Thursday 16th & Friday 17th August, 21.40 – 22.15
Opera Room Productions
City FC is a troubled team with a single shot at glory in the Champions League final. Will they lift the trophy? Will true love be realised? Will it all be covered in HEAT magazine?
With a lyrical score, instantly recognisable characters, and a plot where bribes and flirtations fly faster than a Rooney free kick, this tale is as classic and modern as the beautiful game itself. Preview the first five scenes of this premier full-length work from one of the newest players on the opera scene. There really is ALL TO PLAY FOR.
Genesis Opera Room Productions is a new company founded on the shared artistic vision of composer Richard Knight, writer Norman Welch and director Neil Smith. The idea is to produce ‘classically modern’ operas – original works that draw on the classical traditions of opera with a modern twist. ‘All to Play For’ is their first piece, and a full production is planned for 2013. For more information, follow them on Facebook.
Synopsis
All To Play For: An Opera of Two Halves
City FC is a troubled team with a single shot at glory in the Champions League final. Will they lift the trophy? Will true love be realised? Will it all be covered in HEAT magazine? City FC superstars Giorgio and Adams are heart-broken when their manager, Martelli, bans wives and girlfriends from the training camp as they prepare for the final. Giorgio can’t imagine a day without his girlfriend, the children’s television presenter Katie. And jealous Adams wants to be able to keep an eye on his glamour model wife, Crystal. Assistant manager Samson, meanwhile, sees an opportunity to further his own ambitions and to escape life under the thumb of the tyrannical Martelli. With a lyrical score, instantly recognisable characters, and a plot where bribes and flirtations fly faster than a Rooney free kick, “All To Play For: An Opera of Two Halves” is a tale as classic and modern as the beautiful game itself. In tonight’s workshop performance, Opera Room Productions are staging the first five scenes of this full-length work.
Music: Richard Knight
Words: Norman Welch
Director: Neil Smith
Stage Manager: Catherine Kapff
Designer: Nicolai Hart Hansen
Assistant to the Director: Ned Welch
Researcher: Charlotte Dobson
The Musicians:
Ke Ma
Sophie Jugé
Richard Knight
Martelli, the manager: Oliver Gibbs
Samson, the assistant manager: Richard James
Belshaw
Giorgio (No 10): Harry Bagnall
Adams (No 8): Gavin Cranmer-Moralee
Meakin (No 7): Matthew Newton
Brewer (No 5): Mark Hill
Tomczyk (No 2): Adam Jacques
Katie: Emma Häll
Crystal: Catherine Nicole
TV Reporter: Catherine Nicole
TV Assistant: Adam Jacques
Fashion Photographer: Matthew Newton
Humpty Dumpty: Mark Hill
Richard Knight has worked for over 20 years in education as a teacher, examiner and author of various textbooks. Composing is both his side-line and obsession. Previous works include the oratorio ‘The Crown of Life’ (2000), Sextet for Flute, Clarinet, String Trio and Piano (2003), Four Tango Quartets (2010) and a Serenade for Oboe and 2 Clarinets (2011).
Norman Welch was born in 1965 in Kansas City, Missouri. He previously worked as a music journalist in his native country. He has had poetry and short fiction published in obscure journals, while choral songs he has co-written have been published by the Oxford University Press. ‘All to Play For’ is his first opera.
Neil Smith is a freelance director, co-artistic director of Opera Room Productions and artistic director of Crucial Theatre. He has worked around the UK as well as Poland and the Isle of Man. His work spans various forms of live performance but he mostly focuses on new work, modern myths and actor training in the rehearsal process.
Opera Room Productions would like to thank Bill Bankes-Jones, David Salter, Eleanor Baugh, Anna Gregg, Janet Fisher, Rebecca Atkinson-Lord at Arch 468, the Buddhist Arts Centre, the Rag Factory, Al Greenall (www.algreenall.co.uk), Matt Deegan, Christopher Smith, and Iain Sloan. We would also like to acknowledge our founding patrons: Jeanne Clerc, Mary Beth Conlon, David Dieckmeyer, Emily Donaldson, and Sophie Osbourne.