WNO 24/25 Season : The cuts bite

[edashtav]

Happy to sign, and have just done so.

I've signed the protest. I have been wont to hear the WNO in MK. Its future visits will be shorter and contain fewer pieces that matter to me.

[Pulcinella]

Signed and distributed.
Happy memories of productions in Bristol and Oxford.

[Roger Webb]

Signed and distributed.
Happy memories of productions in Bristol and Oxford.

Like you, and sometimes with you (usually in the Bunch of Grapes opposite the stage door in Denmark St after performance!) I have such happy memories of WNO perfs in Bristol: The Ring, Pelléas with Boulez cond.! Rosencavalier with, wait for it, Felicity Lott, Susan Graham, Amanda Roocroft... not bad! Even the ugly gained a certain notoriety, Berghaus's Don Giovanni, Kupfer's Fidelio, and helped to put WNO on the international opera map. In all I saw 58 different productions over the years, and I treasure the memory.

[Lordgeous]

Signed. Yes great memories of many stunning productions in Bristol, and occasionally Cardiff. I happen to have some of the programmes beside me: Figaro 1987, Carmen 1983, 1985, 1990, 1997 & 2000, Beatrice And Benedict 1994, Turandot 1994, Pelleas 1992, Tosca 1998, Salome 1991, From The House of the Dead 1990, Barber of Seville 1986, Elektra 1992, Billy Budd 1997 & 1998, Boheme 1996, Don Giovanni 1982, Butterfly 1983, Magic Flute 1983 & 1985, Peter Grimes 1983, Makropoulos Case 1994, Cosi 1986, Otello 1986, Wozzeck 1986, Cavalleria/Pagliacci 1996, Rake's Progress (1996?).

[Roger Webb]

Signed. Yes great memories of many stunning productions in Bristol, and occasionally Cardiff. I happen to have some of the programmes beside me: Figaro 1987, Carmen 1983, 1985, 1990, 1997 & 2000, Beatrice And Benedict 1994, Turandot 1994, Pelleas 1992, Tosca 1998, Salome 1991, From The House of the Dead 1990, Barber of Seville 1986, Elektra 1992, Billy Budd 1997 & 1998, Boheme 1996, Don Giovanni 1982, Butterfly 1983, Magic Flute 1983 & 1985, Peter Grimes 1983, Makropoulos Case 1994, Cosi 1986, Otello 1986, Wozzeck 1986, Cavalleria/Pagliacci 1996, Rake's Progress (1996?).

Thanks for signing, I have all my programmes from WNO too and match just about all, except the Beatrice and Benedict....but did see the Trojans. I too went to WNO in Cardiff quite a bit as I worked there for a while in the 70s.....most memorable night was Walküre with Reggie Goodall conducting!

[mopsus]

Thanks for signing, I have all my programmes from WNO too and match just about all, except the Beatrice and Benedict....but did see the Trojans. I too went to WNO in Cardiff quite a bit as I worked there for a while in the 70s.....most memorable night was Walküre with Reggie Goodall conducting!

I don't think you missed too much by not seeing B&B - the very mannered production appeared to be tailored to an audience of a certain age, and it was in English which showed up the absence of Shakespeare's lines.

[Roger Webb]

.......... it was in English......

Yes much of what WNO did at the time was in English translation, this didn't bother me too much....for example the Ring in the Andrew Porter version was fine - I was used to the ENO Ring with that translation - although I was 'brought up' on the Solti, like many I suspect. If the production and singing are compelling, I can live with it.

[mopsus]

Yes much of what WNO did at the time was in English translation, this didn't bother me too much....for example the Ring in the Andrew Porter version was fine - I was used to the ENO Ring with that translation - although I was 'brought up' on the Solti, like many I suspect. If the production and singing are compelling, I can live with it.

Ah my fault I didn't check the date. The performance I went to was in 2012 and I'm sure it was the same production, which definitely seemed to belong to a bygone era, with mannerisms like everyone on stage freezing during one aria. English text helps keep comedy in opera alive, but in this case the translation was very clunky.

[Roger Webb]

Ah my fault I didn't check the date. The performance I went to was in 2012 and I'm sure it was the same production, which definitely seemed to belong to a bygone era, with mannerisms like everyone on stage freezing during one aria. English text helps keep comedy in opera alive, but in this case the translation was very clunky.

