	ZZZ Revival of 1993-4 production
2005–06	KuhhandelDer Kuhhandel	Weill Weill	Capalbo Leonardo Capalbo (Juan), Mary Plazas/Deborah Norman (Juanita), Jeffrey Lawton (Mendez), Adrian Clarke (Jones), Robert Burt (Ximenes), Donald Maxwell (Conchas)	Holmes James Holmes	Pountney David Pountney	Hayler Duncan Hayler
2006–07	RigolettoRigoletto	Verdi Verdi	Opie Alan Opie/Jonathan Summers (Rigoletto), Rafael Rojas (Duke), Henriette Bonde-Hansen/Linda Richardson (Gilda)	Andre Martin André/ Mark Shanahan	Edwards Charles Edwards	Edwards Charles Edwards
2006–07	Peter GPeter Grimes	Britten Britten	Lloyd-R Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (Grimes), Giselle Allen (Ellen Orford), Christopher Purves (Balstrode)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Lloyd Phyllida Lloyd	Ward Anthony Ward
2006–07	VoixLa voix humaine	Poulenc Poulenc	Rodgers Joan Rodgers (Elle)	Watkins Paul Watkins	Pye Tom Pye	Pye Tom Pye
2006–07	MagicThe Magic Flute	Mozart Mozart	Lyon Ed Lyon/Peter Wedd (Tamino), Noriko Urata (Pamina), Roderick Williams/Riccardo Simonetti (Papageno), Chester Patton (Sarastro), Penelope Randall-Davis (Queen of the Night)	Macgrath Paul McGrath	ZZZ Revival of 2002-3 production
2006–07	ElisirL'elisir d'amore	Donizetti Donizetti	Ryberg Anna Ryberg (Adina), Andrew Kennedy (Nemorino), Peter Savidge (Dulcamara), Riccardo Simonetti (Belcore)	Evans Tecwyn Evans	ZZZ Revival of 2000-1 production
2006–07	OrfeoL'Orfeo	Monteverdi Monteverdi	Nilon Paul Nilon (Orfeo)	Moulds Christopher Moulds	Alden Christopher Alden	Steinberg Paul Steinberg /Doey Lüethi
2006–07	KatyaKáťa Kabanová	Janacek Janáček	Allen Giselle Allen (Katya), Peter Wedd (Boris), Ashley Catling (Kudryash), Wendy Dawn Thompson (Varvara), Sally Burgess (Kabanicha)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Albery Tim Albery	Bechtler Hildegard Bechtler
2006–07	DidoDido and Aeneas[7]	Purcell Purcell	Bickley Susan Bickley (Dido), Amy Freston (Belinda), Adam Green (Aeneas)	Kok Nicholas Kok	Collins Aletta Collins	Cadle Giles Cadle/ Gabriella Dalton
2007–08	FalstaffFalstaff	Verdi Verdi	Hayward Robert Hayward (Falstaff), Susannah Glanville (Alice Ford), Olafur Sigurdarson (Ford), Ashley Catling (Fenton), Valérie Condoluci (Nanetta), Susan Bickley (Mistress Quickly), Deanne Meek (Meg Page)	Farnes Richard Farnes	ZZZ Revival of 1996-7 production
2007–08	CroesusCroesus	Keiser Keiser	Nilon Paul Nilon (Croesus), Michael Maniaci (Atis), Gillian Keith (Elmira), Henry Waddington (Cyrus), William Dazeley (Orsanes), Fflur Wyn (Clerida)	Bicket Harry Bicket	Albery Tim Albery	Travers Leslie Travers
2007–08	AdventuresThe Adventures of Pinocchio (world premiere)	Dove Dove	Simmonds Victoria Simmonds (Pinocchio), Jonathan Summers (Geppetto), Mary Plazas (Blue Fairy), Mark Wilde (Cat), James Laing (Fox)	Parry David Parry	Duncan Martin Duncan	Oconnor Francis O’Connor
2007–08	Peter GPeter Grimes	Britten Britten	Lloyd-R Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (Grimes), Giselle Allen (Ellen Orford), Christopher Purves (Balstrode)	Farnes Richard Farnes	ZZZ Revival of 2006-7 production
2007–08	MacbethMacbeth	Verdi Verdi	Hayward Robert Hayward (Macbeth), Antonia Cifrone/Yvonne Howard (Lady Macbeth), Peter Auty (Macduff)	Farnes Richard Farnes/ Martin Pickard	Albery Tim Albery	Engels Johan Engels/ Brigitte Reiffenstuel
2007–08	MidsummerA Midsummer Night's Dream	Britten Britten	Laing James Laing (Oberon), Jeni Bern (Tytania), Henry Waddington (Bottom), Peter Wedd (Lysander), Elizabeth Atherton (Helena), Frances Bourne (Hermia), Mark Stone (Demetrius)	Stratford Stuart Stratford	Duncan Martin Duncan	Engels Johan Engels /Ashley Martin-Davis
