This is a past event. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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. Edward Seckerson in The Independent (London) wrote of "Miss Fortune in name and deed" and described the opera as "silly and naive" and "a waste of talent and resources", with a libretto that "vacillates between the banal and the unintentionally comedic (or is that irony? It was a co-production with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London, and was written in English. Galleries. Judith Weir has a net worth of $5.00 million (Estimated) which she earned from her occupation as Musician. "But the good thing," she added, "is that I completely forget to worry about singing the music.". Iza Fordham When her life's course turns from bad to worse, she makes a date with Fate. Privacy Policy 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. 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. Miss Fortune. Aoife Moran Donna, proprietor of a laundry Laura Fleur (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Amy Holyland (2 & 7 Mar) Silk Street Theatre, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London; Monday 28th February 2022. Silly and naive. In: Press release from The Santa Fe Opera, 22 August 2012. Claire Nicolas (freelance) Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Ben Mills, Deputy Stage ManagerAndrea Stier Andersen, Assistant Stage Managers was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. [10] In 2018 she was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Reonel Rafols The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal . Register now, On sale to Guildhall Circle members Mon 29 Nov 10am. In January 2008, over fifty of her works were performed during 'Telling The Tale', a three-day retrospective of her music, hosted by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre, London. Whether were in the initial scene of the casting of our heroines horoscope, the various pieces of mayhem that envelop her or the poetic aubade sung by kebab-shop owner Hassan: the music is overlaid by urgent stridency. 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. Much of her music has been recorded, and is available on the NMC, Delphian and Signum labels. World premiere at the Bregenz Festival on 21st July 2011 at the Festspielhaus, Bregenz, directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, with the Prague Philharmonic Chorus (director Lukas Vasilek) and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Daniel. But I personally have been feeling thoroughly revived after GSMD's energy-giving version of my 2011 opera "Miss Fortune" which opened at the beginning of March. 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. [4] She received the Lincoln Center's Stoeger Prize in 1997, the South Bank Show music award in 2001 and the Incorporated Society of Musicians' Distinguished Musician Award in 2010. EC2Y 8DT. When the curtain rose on the UK premiere of Judith Weir's. But Miss Fortune is warm and fuzzy where it should be hard and edgy, its a social fable with contemporary resonances in everything but its words and music, and worst of all its an adult opera which sounds like its spoon feeding amateur philosophy to a child. 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. Originally intended as a curtain-raiser for Menottis The Medium, the worksalternative title,LAmour trois, refers to the rival claims of a telephone that incessantly interrupts Bens attempts to propose marriage to Lucy before he catches his train. Stanley Olden, Scenic Art Co-ordinator 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. or you can purchase and download online, The music of Judith Weir is published by Chester Music Ltd and Novello & Co Ltd, part of Wise Music Group. In spite of all this, the libretto has some decent moments, particularly in the short second act in which Weir lets her hair down a little. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. The result is closer to a classical myth in which the central message is that theres no point arguing with the gods. Ensemble. Luna De Mol, Violin II Judith Weir. 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). Book Only. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Bass clarinet Julian Hepple. Judith Weirsoperais a story aboutTinaand how her life dramaticallychanges course overnight; it is a story aboutfateand fortune. To book tickets visit:. Location The second act has greater pace and vitality: the wise, witty Weir of old is back on form, but too briefly. But this encyclopedic experience helps. Classical. Not entirely, and not so extravagantly and hopelessly. At least that was Weirs intention to be relevant and in touch. What you think of Miss Fortunes music will depend very much on personal tastes: I found it music to admire rather than to love. Kosuke Shirai She is seen as one of the most successful Musician of all times. Menottis parade of operatic models coloratura showpiece, rage aria and lament were effortlessly pointed up and the rapport between the singers was communicated with both tenderness and impatience. Commissioned by the Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. But this time round, it seemed even more relevant than to pay onstage attention to this subject. Opera on 3 Judith Weir's Miss Fortune. Where these singers find the energy isn't clear: this week, they are also being wood nymphs, Spanish aristocrats and Italian peasants, in several other operas. Fate Kieron-Connor Valentine Commissioned byBregenzFestival and the RoyalOperaHouse and premiered in 2011,Miss Fortuneis a contemporary re-telling of a Sicilian folk story. Judith Weir's music has been widely recorded, particularly on the NMC and Delphian labels; and is published by Chester Music and Novello & Co. Last month, as we reconvened in London to rehearse for this week's UK debut, conductor Paul Daniel considered the problems. I've had the misfortune of reading a few reviews