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? Jack Garner-Greene 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. Discover Judith Weir sheet music on nkoda.Find 133 Judith Weir pieces from leading publishers on the greatest digital sheet music library. Longfei Wang* Jamie Hulme The UK premire of Miss Fortune is on March 12th at the Royal Opera House. For more access information, please visit ourAccessibilitysection. So, turning convention on its head, weve a fatalistic riches-to-rags tale transposed from a Sicilian original and relocated in time and place to take account of the financial ills and social unrest of the here and now. Find the perfect Judith Weir stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Indeed it has. Silk Street 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. At least that was Weirs intention to be relevant and in touch. It didnt help that the singing from Rossington and Valentine lacked clarity and I had to second guess some of their dialogue. 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. If you dont harbour too many expectations of a thought-provoking story, its worth going to see for the staging alone. Judith Weir Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 What a waste of talent and resources. 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. The helicopter view: Opera Europa's Nicholas Payne, At the helm of the aircraft carrier: The Royal Opera's Oliver Mears, Raising the curtain: Jacquelyn Stucker on building momentum and opera's digital challenge, Meeting the Maestro: in conversation with Fabio Luisi, Spring and summer in Prague: your musical guide, Koen entrances the Rudolfinum with Martin miniatures, Lucid in music and narrative: ENO and Richard Jones, David is a co-founder of Bachtrack. Sad because Weir's folk inspired fables have won many friends, sad because she is a composerly. The darker side of the "alienating effects of modern urban life" (as designer Anna Reid's programme note summarises both operas) are explored in Judith Weir's Miss Fortune (2011) based on a Sicilian folk story and dramatising a serious reversal of fortune and circumstances as its punning title implies, through the personified figure of fate. Vanessa Lingham, Stage Management Supervisor 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. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. . Judith Weir's Miss Fortune at Covent Garden | Bachtrack Select from premium Judith Weir of the highest quality. OPERA NEWS, COMMENTARY, AND REVIEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. Presented byGuildhall School of Music & Drama. Popularly known as the Musician of United Kingdom. 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. In 2008, as I began writing, I walked past a sandwich board bearing the headline: "Blind panic as shares crash." Gounod's Faust from the Opra Bastille, Paris. Published by Chester Music (HL.14035701). Yn aml mae . Silly and naive. Above all, I felt justified in having written the opera in the first place. Miss Weir Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images PDF Judith Weir at 70 Judith Weir, Miss Fortune, Royal Opera, 12 March 2012 - Blogger Guildhall School of Music & Drama In fact, I think you should go. 2.1.1 Miss Fortune (Achterbahn) 2.2 Other key works; 3 Selected recordings; 4 External links; 5 References Biography. By contrast, the premiere production (as often happens) seemed to be aiming at a left-field reimagining of a piece which no-one had yet seen. She struggles, wins the lottery, casts aside money and goes off with the handsome prince, in his mercifully clean shirt. Definitions of Judith_Weir, synonyms, antonyms, derivatives of Judith_Weir, analogical dictionary of Judith_Weir (English) . Judith Weir. Miss Fortune | Judith Weir - Wise Music Classical Florian Panzieri as the kebab seller Hassan impressed with his clear tenor and mezzo-soprano Laura Fleur as Donna brought verisimilitude to her scenes at the laundrette. 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. Indeed it has. Pedro Marques In 2014-15 there were releases of The Vanishing Bridegroom (NMC) and Storm (BBC Singers/Signum). Judith Weir. Allegra Totaro-Wainwright, Assistant Scenic Artists Classical. A few quotes from suddenly redundant bankers made it into the libretto ("I'm going to clear my desk"; "I'll never find another job") but soon I and my opera were pondering the wider mystery of how random the universe is, and how it often seems there's nothing we can do about it. Hassan - Noah Stewart My first pieces were at secondary school. So, turning convention on its head, weve a fatalistic riches-to-rags tale transposed from a Sicilian original and relocated in time and place to take account of the financial ills and social unrest of the here and now. Weir was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 Birthday Honours for services to music. Josephine Lockwood But this time round, it seemed even more relevant than to pay onstage attention to this subject. Either way, it makes a good spectacle. Judith Weir is a composer who, despite a huge body of work that ranges from grand operas to piano concertos to songs for children, has never sought the limelight. 