Richard Burkhard, who sings Sir Despard Murgatroyd, reveals his Dear Diary thoughts about Ruddigore Rehearsals

25th January
 
I am writing this on the 11.00 train from Kings X to Leeds, for what will be the final week of rehearsals before the opening night of Ruddigore. As I sit here watching the world whizz by, it occurs to me that a weekend at home can be a surreal experience when you are so immersed in the latter stages of mounting a new production. I’d so love to be able to switch off, relax, take the dog for a walk, you know, spend some ‘quality time’ with my family. But when I say that my kids were made to sit with me at the piano and sing through Rose Maybud’s ‘Waltz Song’, that they were drilled in the intricacies of Ruddigore’s plot at least 5 times, that I woke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, with the ‘Matter Trio’ whirling around my brain, and that I spent the weekend prowling around the house like Vincent Price on acid (Yes, I play the baddie!), you’ll realise that I’m currently finding it difficult to distinguish between reality and the Victorian melodrama of Messrs Gilbert and Sullivan. The stage and orchestra 1 rehearsal is later today, and I can’t wait to hear the fabulous Opera North orchestra.
 
26th January
 
Yesterday was wonderful. Not surprisingly the orchestra lifted the production onto a new level. Stage and orchestra 2 and 3 rehearsals are today, and the sense of excitement building is palpable across the board; almost more so than any production I’ve been involved in for some time. Maybe we’re desperate to do ‘Ruddigore’ justice, to silence the individuals who question its contemporary relevance. Maybe, it’s because, in this age of cynicism, it is such glorious fun being involved in something so unashamedly theatrical. Or maybe we just want to put on a great show for all those G&S fans who, it is said, will be arriving by land, sea and air. I am certain they won’t be disappointed by the ‘look’ of the show. Richard Hudson’s set and Gabrielle Dolton’s costumes are quite simply ravishing, and that doesn’t half help us as performers!
 
7.45pm
 
The buzz in the theatre is terrific. On stage, rehearsals for the ghosts’ scene (always technically difficult) are under way, and I watch an army of stage crew operating a dizzying array of trap doors and sliding panels that will bring to life, literally, the ancestral hall of Ruddigore. Out in the corridor it is a hive of activity. I pass a group of ‘bridesmaids’ practising the Charleston. Dressers wait expectantly to help principals with their quick changes, and a couple of skeletons whizz by on their way to the stage. An ear-splitting roar of laughter from the stage signals the end of the ghosts’ scene, and soon I’ll be on; my character transformed from the villainous Sir Despard Murgatroyd in Act 1, to the self-righteous, self-appointed pillar of society in Act 2. But my transformation is being potentially thwarted by a moustache that has become unstuck. I rush back to my dressing room to apply more glue. The rest of the evening passes without incident.
 
27th January
 
I’m off to the theatre now for the last run before the dress-rehearsal tomorrow. I consider myself very lucky to have been part of this show, and hope it’s a success; it deserves to be with all the work that has gone into it, not least Jo Davis’ (the director) tireless energy and insight. Hopefully we’ll see you in Leeds or on tour somewhere.

 

Amy Freston writes as her character Rose Maybud and reveals all about who has caught her eye

Rose Cottage
The Gables
Mill Lane
Rederring
Cornwall

Myrtle Whipchick
Fanny Smart’s Finishing School for Young
Mr Minions
Cornwall

Monday, April 28^th, 1927

Dearest Myrty,

Please forgive my tardiness in responding to your latest missive! How terrific to hear such news of your accolades – top of the class in deportment AND decorum! How will I keep up with only my book of etiquette to guide me? I know dear aunt thinks I am quite squiffy. She does not seem to realise that society’s only hope of redemption from its profligacies is our education in the correct ways of propriety and etiquette!

Oh Myrty when are you coming home so that we may once again delight in our favourite ices and sweets along the sea front? Strawberries and cream! Blackcurrant and Licorice! I nearly jumped into the sea the other day but decided, even for Miss Maybud, it was too nippy. I do miss you a great deal dear chum. Life here can be lonely: Aunt is very much her own soul, and fusty with it, dear as she is; and then there are the wretched bridesmaids forever badgering me to marry. It is most vexing! What are they about? However did there come to be an endowed corps of professional bridesmaids residing in this tiny port? Are they the mad sorts no one knows what to do with? I certainly think so. And they are all so common.

