VERDI TOOK 30-plus curtain calls at the 1847 Florence premiere of Macbeth.

It's easy to see why.

Events cascade with lightning speed.
Macbeth and his lady understand each other instinctively.
They evince few qualms.
Carnage flows as night follows day: "What's done is done."

Later, as the pace eases, the psychology intensifies, climaxing in the magnificent sleepwalking scene and Macbeth's soured realisation that what awaits him is revilement and oblivion.
It is the exiles, lamenting their "wretched country" who will restore the light.
(Roderic Dunneti)

Verdi's Macbeth
​will be performed by Duchy Opera at the Minack open air Theatre, week beginning July 8th.
Seven performances, including matinees on Tuesday and Thursday.
​Tickets are now on sale from the Minack box office:
https://www.minack.com/verdis-macbeth/
01736 810181

BBC Singers in Good Friday musicAfternoon Concert
James Weeks conducts the BBC Singers in a programme featuring his own work for choir and narrator, Orlando Tenebrae, as part of repertoire linked to Good Friday. The programme continues with two pieces inspired by Good Friday, with the BBC Singers performing first Kenneth Leighton's Crucifixus Pro Nobis and then, Paul Drayton's The Passion of Christ as told by Mark the Evangelist.

2.00pm
Tomás Luis de Victoria: Three Tenebrae Responsories
Ecce quomodo moritur iustus
Aestimatus sum
O vos omnes

James Weeks: Orlando Tenebrae (with narrator)

Heinrich Schütz:
Quid commisisti, o puer SWV56
Die mit Tränen saen, SWV378
Die mit Tränen saen, SWV42

Kenneth Leighton: Crucifixus Pro Nobis

Paul Drayton: The Passion of Christ as told by Mark the Evangelist
Jesus: Andrew Rupp - baritone
High Priest & Pilate: Jamie W. Hall - bass
Narrator: Olivia Robinson – soprano
Peter: Stephen Jeffes – tenor
BBC Singers
Marin Andre – conductor
Ends at 4.10pm

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’

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. "