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The Company past and present will be giving Paul a 'send-off' on Sunday January 13th at 7 - 8pm. Please contact us if you would like to join us.
 Chairman Andrew Lancaster pays tribute to Paul Drayton at his Farewell Concert (Mevagissey) This concert marks the end of an era for Duchy Opera: 14 years of musical leadership from one of the most prodigious talents of his generation. Paul Drayton has been at the helm of the company in almost every sense, as musical director, composer, libretto translator, chorus master and pianist for innumerable concerts. During these years he conducted A Masked Ball, The Wreckers, Tosca, Semele, The Vampire, The Merry Widow, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, his own opera The Hanging Oak, La Traviata and The Merry Wives of Windsor, at venues including village halls, schools, community centres, theatres such as the Northcott Exeter, the Wharf Tavistock and the Hall for Cornwall, and of course at the Minack. He has directed, programmed and played for our concerts and shows in a vast range of venues, from country houses to Heartlands, from Mevagissey Jubilee Hall to the Tresanton Hotel St Mawes, and almost all points in between. A keen educationalist, he has been at the forefront of Duchy's initiative The School Run, taking opera to Cornish Primary and Secondary schools, and wrote and directed The Mermaid of Zennor incorporating 270 Primary school children plus the company into a touring production. As if this were not enough, these years have seen his work performed by choirs from Cornwall to Sweden, commissions from The Three Choirs Festival, Dame Gillian Weir, the cathedrals of Washington DC and Kansas Missouri, and the Kings Singers. And all of this has been done with great humour, tact, insight and energy…. Paul, it has been a privilege to be associated with you. 
What we are doing
Following successful sold-out performances at the Minack open air theatre in 2017, Duchy Opera will be performing Verdi’s opera Macbeth at the same venue in July 2019. Performance dates Sunday July 7th (Dress Rehearsal before a small audience) Monday July 8th to Friday 12th 8pm (Five evening performances) Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th 2pm (matinee performances). Principal roles will be double cast so only four performances will be required. Our opera will be a traditional production. We will be performing in English using the Kalmus score with the unpublished Andrew Porter translation commissioned by ETO. Our Director will be Angela Agutter Thomas (director of Duchy Opera’s Marriage of Figaro, Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, Madame Butterfly and The Merry Wives of Windsor 2018). Conductor is Timothy Dean, Music Director of Duchy Opera, previously Music and Artistic Director of British Youth Opera and Head of Opera at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. If you wish to audition Please contact Duchy Opera via this link and we will send you details. You will then be asked to submit your current CV with a recent photo, along with your name, address and contact details. You may wish to add links to your website and audio/YouTube files. Auditions for principal roles will be held on Saturday December 15th and Saturday January 12th (both, daytime only) at Feock Methodist Chapel near Truro. Please specify your preferred date. Audition pieces: (any edition, in English or Italian. We will perform in English). Macbeth 1) Act 1 recitative ‘Sappia la sposa mia...up to Lady Macbeth's entrance 2) Act 3 ‘Gran scena delle Apparizioni’ including aria ‘Fuggi, regal…’ 3) Act 4 Recitative and aria ‘Perfidi….Pieta, rispetto, onore’. Lady Macbeth 1) Act 1 ‘Vieni! T’affretta!... and cabaletta ‘Or tutti sorgete’ 2) Act 2 ‘La luce langue’ 3) Act 4 Sleepwalking scene ‘Una macchia’ Macduff Act 4 recitative and aria ‘O figli miei...Ah la paterna mano’ Banquo Act 2 recitative and aria ‘Studia il passo….Come dal ciel precipito’  DUCHY OPERA PRESENTS.... Hoping we will see you there! Jubilee Hall, Mevagissey PL26 6SS Saturday November 24th 2018 at 7.30 Tickets: Adults £11 Concessions £10 U18 £5 purchased from local shops, local Tourist Offices or from CRBO Online www.crbo.co.uk By Phone (01726) 879 500 We are grateful for the support of : ALASTAIR SHAW Coastal and Countryside Homes 01726 844202 www.alastairshaw.com SARAH MEDLIN Graphic Designer medlindesign@googlemail.com www.medlindesign.com We are so sorry to have heard of the death of Hilary Phoenix who for many years was one of the principal singers with Duchy Opera. You can read about her here. (end of page)
"It is with much sadness that I am contacting you regarding one of your honorary members, Hilary Phoenix. Hilary (my aunt, and my mum’s twin sister), passed away peacefully at her care home in Watford, Hertfordshire, on 17th September. She had been suffering from dementia and had become very frail in her last few weeks. Please would you be so kind as to communicate this news to the wider team at Duchy Opera. I am sure she had many friends and contacts who may wish to know." "Our Auntie Hilary was a real gem - a talented performer with a beautiful voice, and a truly warm and kind person. We enjoyed watching her in Duchy Opera performances when we were visiting her in Cornwall. I always loved the fact that she sang in such a variety of beautiful places - National Trust Properties/ Stately Homes/ outdoor venues (brave!). And I know that Duchy Opera gave her so much pleasure and a new lease of life when she moved down to the South-West from Hertfordshire. She loved singing and performing; she is an inspiration to me as she sang Despina at the age of 65, something I shall aspire to! Her funeral took place on 11th October at St Lawrence Church in Abbot's Langley, Herts. It was where she and Derrick were married back in 1983, and where she and twin Josephine lived for many years when they first moved to the area. It was a lovely service, complete with some recordings of Hilary singing. " Introducing .......
our new Director of Music Timothy Dean You will have seen from previous posts that Paul Drayton recently announced his intention of stepping down from this position which he had held since 2005. His last concert with us will be at Mevagissey on November 24th. We are delighted that Tim has agreed to join us at Duchy Opera. As you will see, he has wide experience in the Opera world and has much to bring to Cornwall where he has recently relocated. Tim has performed many roles across the UK, including: 10 years as Chorus Master and Head of Music for Kent Opera; Music Director, Artistic Director and now a Vice-President of British Youth Opera; Conductor of the London Bach Society; Music Director of The Opera Company; Assistant Music Director and Chorus Master with the New D’Oyly Carte Opera (after which he made company debuts for English National Opera and Scottish Opera.) He was appointed Head of Opera at RSAMD in 1994, and since moving to Scotland has worked with the RSNO, Orchestra of Scottish Opera, English Chamber Orchestra, Paragon Ensemble and Haddo House Opera. He was Director of the RSNO Chorus from 2006-2014, and was made a Fellow of the RSAMD in 2010. He has recently conducted performances in collaborative projects with the Conservatoire in Rostov-on-Don in Russia, one of which received a Royal Philharmonic Society Award nomination. In 2013 he conducted Cunning Little Vixen for the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and in 2014 was artist in residence at the Hochschule in Nuremberg. He is Artistic Director of the Royal Conservatoire’s ‘Song Studio’, giving performances with singers all over Scotland and Director of ‘Royal Conservatoire Voices’, a new vocal ensemble created to perform early and contemporary repertoire which has broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and appeared at the Edinburgh International and St Magnus Festivals. He continues to be active as coach, accompanist, adjudicator and conductor and is now a Professor. Video link to Tim Dean accompanying Anush Hovhannisiyan Video link to Tim Dean in rehearsal Stravinsky's 'Les Noces'
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