That said I do seem to get caught up in all manner of incidents and happenings here in Rederring. Only this morning, I found poor Willie ‘one-eye’ lying face down in a ditch along Widdle Lane having fallen whilst looking for his glasses. He seemed to think it was a butterfly he was trying to catch (hence the need for his glasses! In the ditch?), but it eluded him and – plop! – he was face down with legs akimbo. Clearly his marbles have gone but what matter. I rather wish mine would go and I could chase butterflies with him. Oh golly, what is to become of me Myrt? You will be a lady, whilst I – merely an aspiring one! It shall never do!

Oh Myrty I must confess there is a boy I like. You know there is… you guessed way back in church that day I flushed so red I thought my hat would catch fire! It is that darned Robin Oakapple in whom I have professed to have no interest. He is quite the sweetest and funniest boy I’ve ever come across. Every time he sees me he flashes pink and darts the other way as if I might bite him; and yet everyday methinks he finds a way for our paths to cross. For a gentleman of such prolific means, with such a stead to tend to – what is he about wandering the village in the middle of the day? When do his Oxen get their gruel? (Gruel! I bless the day when Aunt decided I was buxom enough to do without the wretched stuff!).

So this is it: we meet most everyday on our way about town – I’m sure he has his eye on me to know when and where I am about – and then he runs away almost as soon as he has parked his feet in my direction! What am I to do? Nowhere in my book does it allow for a woman to give pert encouragement to a gentleman. But is this dance to go on until I am in my dotage?

Oh goodness – Aunt is calling! It is time for me to go and take old Captain Bird his tea. He does complain so when I am not punctual! Do keep writing! And keep up the good work!

With fondest good wishes,

Your friend Rose

 

The first in the Ruddigore series, Baritone, Grant Doyle, lets us intercept a letter from his character Robin Oakapple aka Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd

Robin Oakapple
Oakapple Farm
Penzance Road
Rederring
Cornwall

Boatswain’s Mate, Mr Richard Dauntless
HMS “Tom-Tit”
Royal Navy
Somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean

Sunday, April 17th, 1927

Dear Dick,

I am writing this letter with the faint hope that it should reach you, and find you hale and hearty. We have been parted ten years now and I think of you often, my dearest friend and foster-brother.

Your little home village of Rederring is much as you left it. My farm, however, has expanded from a modest dairy homestead to a sizeable acreage able to sustain many head of oxen, sheep, pigs and a considerable crop of corn.

My life of toil is rewarding and in my leisure I attend social gatherings including the early morning service at the Methodist Chapel. There I can be assured of encountering the delightful Rose Maybud. She is pretty, generous and by far the maiden most deserving of my attention in this village. However, she is quite particular about her suitors, and although I am eminently eligible, I still cannot bring myself to utter more than polite niceties in her prescence. Moreover, I am constantly reminded of my ineptitude by a bevy of bridesmaids who materialise at the merest whiff of a marriage proposal.

Worse still, my private moments are darkened by that circumstance to which few are privy. I talk of the curse placed by a vengeful witch upon the Baronets of Ruddigore. You know well, Dick, that I am in truth the successor to that hideous title and its doom. And how, twenty years ago, in the dead of the night’s high noon, concealed by the cloak of a new moon, I fled the castle and the evil heritage to begin this new life as simple, honest Robin Oakapple. It still sickens me to recall how after the death of the reigning baronet Sir Roderic, my younger brother Sir Despard, believing me to be dead, assumed the title along with its ban compelling him to commit a crime each and every day of his life! Many lurid tales of him abound, by the way, and Mad Margaret is heard muttering about his sore treatment of her; presumably she is one of the wretched objects of his daily iniquity.

But enough of this melancholy! It is a fine spring day in Cornwall, and such weather can lift one’s spirits. In fact, as I behold my rural seat, I feel my doubt and diffidence dissolving…perhaps today is the day… yes, I will do it! I’ll go this very morning to Rose Maybud and ask for her hand! Oh thank you, Dick, putting my ponderings to paper has given me gumption. Would that some day soon I might show you my gratitude in person – farewell and soon may blow those breezes to bring your boat home!

Your faithful friend

Robin

- alias Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd
- a/k/a “Bad Baritone of Ruddigore”, Grant Doyle

 

Nick Sharratt tells all about Swanhunter on Tour

As the ‘High Representative’ of the cast of Swanhunter, I’m going to attempt to give you all a little insight into life on tour.