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. R. 70. [13], The American premiere of Miss Fortune was originally planned in 2011 by the Santa Fe Opera to be a part of its 2014 season, but it was announced in the summer of 2012 that the opera was to be replaced by the North American premiere of Huang Ruo's Dr. Sun Yat-sen.[22]. 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. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . Night AT the Chinese Opera (A) (1987) Operas. DAME PATRICIA ROUTLEDGE: Facing The Music - A Life in Musical Theatre, Meyerbeer "Robert Le Diable", Royal Opera House (Review), GRAMOPHONE Review: Bartk Duke Bluebeard's Castle - Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/Mlkki, GRAMOPHONE Review: Prokofiev Symphonies 1 & 7/Lieutenant Kij Suite - Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Sokhiev, GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. She studied with John Tavener while at the North London Collegiate School[3] and subsequently with Robin Holloway at King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1976. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Lady Fortune - Kathryn Harries. Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. 10 Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse/Sokhiev, GRAMOPHONE Review: Sounds of America Jon Manasse, Park Avenue Chamber Orchestra/Bernard, GRAMOPHONE Review: Rachmaninov Symphony No. She held the post of Composer in Association for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1995 to 1998. But Weir creates much variety of timbre and a fair degree of potency throughout. My reworking begins with a financial crash and ends with an unlikely lottery win yet I didn't set out to write a piece about contemporary events. Nina Lim Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Guildhall Opera Double Bill | Barbican She has subsequently written one more "micro-opera", three full-length operas, and an opera for television. In 1987, her first half-length opera, A Night at the Chinese Opera, was premiered at Kent Opera. Called Miss Fortune, the story is about money, fate and fortune. What drew you to composition? Reonel Rafols Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Ensemble. Iben Bering Srensen Meanwhile, the cast plunged into the nitty-gritty ("Four steps to the left, take the glass from Kathryn, turn "). 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. Nicole Ma, Percussion Barbican Judith Weir, Miss Fortune, Royal Opera, 12 March 2012 (British premiere) A member of Soul Mavericks Images: Royal Opera/Bill Cooper: Royal Opera House. . Lord Fortune - Alan Ewing. Cludia Costa Gonalves, Ensembles, Programming & Instrument Manager Miss Fortune | The Theatre Reviewer Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 10:43, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, "Queen's new composer Judith Weir hails 'boss', "The wonderful Judith Weir With a Barbican weekend devoted to her music, the composer Judith Weir is being feted as never before", "Queen had 'immensely detailed knowledge' of music, says royal composer", "Judith Weir to be appointed first female master of Queen's music", "News Judith Weir appointed Master of the Queen's Music Music Sales Classical", "Judith Weir: the female music master with royal seal of approval", "The Ivors 2015 Winners, Ivor Novello Awards, Judith Weir", "Ms Judith Weir HonFRSE The Royal Society of Edinburgh", "Andrew Lloyd Webber piece among new coronation music", "Judith Weir Armida (2005) Music Sales Classical", "Musical Work rises from the concrete Barbican", "The State Funeral and Committal Service for Her Majesty The Queen", "The Black Spider review Weir's opera is ghastly gothic treat", https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=judith+weir+scipio%27s+dream#top, "A ringing coda: the music at the Queen's funeral was both solemn and sublime", Judith Weir on the British Music Collection, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Judith_Weir&oldid=1140504219, The Prelude (20182019, flute, violin, viola, cello), This page was last edited on 20 February 2023, at 10:43. was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Judith Weir - Wise Music Creative Also known as Achterbahn (rollercoaster), this apt allegory on fate - and the control we have over our own lives - delivers a timely update on the Italian folk tale Sfortuna. Joana Praa* But this encyclopedic experience helps. Miss Fortune in name and deed. Weir MISS FORTUNE - Full score Continue using the site as normal or read our A recording of this production will be available to watch online for free after the performances. It was a concept that worked well on paper, but the contrasting styles and libretti of Gian Carlo Menotti and Judith Weir one charming and unpretentious, the other angular and banal felt mismatched musically and made for an uneven night. 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. