German Language Opera The Flying Dutchman
Programme
The Flying Dutchman
Performances: Sunday 7 July - 2.00pm, Wednesday 10 July 2024 - 7.00pm and Saturday 13 July 2024 - 7.00pm
Music & Libretto - Richard Wagner
Conductor - Jack Ridley
Director - Iqbal Khan
Cast
Gerrit Paul Groen - Daland
Mari Wyn Williams - Senta
Anando Mukerjee - Erik
Laura Woods - Mary
Christian Joel - Steuermann
Byron Jackson - Holländer / Dutchman
Assistant Director - Dewi Beryl Johnson
Stage Manager - Aisha Zanini-Hughes
Executive Producer - Eleni Kyriacou
Orchestra
Central England Camerata Leader - Anna Downes
Birmingham Choral Union
Chorus Director - Colin Baines
Children’s Commission Composer - Bobbie-Jane Gardner
Librettist - N'gadie Roberts
Repetiteurs
Kevin Gill, Darren Hogg, Paul Plummer, Jack Stone
German Language Coach - Anna Miell
Lighting Designer - KJ
Introduction
In what is believed to be the UK’s first Black and Asian-led Wagner production, Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) is produced by Persona Arts, with artistic director and international baritone Byron Jackson and stage direction by Iqbal Khan.
A professional cast with heritage from across the Commonwealth are joined by a skilled community chorus. Music from the Central England Camerata, under the baton of Jack Ridley.
Wagner’s opera will be presented alongside a short new commission by Birmingham-based composer, BobbieJane Gardner.
Sung in German with English subtitles.
Persona Arts is a charitable incorporated organisation bringing opera, classical and choral music to the people of the West Midlands and their communities. It strives to provide singers and musicians of diverse backgrounds a chance to perform and develop their craft. This production is part of their mission to break down racial barriers that still
exist within the opera and classical music sectors. The community chorus and orchestra are drawn from across Birmingham, the Black Country and rural areas of Shropshire and Worcestershire.
“Over the last two years, Persona Arts have been scouring the West Midlands to recruit community singers for our Flying Dutchman chorus. It’s been a long journey, and now we’re finally here, about to bring our production of Wagner to the stage. This is an especially important production for me, as it draws together a diverse professional cast as well as people from my home city and region who have been systematically forgotten from the world of opera and music, and tells them that ‘Yes, you can do this!”
Byron Jackson FRSA
Artistic Director of Persona Arts
Board of Trustees
Toni Perry-Thomas
James Oldham
Julia Handelman-Smith FRSA
Patron: Reverend Canon Eve Pitts
Show information
Considered Wagner’s first undisputed masterpiece, Der fliegende Holländer is part of the international opera canon. First performed in 1843, it tells the story of a man doomed to sail the seas for all eternity, unless he finds true love.
ACT I
Caught in a storm, Daland’s ship seeks refuge in a quiet bay, and the sailors retire below deck. A ghostly vessel appears, the captain lamenting his fate. He has been cursed to roam the seas forever without rest, only if he can find a wife who will be truly faithful to him will he be released from his curse. When Daland discovers the phantom ship, the captain introduces himself as “a Dutchman”.
ACT II
Daland and the Dutchman are now acquainted. Daland has promised his daughter, Senta, in marriage to the Dutchman in exchange for treasure. Even though Senta is already promised to a hunter named Erik, she is fascinated by the legend of the Flying Dutchman and wants to be the one to set him free. She rejects her former suitor and vows to be faithful to the Flying Dutchman unto death.
ACT III
The Dutchman overhears Erik pleading with Senta to take him back. He sets sail, believing his only hope for salvation has been lost. In a final desperate gesture, Senta throws herself into the sea, faithful unto death.
Iqbal Khan Stage Director
Iqbal Khan is an Associate Director of Birmingham Rep, an Associate Artist of Box Clever Theatre Company, and was the Artistic Director of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony. He has worked extensively with the RSC, as well as directing for opera and classical music events. Credits include assisting Sir Graham Vick on Otello, Madama Butterfly, The Wildman of the West Indies, and for the Los Angeles Philharmonic - Shakespeare at The Bowl.
Jack Ridley Conductor
Jack is a London-based conductor and pianist. He has conducted opera performances across the UK and Europe, making his Glyndebourne Festival debut in 2023.
Eager to push the boundaries between different art forms, Jack conducted the concert realisation of Rory Pilgrim’s RAFTS, nominated for the 2023 Turner Prize. In the past year, Jack has performed at the Hay Literary Festival, and begun his tenure as Principal Conductor of London Touring Orchestra.