After a week of performances in Leeds in November, we set off for Hexham, then Thoresby in Nottinghamshire and then on to a wind-swept Bridlington at the beginning of this week.

I am currently sitting at breakfast in a lovely B&B in historic Berwick-upon-Tweed. We have been staying, for the most part, in small family-run hotels, welcoming B&Bs and self-catering cottages, which, I have to say, has been a pleasant change. We have always stayed with other members of the Company, and thankfully we all get on extremely well, which makes for a very sociable time whilst on the road! However, my utter inability to decline the lure of a cooked breakfast has resulted in a steadily expanding waistline! My running shoes will be pressed into service shortly!

Swanhunter is a show that really needs a huge amount of energy to keep it spontaneous, especially for the school performances. The cast has been exploring and experimenting with their roles to keep it fresh and exciting for the audiences. Jonathan Dove (Composer) and Clare Whistler (Director) came to see the show in Bridlington and were thrilled with the way it has evolved.

Unfortunately, due to the time of year there has been quite a lot of illness amongst the cast. How Elizabeth Cragg manages to sing the swan, with such high notes, when she is so full of cold she can’t hear, is beyond me. Frances Bourne (Louhi) had to miss two shows, but her cover, Kelly, did a great job.

This project’s aim is to give children a hugely positive first experience of opera, and we’ve all been wondering how successful this has been. The answer came for me when my sister, a primary school teacher, brought 16 of her 10 year old pupils to the show in Thoresby and Graham Broadbent (Dog/Death/Smith) and Stuart Stratford (Conductor) kindly met them afterwards. The next day, one of the boys came up to my sister and said, “That was the best thing I have ever, ever, EVER seen in my whole life.” Mission accomplished.

 

Opera North’s budding reviewers, George (aged 10) and Harri Pitches (aged 12) tell us what they thought of Swanhunter

George: “So Harri wasn’t it exciting being in the Howard Assembly Room? All the other operas we’ve seen have been in the Leeds Grand Theatre. I thought being closer to the stage made everything seem bigger. It was interesting being able to see the facial expressions on the singers’ faces, as Lemminkainen kept smiling, especially at the beginning. This made me think it was going to be a happy story but parts of it were quite sad and scary.

The main storyline was easy to follow but some of the music was slow and dark. The most exciting part was when Lemminkainen was hunting the swan and the swan let out a cry and held the note for a really long time. It was a very high note and quite mysterious when she sang it. Another part of the singing I liked was when Lemminkainen’s mother was out looking for him after he had been killed and cut in to  quarters. Her voice was strong and powerful. Her voice filled the room for a long time. One thing I thought was a bit misleading was when the people in long grey coats were singing “Lemminkainen is dead” and then he just walked off stage. This made me laugh but I think it was meant to be a serious moment…”

Harri: “…I completely agree with you George: It was a great show but not spectacular. The singing though, I thought was great. The singers could hold the really high notes for a very long time. I didn’t really get the story and I don’t think someone who had never seen an opera before would get it without the programme.

I thought that being in the Howard Assembly Room was interesting as well and it was great to be able to see what the characters actually looked like without the aid of binoculars. The story on a whole was really quite intriguing and very mysterious. Some parts were, as you said George, quite scary. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Lemminkainen fought the huge demonic Elk. It was a very cleverly done piece and I really liked the use of the trowels as hooves. However, I thought the ‘Devil’s Horse’ scene needed a bit more work, as it wasn’t very clear when Lemminkainen was riding the horse or being pounded into oblivion by its hooves. But I did think the use of keys, lights and hockey sticks was very interesting and clever. Sometimes the singing was a bit obscure and you really wouldn’t know what someone was saying.

I would have to agree that it was quite funny when Lemminkainen was supposedly dead but then got up and helped the ‘grey coat’ people clear the stage. My favourite character in the performance was the mother of Lemminkainen as she was a very good actress and singer and the scene where she resurrected her son was particularly haunting. Looking forward to the next show… are you?!

 

Behind the Scenes of the World Premiere of Swanhunter with Director Clare Whistler

Following the dress rehearsal there is still work to do on the lighting cues on the afternoon of the premiere of Swanhunter.  I met with Simon, the lighting designer, Michael, the stage manager, and Graham, the board operator, (who will be in charge of all the lighting on tour) to go through the piece cue to cue, looking at all the lighting changes that accompany the opera.  We still had to work out a new light for the Mother in the tower, and more light for the moment when the fatal arrow is shot!