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . Judith Weir Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. [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. He is a musical omnivore interested in almost all types of music, but with a particular love of Italian opera. [15] Weir's commissioned works most notably include woman.life.song (2000) for Jessye Norman and We are Shadows (1999) for Simon Rattle. YouTube Encyclopedic. Miss Fortune Opera on Vimeo Judith Weir. . In July 2014 Judith Weir was appointed to the 395-year old royal post of Master of the Queen's Music, in succession to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. 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. 2010-2023 Bachtrack Ltd. All rights reserved. Weir is far from incapable of working on a large canvas, but Miss Fortune is surely a chamber opera. Phil Sizer, Staff Production Manager The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at . Silly and naive. Last month, as we reconvened in London to rehearse for this week's UK debut, conductor Paul Daniel considered the problems. Now in her 50s, she is too experienced, too knowledgable about the bloodied history of most operatic endeavour to have expected to get off lightly. The second act has greater pace and vitality: the wise, witty Weir of old is back on form, but too briefly. 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. Judith Weir - Sound Scotland Lydia Haynes Sad because Weirs folk inspired fables have won many friends, sad because she is a composerly composer whose luminous orchestral backdrops and singable vocal lines display an honest talent that never hides behind overworked technique. When the curtain rose on the UK premiere of Judith Weir's. The clarity of the costume design made the characters instantly knowable, too: a stroppy teenager, a lady from a launderette, a positive-thinking businessman these types look the same anywhere. Violin I Only Anne-Marie Owens's Donna, who runs a launderette, and Hassan the kebab-van owner, beautifully sung by Noah Stewart (the closest we get to beefcake), show signs of humanity. Interview by Joshua Saunders Not something you often come across in opera. Miss Fortune, Royal Opera | The Arts Desk Vanishing . Judith Weir is a Honorary Patron for Sound and Music. The kebab shop and the breakdancers are great, but Tom Pyes sets have much more: giant, mirror-smooth geometric structures are brightly lit in primary colours and turned by video effects into a shifting industrial landscape, all set against a plain screen background lit with vividly coloured gradients. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Our website uses cookies to give you the best possible experience. In the title role, Emma Bell does an admirable job of wrapping her voice around it all, without the audience ever getting a melody or a mood to remember. The Sicilian tale on which the opera is based is a fairly standard story of the virtuous young girl who falls on hard times but whose virtue is ultimately rewarded; Weir changes it in two key ways. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Miss Weir Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Emma Bell, singing the title role perched five metres up on a rocky plinth, only now revealed that she was scared of heights. Yes, Tom Pye's design was beautiful, but stylised beyond the world of the circumstantial it could have accommodated any opera from Parsifal to Madama Butterfly. But at least all other elements of this colourful staging coalesced into something that intermittently held my attention. For Rap read rhyming couplets. The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in 2011, and then staged at the Royal . Fate - Andrew Watts. 7 Bayerisches Staatsorchester/Petrenko, NOTES FROM LOCKDOWN: Nigel Lilley in Conversation, GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. JUDITH WEIR AT 70 OPERAS. The language needs sharpening to show us that this is satire. Judith Weirsoperais a story aboutTinaand how her life dramaticallychanges course overnight; it is a story aboutfateand fortune. Subscribe to our newsletters to hear about upcoming events. Even Fate (countertenor Andrew Watts), with his "cloud" of street dancers, is no more than a mildly creepy stalker. Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. 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. Jos Hita Garca* Judith Weir CBE (born 1954) is a British composer and the first female Master of the Queen's Music. Judith Weir CBE HonFRSE (born 11 May 1954)[1] is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. This is a libretto which vacillates between the banal and the unintentionally comedic (or is that irony?) 