Having trained as a primary school teacher during the pandemic, Jack is passionate about working with young people and is an advocate for music’s role in wider society.
Bobbie-Jane Gardner Composer / Children’s Commission
Bobbie-Jane Gardner is a composer and arranger based in Birmingham, UK and she has been commissioned by Heart n Soul, Spitalfields Music, Onyx Brass, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Persona Arts (previously BJ Music Events), Wild Plum Arts, The String Credibles and Tom Kerstens’ G Plus Ensemble. A keen arranger, Bobbie has completed bespoke arrangements for BBC Concert Orchestra, CBSO and Netflix and ran a national tour championing the music of David Axelrod and Charles Stepney called ‘Music of the Unseen’.
Bobbie’s music has been performed by leading ensembles including Psappha, City of London Sinfonia, London Symphony Orchestra and Ethereal World and her music has been performed at international festivals, including Cheltenham Music Festival, Frontiers Festival and the London Jazz Festival.
Colin Baines The Flying Dutchman Chorus Director
Colin studied music at Birmingham and Liverpool Universities. He has conducted the Birmingham Choral Union for over thirty years, directing performances of choral works from Bach’s Mass in B minor to Fanshawe’s African Sanctus in various major venues across the Midlands. He is also deputy chorus master of the City of Birmingham Choir.
Gerrit Paul Groen Daland
British-American Gerrit Paul Groen is a dramatic bass who has a distinguished international career. Roles have included Hunding and Wotan (cover) for the Regents Opera Ring Cycle in London, Polizeikommissar and Baron Ochs (cover) in Der Rosenkavalier for Saffron Opera Group, Wanderer in Siegfried for the Edinburgh Players Opera Group, and Father Trulove in The Rake’s Progress for New Palace Opera. Mr. Groen covered and performed multiple roles for Welsh National Opera, Opera North, Longborough Festival Opera, the Royal Opera House, New York City Opera and the Saffron Opera Group.
Mari Wyn Williams Senta
Welsh dramatic soprano Mari Wyn Williams is a graduate of The Wales International Academy of Voice where she studied with the International tenor Dennis O’Neill CBE. Mari recently performed the roles of: Ellen Orford for a concert version of Peter Grimes with the Kensington Symphony Orchestra and the Epiphoni Consort, Woglinde from Das Rheingold for Longborough Festival Opera, Fiordiligi from Cosi Fan Tutte for Swansea City Opera, Musetta from La Boheme for Mid Wales Opera, the title role in Tosca for Opera project at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol, Helmwige from Die Walküre for Grange Park Opera, and Ortlinde for ENO’s new production of The Valkyrie directed by Richard Jones and conducted by Martyn Brabbins and Anthony Negus.
Anando Mukerjee Erik
A native of India, Anando is “India’s finest tenor” (The Statesman 2009) and is considered to be the only internationally recognised tenor from India. Anando was granted a Charles Wallace India Trust British Council Award in 2001 and was a finalist in the UK National Mozart Competition in 2007 and the Wagner Society Bayreuth Bursary Competition in 2012. Concert highlights include his Italian debut at the Teatro dei Rozzi, Sienna in the Concordia International Ensemble Gala; Cadogan Hall debut in London Lyric Opera’s cycle A Feast of Orchestral Songs; opening of the 9th season of the Symphony Orchestra of India at the NCPA Bhabha Opera House, Bombay. Opera roles include Edgardo/Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo/La boheme and Cavaradossi/Tosca.
Laura Woods Mary Award winning mezzo-soprano Laura Woods is an alumna of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she studied under Christine Cairns. In the operatic realm Ms. Woods reprised her much-loved role as Flora for Opera Holland Park’s critically acclaimed production of La Traviata during the 2021 season, La Patronne, Margot La Rouge in 2022 and joined English National Opera covering Schwertleite/Die Walküre (Wagner). Her solo broadcasts include In Tune for BBC Radio 3 and Newsnight for BBC Two.
Christian Joel Steuermann
Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, the international tenor Christian Joel is an up-and-coming artist of great promise, particularly in French and bel canto repertoire, as well as contemporary opera. Following studies at HEMU de Lausanne and the Zurich University of the Arts, he was an artist of the International Opera Studio at Opéra de Lyon during the 2019-2020 season. Christian has appeared in two productions at Welsh National Opera, as Chief Pee-Ay-Sis in Will Todd’s ‘Migrations’, and Anthony (cover) in David Hackbridge Johnson’s ‘Blaze of Glory’. He also recorded the tenor voice for the popular ‘Blob Opera’ program.