2007–08	RomeoRoméo et Juliette	Gounod Gounod	Capalbo Leonardo Capalbo (Roméo), Bernarda Bobro (Juliette), Frances Bourne (Stéphano), Stephan Loges (Mercutio), Henry Waddington (Frère Laurent)	André Martin André/ Peter Selwyn	Fulljames John Fulljames	Engels Johan Engels/ Adam Wiltshire
2008–09	Of theeOf Thee I Sing	Gershwin Gershwin	Dazeley William Dazeley (Wintergreen), Bibi Heal (Mary), Heather Shipp (Diana Devereux), Steven Beard (Alexander Throttlebottom)	Dorrell Mark W Dorrell	ZZZ Revival of 1997-8 production
2008–09	ToscaTosca	Puccini Puccini	Kizart Takesha Meshé Kizart (Tosca), Rafael Rojas (Cavaradossi), Robert Hayward (Scarpia)	Licata Andrea Licata/ Martin Pickard	ZZZ Revival of 2002-3 production
2008–09	CapuletiI Capuleti e i Montecchi	Bellini Bellini	Connolly Sarah Connolly (Romeo), Marie Arnett (Giulietta), Edgaras Montvidas (Tebaldo)	Benzi Manlio Benzi	Phelan Orpha Phelan	Travers Leslie Travers
2008–09	SkinSkin Deep (world premiere)	Sawer Sawer	Dolton Geoffrey Dolton (Needlemeier), Janis Kelly (Lania), Heather Shipp (Donna), Amy Freston (Elsa), Andrew Tortise (Robert), Mark Stone/Riccardo Simonetti (Luke), Gwendoline Christie (Susannah)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Jones Richard Jones	Laing Stewart Laing
2008–09	Let emLet 'Em Eat Cake	Gershwin Gershwin	Dazeley William Dazeley (Wintergreen), Bibi Heal (Mary), Steven Beard (Alexander Throttlebottom), Richard Burkhard (Kruger), Richard Suart (General Snookfield)	Davies Wyn Davies/ Mark W Dorrell	Gawn Caroline Gawn	Hopkins Tim Hopkins/ Gabrielle Dalton
2008–09	MoscowMoscow, Cheryomushki	Shostakovich Shostakovich	Obrien Philip O’Brien (Sergei), Claire Pascoe (Lusya), Summer Strallen (Lidochka), Eaton James (Boris), Grant Doyle (Sasha), Bibi Heal (Masha)	Holmes James Holmes	ZZZ Revival of 2000-1 production
2008–09	Don CDon Carlos	Verdi Verdi	Gavin Julian Gavin (Carlos), Janice Watson (Elisabetta), William Dazeley (Posa), Brindley Sherratt/Alastair Miles (Philip II), Jane Dutton (Eboli)	Farnes Richard Farnes	ZZZ Revival of 1992-3 production
2008–09	EntfuhrungDie Entführung aus dem Serail	Mozart Mozart	Valentine Kate Valentine (Konstanze), Allan Clayton/Joshua Ellicott (Belmonte), Clive Bayley (Osmin), Elena Xanthoudakis (Blonde), Nicholas Sharratt (Pedrillo)	Macdonald Rory Macdonald	Hopkins Tim Hopkins	Hopkins Tim Hopkins/ Gideon Davey
2009–10	CosiCosì fan tutte	Mozart Mozart	Atherton Elizabeth Atherton (Fiordiligi), Victoria Simmonds (Dorabella), Allan Clayton (Ferrando), Quirijn de Lang (Guglielmo), Amy Freston (Despina), Geoffrey Dolton (Don Alfonso)	Parrott Andrew Parrott/ Justin Doyle	ZZZ Revival of 2004-5 production
2009–10	WertherWerther	Massenet Massenet	Nilon Paul Nilon (Werther), Alice Coote/Ann Taylor (Charlotte), Fflur Wyn (Sophie)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Cairns Tom Cairns	Bechtler Hildegard Bechtler /Amy Roberts
2009–10	ExcursionsThe Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon and to the 15th Century	Janacek Janáček	Graham-H John Graham-Hall (Brouček), Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (Mazal), Anne Sophie Duprels (Málinka), Donald Maxwell (Würfl), Jonathan Best (Sacristan)	Andre Martin André	Fulljames John Fulljames	Lowde Alex Lowde
2009–10	BohemeLa bohème	Puccini Puccini	Bezduz Bülent Bezdüz (Rodolfo), Anne Sophie Duprels (Mimi), Marcin Bronikowski (Marcello), Sarah Fox (Musetta)	Farnes Richard Farnes/ Geoffrey Paterson	ZZZ Revival of 1992-3 production