Then it was time to sort out the cards and presents that go to all the singers, musicians and people who have helped the performance happen.  I also have presents for Jonathan and Alasdair, I feel so honoured that I have been the director of Swanhunter, and I want to thank them.

Now the singers, musicians and Stuart, the conductor start to arrive.  Cups of tea and nervous excitement for all.

One of the singers is really unwell. We all feel quite anxious.  The cover/understudy is called and is ready to take over if the singer loses his voice while on stage.  I am really upset, everyone wants to do their very best and now we all know there is an extra anxiety to handle.

Still I felt excited going up to the lobby to meet my family who have arrived from Sussex.   I am standing on the side as the seats are sold out.

Finally the lights go down and the music begins.  I sit hardly breathing.

The opera goes by in a flash and finally there are the bows, getting backstage and the start of celebrations and congratulations.  There is a reception in the lobby and Richard Mantle, the General Director of Opera North, thanks everyone.   Then more celebrations but off early as the singers need to rest before tomorrows show, however I think some of the production team stayed up late into the night!

 

 

Production Manager, Dirk Neuhof tells all about the Swanhunter dress rehearsal

After days and weeks of work tonight it is going to happen: the general dress rehearsal. As usual, a lot of things are to be done – lighting sessions, set improvements, building new things and chucking them out an hour later as they have not proven to be the right thing. Usually when someone starts to get stressed – the whole place gets in a kind of turmoil. It is part of my job to be there in these situations, anticipating them even and to put some water on the fire. Remember: the day of the general is the perfect day for panicking.

Not only being a production manager, set painter and people supporter I have also been allocated the role of a followspot operator. Brilliant! It is going to be interesting to operate the spot on a show which will be changed until the dress rehearsal. See how that goes.

Until then there is paperwork to do regarding the upcoming tour. I am lucky to get some hours in the office, dealing with the different venues in between phone calls. Somehow I realise that I am lucky only dealing with 30 people rather than 200. I am very lucky to have such a great support here at Opera North knowing that we can solve almost everything.

After a quick sandwich it’s back to the Howard Assembly Room. People working there are under a lot of time pressure, so I try to help out here and there and to keep conflicts away from them. Two hours before the show. Restless directors, musical directors, set designers and still some work on the tower to do.

Aah, fifteen minutes break before the show. The last issues are being solved with the help of Ric Green, the Technical Director and then the fire alarm reminds us that the smoke machine has just been switched on. Great! A general rehearsal should not be perfect, otherwise the first night will be in a mess. So we are covered. Fortunately we do not have to evacuate the auditorium and the show starts 10 minutes late.

As I expected followspotting was exciting as the lighting states looked new to me. At the very end my construction on the petals of the tower proved to be wrong and gave the singer a knock on his head. Fortunately that was in the last bar of the opera. Black out, curtain call and I find out that the singer is luckily very alive. Not too bad.  

End of the dress. Everybody seemed to be pleased, a short production meeting afterwards and then a pint in the pub. What a day!

 

Dody Nash talks about her role as Set and Costume Designer for Swanhunter

It’s 9pm and we are in the final three days of rehearsal before our ‘fit up’ and stage rehearsals in the Howard Assembly Room. My work on the design, which started last February, is nearly finished.

I have been in the Opera North building now for 12 hours. My day starts with a catch up with Clare (the director). Parts of the show are being made on different floors of the building, so I spend the day running between costume and prop makers, stage and production management, to keep an eye on the fabrication of the design and to see that it works in rehearsal. I use a 1:25 scale model and costume drawings to help me communicate the design with everyone. I also observe as much of the rehearsals as I can, to see if there are any improvements I can make to my work. The music is sounding wonderful and the singers are really enjoying themselves with Clare’s clever interpretation of the story -  it has lots of  movement and action! It’s a great atmosphere to work in and there is always lots of laughter to be heard coming from the rehearsal room.

Parcels arrive all the time. Today, fluorescent lights were delivered. Dirk (production manager) is seeing the touring venues this week, and it’s great to hear about the places Swanhunter will be visiting. Yesterday, I sat down with Chris (assistant director) to look at the proportions of the venues and make a few basic design decisions, such as the ‘setting line’ (the position the scenic floor is ‘set’ in relation to the front of the stage floor). On Friday, Simon (lighting designer) arrives and we will have our full creative team. It’s busy for me now, but next week will be even busier once we get into the theatre.