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. Judith Weir. Intimate reinvention: Guildhall School of Music & Drama reassesses Judith Weir's Miss Fortune in a double bill with Giancarlo Menotti's The Telephone, directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans, conducted by. Judith Weir tells the story to Miss Fortune - soundcloud.com The most recent opera is Miss Fortune, premiered at Bregenz in . A first performance of a new opera is the start of a precipitous journey. "But the good thing," she added, "is that I completely forget to worry about singing the music.". London RGT Birthdays today Opera on 3 Judith Weir's Miss Fortune. [11] In 2023, Weir was announced as one of the composers who would each create a brand new piece for the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla. Miss Fortune - judithweir The Royal Opera promise a feast for the eyes and dont disappoint. It was a co-production with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London, and was written in English. Judith Weir's music has been widely recorded, particularly on the NMC and Delphian labels; and is published by Chester Music and Novello & Co. ), full of truisms and clunky metaphors" and "about as streetwise as a visitor from Venus". Donna, proprietor of a laundry Laura Fleur (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Amy Holyland (2 & 7 Mar) 1 / 3. Strahinja Mitrovic, Clarinet Photo:Judith Weir. Miss Fortune in name and deed. Voices & Orchestra. 145 Miss Weir Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE Collections Project #ShowUs Creative Insights EDITORIAL VIDEO BBC Motion Gallery NBC News Archives MUSIC BLOG BROWSE PRICING ENTERPRISE VisualGPS INSIGHTS BOARDS BASKET SIGN IN Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO Silk Street Theatre, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London; Monday 28th February 2022. In 2007, she was the third recipient of the Queen's Medal for Music. Tina (Miss Fortune) - Emma Bell. Amongst her priorities in this role are the support of school music teachers, of amateur orchestras and choirs, and of rural festivals. Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Judith Weir - Infinite Women Right next to it was the ubiquitous fingers-crossed Lottery sign with its jaunty "Play here!" Weir, Judith. Violetta Suvini* I hope that does not mean more trapeziums, please. Miss Fortune in name and deed. Everyone is meaner, more downcast, more jubilant. 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. 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. A short 90 minutes of music later, Im still not entirely sure what it is Ive just seen. slogan. Winter Song. Whilst there is nothing especially laudable . Julia Sanchez Merino She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays. Firstly, when disaster strikes the family, our heroine leaves home for the mean streets of her own accord (in the original, she is cast out by her superstitious mother). [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. Dominic Wheeler conductorMartin Lloyd-Evans directorAnna Reid designerAnthony Doran lighting designerJoseph Beesley assistant conductorRachel Wise assistant director/movement, Lucy England Segomotso Shupinyaneng (28 Feb & 4 Mar), Ellie Neate (2 & 7 Mar) Judith Weir Wiki - everipedia.org I loved the witty set (designer. Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Born: 11 May 1954, United Kingdom Died: NA Country most active: United Kingdom Also known as: NA Judith Weir was born into a Scottish family in 1954, but grew up near London. Tiago Costa What you think of Miss Fortunes music will depend very much on personal tastes: I found it music to admire rather than to love. 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. Silver Tassie Operas. But this time round, it seemed even more relevant than to pay onstage attention to this subject. Its story talks about the difference betweeen being rich and poor, and I was criticised at the time for imagining that this would be a permissable subject for an opera. Given the intimacy and physical support of the Linbury Studio (instead of the open wastes of the main auditorium) the work would at least have had a fair hearing, instead of becoming an object of near ridicule. The role in Bregenz was taken up by the Prague Philharmonic Chorus, who gave touching performances while mastering illogical-looking English spellings like "rough" and "tough". The absence of an intermediary sparring partner in the shape of a librettist may have made it difficult for the right person to say to Weir "more here, less there". Urban dystopia: Guildhall School's double bill of Judith Weir's Miss The opera reworks a Sicilian folktale as a contemporary parable. Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents. Tobias Campos Santinaque Judith Weirs orchestral music is drawn from a similarly vivid palette. 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. Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. She has a large catalogue of performed works to her name, which will silence any who doubt her considerable gifts, especially vocal. Albery's production allows the opera to speak for itself, although sluggish pacing in the pit detract from the musical merits of this revival. Beri Valentine, Stage Management Props Supervisor It has been a hyperactive week for hubris, schadenfreude and any other not quite correctly used foreign words you care to scatter. 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. Mario Gutirrez Gorria, Viola 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. Miss Fortune in name and deed. EC2Y 8DT. She teaches at Cardiff University. Judith Weir - Wikipedia What a waste of talent and resources. She was an oboe player, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied composition with John Tavener during her schooldays.