Byron Jackson Artistic Director & Holländer / Dutchman
Byron Jackson is a dramatic baritone born of Jamaican heritage in the West Midlands. He graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire vocal department in 2005 and was awarded the St Clare Barfield Memorial Bowl for Operatic Distinction. He has sung with prestigious opera companies and concert halls around the UK and abroad including English National Opera, De Nationale Opera, Opera North, the Royal Opera House, Pegasus Opera Company, Scottish Opera and the Adelaide Festival, Australia. Opera roles include Monterone/Rigoletto, Donner/Das Rheingold, Frazier/Porgy & Bess and Terry/Breaking the Waves.
Orchestra Central England Camerata
Central England Camerata (CEC) was founded by freelance violinist Anna Downes in 2013 and has become one of the most sought after chamber orchestras in the central region of the UK. It now works regularly with Hereford Cathedral Chamber Choir, Ledbury Choral Society, Derby Choral Union, Warwick and Kenilworth Choral Society, Birmingham Festival Choral Society, the Choirs of Southwell Minster and Cantores Chamber Choir.
CEC is made up of professional musicians who freelance in orchestras such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, English Symphony Orchestra and Welsh National Opera.
Violin 1: Anna Downes (Leader), Alistair Kennedy, Caroline Bodimead, Chloe Millar, Clare Carey, Amanda Gillham, Sarah Marinescu
Violin 2: Louise Carey, Laurie McGee, Dan Neville, Antonia Finch, Andrew Rackham
Viola: Anna Chippendale, Mirka Hoppari, Graham Gillham
Cello: Joanne Jefferis, Jadie Carey, Rachael Perry, Kate Moon
Bass: May Heighway, Alison Hawthorne
Flute: Helen Foster, Janine Porter
Piccolo: Sonia England
Oboe: Rachel Broadbent, Lesley Morson (Cor)
Clarinet: Rela Spyrou, Jen Pollock (bass)
Bassoon: Jo Mayne, Alison Brierley (contra)
Horn: Robert Parker, Becca Holman, Barney Stevens, Catherine Butler
Trumpet: Frank Stubbs, Phil Reckless
Trombone: Adrian Taylor, Rich Walker, Omar Khokher
Tuba: Ben Jones
Timpani: Tom Peverelle
Harp: Erica Sinclair-Wilding/Kathryn Mason
Birmingham Choral Union
Birmingham Choral Union has been actively involved in the musical life of the City spanning three centuries and was established in the 1880’s. Over the years, the choir has performed on many stages, including Symphony Hall, the NEC, and the new Elgar Hall as well as numerous churches and community venues.
Since 1981, the choir has been under the charismatic guidance of Music Director Colin Baines, and has continued to develop and experiment, with the able support of Darren Hogg as Accompanist.
The choir is made of people who love to sing, and come from all walks of life. They enjoy the challenge of singing a wide range of choral music.
SOPRANO
Julie Beckett, Thistle Cameron◆, Yvonne Davis*, Tina Fung*, Lyndsey Gallagher◆, Sarah Hardy◆, Sue Houghton, Meg Jones, Laura Landler◆, Beatrice Mannel◆, Janet Stanley◆, Carol West
ALTO
Denise Kay Christie*, Julia Davenport, Lindsey Herbert, Allie Lyo, Val Munro, Sue Nicholls◆, Margot Roberts◆
TENOR
Andrew Coulson, Nick Drew◆, Robert Edwards◆, Mike Hendrickson, Paul O’Dell, Ed Workman◆
BASS
Frank Beach◆, Hugh Clixby, Joby Dixon*, Victor Ellam◆, Bill Herbert, Andrew Murray◆, Adrian Ravenscroft, Thoman Rourke◆
* professional chorus mentor,
◆ non-BCU member
St Mary’s Church Handsworth Choir will also be performing a new commission by Bobbie-Jane Gardner: Mami Wata.
The Story of Mami Wata
Mami Wata is a seductive, and dangerous water spirit, and represents one of the most powerful goddesses in the African religion of Voudun (not to be mistaken for Voodoo). Mami Wata, both loved and feared, stalks the ocean shores abducting men and women whilst they swim or travel by boat. If the goddess thinks the captive is worthy, she returns them to the shore, completely dry and with a changed mindset toward spirituality
Roberts Jamaican Ambassador for Arts and Culture
The New Yorker
From Allegri’s soaring Miserere to Bach , Bruckner and arrangements of your favourite love songs, we’re excited to share more magical live music with you.
With concerts in Birmingham , Coventry , Hagley , Hereford , Leicester , Lichfield , London , Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton , there’s lots to enjoy.
Wagner Society Manchester
Why not join us? We are a friendly group of enthusiasts who meet monthly to listen to Zoom-based talks by Wagner experts – singers, conductors, directors, academics, and writers.