2009–10	RuddigoreRuddigore	Sullivan Sullivan	Doyle Grant Doyle (Robin/Ruthven), Amy Freston (Rose), Hal Cazalet (Richard), Richard Burkhardt (Despard), Heather Shipp (Mad Margaret), Steven Page (Sir Roderick), Anne-Marie Owens (Dame Hannah)	Wilson John Wilson/ Anthony Kraus	Davies Jo Davies	Hudson Richard Hudson/ Gabrielle Dalton
2009–10	RusalkaRusalka	Dvorak Dvořák	Allen Giselle Allen (Rusalka), Richard Berkeley-Steele (Prince), Richard Angas (Water Sprite), Susannah Glanville (Foreign Princess), Anne-Marie Owens (Jezibaba)	Dohnanyi Oliver von Dohnanyi	ZZZ Revival of 2003-4 production
2009–10	MariaMaria Stuarda	Donizetti Donizetti	Connolly Sarah Connolly (Maria), Antonia Cifrone (Elisabetta), Bülent Bezdüz (Leicester), David Kempster (Cecil), Frédéric Bourreau (Talbot)	Rumstadt Guido Johannes Rumstadt	Macdonald Antony McDonald	Macdonald Antony McDonald
2010-11	AdventuresThe Adventures of Pinocchio	Dove Dove	Simmonds Victoria Simmonds/Karina Lucas (Pinocchio), Jonathan Summers (Geppetto), Mary Plazas/Fflur Wyn (Blue Fairy), Mark Wilde (Cat), James Laing (Fox)	Parry David Parry/Robert Houssart	ZZZ Revival of 2007-8 production
2010-11	TurnThe Turn of the Screw	Britten Britten	Atherton Elizabeth Atherton (Governess), Benjamin Hulett (Prologue/Quint), Giselle Allen (Miss Jessel), James Micklethwaite (Miles), Fflur Wyn (Flora), Yvonne Howard (Mrs Grose)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Talevi Alessandro Talevi	Boyd Madeleine Boyd
2010-11	MerryThe Merry Widow	Lehar Lehár	Corley Stephanie Corley (Hanna Glawari), William Dazeley (Danilo), Amy Freston (Valencienne), Allan Clayton/Nicholas Sharratt (Camille), Geoffrey Dolton (Baron Zeta)	Davies Wyn Davies/Andrea Quinn	Havergal Giles Havergal	Travers Leslie Travers
2010-11	CarmenCarmen	Bizet Bizet	Shipp Heather Shipp (Carmen), Peter Auty (Don José), Kostas Smoriginas (Escamillo), Anne Sophie Duprels (Micaela)	Delfs Andreas Delfs	Kramer Daniel Kramer	Gilmour Soutra Gilmour/Gabrielle Dalton
2010-11	From the House of the DeadFrom the House of the Dead	Janacek Janáček	Lloyd Roberts Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts (Luka), Roderick Williams (Goryanchikov), Alan Oke (Skuratov), Claire Wild (Alyeya), Mark le Brocq (Shapkin), Robert Hayward (Shishkov)	Farnes Richard Farnes	Fulljames John Fulljames	Bird Dick Bird
2011–12	MadamaMadama Butterfly	Puccini Puccini	Duprels Anne Sophie Duprels (Butterfly), Noah Stewart (Pinkerton),		/

Sources

• Opera North annual review 2004-2005
• Opera North annual review 2006-2007
• Opera North programmes 2008-11

References

1. ^ "Main stage" means operas performed at Leeds Grand Theatre and a number of touring venues; small-scale productions performed only in spaces such as the Howard Assembly Room are not included. Semi-staged concert performances at Leeds Town Hall and other similar venues are included, but concert performances without any staging are not.
2. ^ Titles in Bold are new productions. Opera titles are those used in Wikipedia and not necessarily those used by Opera North.
3. ^ Where two designers are credited, the first-named designed the set and the second designed the costumes
4. ^ Semi-staged production, performed as a double-bill with concert performances of Daphnis et Chloé.
5. ^ Semi-staged concert performances
6. ^ Semi-staged concert performances
7. ^ Performed as a double-bill with Les noces

See also

• Opera North: history and repertoire, seasons 1978–79 to 1980–81
• Opera North: history and repertoire, seasons 1981–82 to 1989–90
• Opera North: history and repertoire, seasons 1990–91 to 1996–97
• Opera North: history and repertoire, seasons 1997–98 to 2003–04