We have some very exciting scenery being made by our prop maker, Johnny. Big curved lumps of polystyrene covered with thick felt will represent snow. It plays an important part in the show. It was difficult to think of a scenic material for snow – felt is a great solution and I think the singers are going to enjoy walking on it in bare feet! Tonight, I am painting the Tower, which is where the Mother lives. It’s based on a photograph Clare found of a church in Arkhangelsk. I changed the shape and colour many times until I thought it looked simple and beautiful. Although main rehearsals ended at 5.30pm, I will wait until 9.30pm for cover rehearsals to end. Chris is rehearsing the singers who will perform if someone falls sick. Then I will paint until the early hours of the morning. I love painting scenery at night time when the theatre is empty. It’s really quiet. A great way to end the day after a long day of listening, thinking and making decisions.

 

Week 2 in Opera North’s Swanhunter series with Becky Walsh, Head of Education…

We’re into week 2 of Swanhunter rehearsals now, and it’s amazing to finally see and hear the team bringing it to life.  This project falls into the part of our education programme which introduces young people to opera for the first time.  Much of our other work takes place out in schools and communities, so for many people, Swanhunter will provide a first taste of opera on stage.  Many of these first-timers are children, and we want them to have a theatre experience which is ‘up-close-and-personal’.  Audiences will see it in small theatres where the singers are only inches away from the front row and where the mechanics of performance are on show.  This way the story-telling can be more intimate and the detail is visually and aurally more immediate.

As there aren’t many operas which can be told by a small cast and orchestra in this way, we decided to commission a new one.  We had the idea of ‘North’ in mind and wanted to find a story which would necessitate a musical retelling and would involve quests and thrilling adventure.  Having seen Jonathan Dove and Alasdair Middleton’s Pinocchio, we knew they’d be the right people for the job!  They’ve unearthed an extraordinary story about the power of song, and their retelling is mind-blowingly brilliant.  And now it’s being playfully drawn off the page and onto the stage and will be a feast of movement and song!  Whilst it’s originally conceived for children and will tap into their imaginations, it’s definitely going to have universal appeal.  So children, bring your adults with you!

So now I can hardly wait for the opening night where we will get to see it for the first time in the Howard Assembly Room for which it has been specially designed.  And then we’re taking it on tour to theatres which seldom receive opera productions. I’m just really looking forward to seeing how audiences, young and old, respond to it.  I think it’s going to be a real hit!

 

First in Opera North’s Swanhunter blog series is Composer, Jonathan Dove….

The past week has been very exciting. Last Tuesday, I heard the cast of Swanhunter sing through the whole opera for the first time. They are all wonderful! It was very liberating to be able just to listen: I compose operas at the piano, singing all the parts, and I perform it quite often – for the director, the conductor, the designer and the opera company, so that everyone knows how the piece goes. It’s a relief to know I never need to sing it again. It sounds so much better with the real cast!

Yesterday, director Clare Whistler and designer Dody Nash showed us their brilliant designs for the production.

And today we heard the orchestra for the first time. It’s very unusual to get the instrumentalists together so early in the rehearsal period. Normally, they start to rehearse when the staging is nearly complete. With a brand new opera, this means that the singers don’t know what the piece will really sound like: all the rehearsals are accompanied only with piano. It’s like looking at a picture in black and white – then the orchestra turn up and play it in colour.  So now, our cast already have the technicolour version in their heads. This will help them in all sorts of ways.

Because Swanhunter is a folk legend, I wanted the six-piece orchestra to sound a bit like a folk-band. Four of them are instruments you might expect to hear at a dance, like a ceilidh – violin, accordion, double bass and drum kit. In addition, there’s a harp, which often plays folk music, although you wouldn’t expect to find it in a dance-band.  The last instrument is a horn – an outdoor instrument, associated with huntsmen. The hero of Swanhunter doesn’t only hunt a swan: he also has to hunt down the Devil’s Elk and ride the Devil’s Horse. Six instruments is a very small orchestra (a big opera can have ninety instrumentalists) but it can make a big range of sounds – from the quietly shimmering beauty of Louhi’s unseen daughter to the loud, thundering hooves of the Devil’s Horse.