Over the last few years, we have hosted talks by Sir Mark Elder, Catherine Foster, Rachel Nicholls, Christopher Maltman, Richard Farnes, Mark Berry, Anthony Negus and Richard Willacy, among many others. You can be a member, or pay to join specific talks. For more information, contact susi.wagnersocietymanchester@ gmail.com or look at https:// wagnersocietymanchester.org.uk/diary/
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the following for their support
Bishop Dr. Joe Aldred, Tony Ayres, Colin Baines, Dr. Steve Ball, Balsall Heath Local History Society, Birmingham Arts School, Birmingham Choral Union, Birmingham Festival Choral Society, Birmingham Opera Company, Birmingham REP, Birmingham Voluntary Service Council, Black Country Touring, Black Voices, Gary Bowman, Central England Camerata, The Cooper Hall Foundation, Khadeem DuncanBannerjee FRSA, Amran Ellahi, Richard Clover, Nick Drew, Bishop Desmond Jaddoo MBE, Khadeem Duncan-Banerjee FRSA, The Crescent Theatre, Anna Downes, Amanda Doyle, Amran Ellahi, Ex Cathedra, James Fletcher FRSA, Nick Fowler, Dr. Barry Henley, Bill Herbert, Marian Hills, Sue Houghton, Iqbal Khan, Longborough Festival Opera, Stephen Maddock OBE, Deidre Mattison, Morag McLaren, Anando Mukerjee, MRC Media, Jordan Mullineaux FRSA, Music Theatre for All, Lancelot Donald Nelson MBE, James Oldham, Opera North, Operamus, Doreen Osbourne-Lamont, Chloe Payne, Michael Perrier, Steve Phillips, Delores Pinkney, Hector Pinkney MBE, Rev. Canon Eve Pitts, Hope Pugh, Malcolm Rivers, Rosemary Rowley, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Edna Simkin, Andrew Simpson, Mary Strachan, Claire Vaughan, Wagner Society Manchester, Geoffrey Weaver, Vera Welcome, Aisha Zanini-Hughes.
In memory of Kevin Dunkley, Naomi German, Bron Salway and Keel Watson.
In the presence of the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands and other prestigious dignitaries.
We would like thank the following donors, trusts and foundations who have helped to realise this production
The Arnold Clark Community Fund
Arts Council England
The Lord Austin Trust
The Belacqua Charitable Trust
Birmingham Common Good Trust
Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund
The John Booth Charitable Foundation
The David and Sandra Burbidge Charitable Trust
The Edward and Dorothy Cadbury Trust
The William A. Cadbury Trust
The Cooper Hill Foundation
Dumbreck Charity
John Feeney Charitable Trust
The FDR Trust
Nicholas and Judith Goodison’s Charitable Settlement
The Grimmitt Trust
Alma Jean Henry Charitable Trust
Jerwood Foundation
The S & D Lloyd Charity
The Mary Kinross Charitable Trust
The Marchus Trust
The Mbili Trust
The Measures Trust
The Mila Charitable Organisation
The Owen Family Trust
The Patrick Trust
The George Perkins Charitable Trust
The Persimmon Charitable Foundation
Postcode Lottery Trust
The Postlethwaite Music Foundation
The Public Interest Foundation
The Ratcliff Foundation
The Clive Richards Foundation
The E H Smith Charitable Trust
The Sackler Trust
The Souter Charitable Trust
The Thistle Trust
G J W Turner Trust
The Uncle Bill Trust
The Eric W Vincent Trust Fund
The W.E.D Charitable Trust
The Wakeham Trust
The Michael Watson Charitable Trust
The Wavendon Foundation
The HDH Wills 1965 Charitable Trust
Major Donor: Operamus
Support Persona Arts
Support Persona Arts, become a member for only £3 a month! And enjoy:
• Concessionary ticket rates on future events and activities
• Regular newsletter
• Entry to our Annual General Meetings
Your donation will help us to provide high-quality opera and choral arts creative opportunities to West Midlands communities and beyond.
Our details
Any donations made by cheque should be made payable to ‘Persona Arts’ and sent to Persona Arts, BVSC Latham House 33-34 Paradise Street Birmingham B1 2AJ
Name: Persona Arts Sort Code: 01-00-04
Account number: 17482178
Ref: General Donation
Or via our website www.personaarts.org.uk/support-us/donate
We are registered for Gift Aid. If you are a UK taxpayer your donation could be worth more at no extra cost to you.
Please contact us by email at info@personaarts.org.uk if you are a UK taxpayer and would like to Gift Aid donations now and in future. Scan to donate