already, and so far I seem to be flying solo on actually recommending it - but I do think the basic ingredients are there. In 2014-15 there were releases of The Vanishing Bridegroom (NMC) and Storm (BBC Singers/Signum). She has a large catalogue of performed works to her name, which will silence any who doubt her considerable gifts, especially vocal. In some ways I feel I've seen the piece for the first time, in a staging (by Martin Lloyd-Evans) which very closely expressed my intentions when I first imagined it. In collaboration with director . Longfei Wang* Charlie Broad Select from premium Judith Weir of the highest quality. Judith Weir Miss FortuneLord Fortune Jacob Harrison, Lady Fortune Amy Holyland, Tina Erin Gwyn Rossington, Fate Kieron-Connor Valentine, Hassan Florian Panzieri, Donna Laura Fleur, Simon Jack Holton; Director Martin Lloyd-Evans, Conductor Dominic Wheeler, Designer Anna Reid, Lighting Anthony Doran, GSMD Orchestra. [7] She was appointed for a decade. I decided to use the tale as a basis for a new opera. Despite the layoff since summer, the staging soon exuded a dance-like motion we hadn't seen before. Her most recent opera, Miss Fortune, which opened in 2012, was . Judith Weir's music is published by Chester Music and Novello & Co. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian. The gap between failure and success in the theatre can be as narrow as a hair's breadth. ), full of truisms and clunky metaphors" and "about as streetwise as a visitor from Venus". [21] Andrew Clements wrote in The Guardian of "a long two hours in the opera house" with scenes that "follow like cartoonish tableaux, without real characterisation, or confrontation, and without suggesting a dramatic shape", and also criticised the "twee rhyming couplets and inert blank verse" of Weir's libretto. She went on to Cambridge University, where her composition teacher was Robin Holloway; and in 1975 attended summer school at Tanglewood, where she worked with Gunther Schuller. Molly Hands, Assistant Carpenters Everyone is meaner, more downcast, more jubilant. For more access information, please visit ourAccessibilitysection. 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. A recording of this production will be available to watch online for free after the performances. Indeed it has. When the curtain rose on the UK premiere of Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at the Royal Opera House, one thing at least was clear: this bright, coarse staging by Shi-Zheng Chen would flog the living daylights out of the opera's frail, pale construct, inflate it grotesquely beyond its natural size and, by this eye-catching but totally irrelevant visual aeration, render it all but nonsensical. She is the composer of several operas (written for Kent Opera, Scottish Opera, ENO and Bregenz) which have been widely performed. Allegra Totaro-Wainwright, Assistant Scenic Artists The orchestral music also seemed much bolder and more colourful under Dominic Wheeler's direction, and in the hands of GSMD's vivid student orchestra. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. She has written orchestral music for the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony and Minnesota Orchestras. SELECTED WORKS BY shows" JUDITH WEIR "Weir is a creature of the theatre and it FINANCIAL TIMES. The opera reworks a Sicilian folktale as a contemporary parable. Cludia Costa Gonalves, Ensembles, Programming & Instrument Manager And Im not sure I want to think too hard about the statements it does make: for example, the breakdancing team Soul Mavericks are superb, but theyre cast as stereotypical hoodlums wrecking things with baseball bats. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. For Guildhall School performances please use the Guildhall School entrance on Silk Street. And the greatest irony of all Miss Fortune wins the lottery. Music Sales America. The opera touches on many things relevant to modern life - the banking crisis, unemployment, sweatshop working conditions, the choice between money and love - but it doesnt have anything significant to say about any of them. If your booking contains several events the highest booking fee will apply. What a waste of talent and resources. Select from premium Judith Weir of the highest quality. Called Miss Fortune, the story is about money, fate and fortune. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. What doesnt change, at least in the 53 minute first act, is her accenting: the music is continually using devices to ratchet up the tension - chromatics, diminished and augmented chords. [16], The first public performance of Weir's arrangement of "God Save the Queen" was performed at the reburial of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral on 26 March 2015. Miss Fortune is a reinvention of a Sicilian folk tale in which the comfortable life of Tina (Erin Gwyn Rossington), the wealthy daughter of Lord and Lady Fortune (Jacob Harrison and Amy Holyland), nosedives after a financial catastrophe. Judith Weir CBE is a British composer and Master of the Queen's Music. Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. 559. Two outstanding performances by young singers light up a splendidly crafted revival of Caurier and Leiser's colourful production. BBC Philharmonic/David, GRAMOPHONE Review: Shostakovich Symphony No 10, Mahler Symphony No 10 Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra/van Zweden, GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. Beri Valentine, Stage Management Props Supervisor Vanishing . The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2012. Judith Weir Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Alaric Green Winter Song. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. 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. Biography Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents. 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. 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.