Ah! Thought there was a reason why I don't remember it! I''d left Bristol by then, to settle in the wilds of the Wye Valley - Cardiff is possible from here, but it doesn't seem to happen, so we no longer see WNO.....more's the pity.

[Lordgeous]

Yes much of what WNO did at the time was in English translation, this didn't bother me too much....for example the Ring in the Andrew Porter version was fine - I was used to the ENO Ring with that translation - although I was 'brought up' on the Solti, like many I suspect. If the production and singing are compelling, I can live with it.

I remember that some 'original language' productions used surtitles I thought that worked well. I see Carmen tops my attendance list! I think that was becase I used to drag opera virgins along in attempts to convert them!

[french frank]

I have about 55 programmes dating from 1995. Annoyingly, several of the programmes give the dates of performances but I can't spot a year anywhere. They seem to go through until about 2020. I shall continue to make my monthly contribution, and shall probably respond to their appeal for donations which came a couple of days ago. But anything I give now will be in gratitude for past productions as sadly the practical possibilities I now have for attending productions seem non-existent.

[Pulcinella]

Times article on a Laidlaw Opera Trust survey:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7c4d2dcd-ac3a-4f8b-9df8-8abad3e908a8?shareToken=2f5ac4e8e1df4764224c92b501603a47

[french frank]

Times article on a Laidlaw Opera Trust survey:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7c4d2dcd-ac3a-4f8b-9df8-8abad3e908a8?shareToken=2f5ac4e8e1df4764224c92b501 603a47

Depressing. I'm not referring to the general state of opera in this country but the conclusions drawn by the survey, and by ACE;

'It [ACE, I presume here] concluded opera was “only engaging in a limited way with the stories of the contemporary nation”.' So we need operas about football and Taylor Swift? And Brexit? People would flock to see operas like that.

The survey concludes: '“But opera’s lack of visibility [?] makes it vulnerable: 46 per cent of the public say they would not notice if all the opera houses in the UK shut down.” There must be a number of things that 46% wouldn't notice if they weren't there.**

'The report found that while there had been 6,500 opera performances across England between 2017 and 2023, the 25 most frequently performed shows were all over 100 years old.' Why not abolish history altogether while we're at it?

'It concluded that productions “needed to be more relevant and appeal to a wider audience”. And be more diverse in its repertoire and workforce. Well, we've heard all this before somewhere.

Overall the conclusion is that 'everything must move with the times', and irrespective of where the times are leading. Who are we to judge whether they are for the better or for the worse? How would that matter anyway?

As a postscript: 'First, found that just one in ten adults over the age of 55 would consider going for a night at the opera for entertainment, a figure which did however rise among younger age groups. Sounds as if the old fogeys are the biggest problem, then. And I would not be likely to pay £75+ for a ticket, always having found the cheapest seats perfectly adequate

** By the way, "According to data published in 2021, the number of people who vape in the UK ranges from approximately 6.9% to 7.1% of adults, equivalent to around 3.1 to 3.2 million individuals. Among 11 to 18-year-olds, 8.6% consider themselves regular or occasional vapers." So can we abolish vaping completely?

Also, "Based on APS data, the proportion of current smokers in the UK in 2022 was 12.9%, or 6.4 million people." Ban smoking too - it's irrelevant to the vast majority of the population.

[oddoneout]

Several things to reply to here but no time so will just pick up on this

'It [ACE, I presume here] concluded opera was “only engaging in a limited way with the stories of the contemporary nation”.'

The stories are those of humanity everywhere, and the basics haven't changed that much over history. Survival, in all its forms and in the face of many and varied challenges, is the fundamental driver, and Art, in all its forms and across all ages has dealt with that.
I was reminded of this hearing the chorus of the Hebrew slaves from Nabucco the other day.I hadn't realised why it was so important to Italians until a documentary about the opera singers retirement home explained how it expressed, despite being a biblical event, feelings about a vital part of Italian history. The wider story also reflects many aspects(sadly) of modern life, so the issue isn't relevance, as I see it.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Several things to reply to here but no time so will just pick up on this


The stories are those of humanity everywhere, and the basics haven't changed that much over history. Survival, in all its forms and in the face of many and varied challenges, is the fundamental driver, and Art, in all its forms and across all ages has dealt with that.
I was reminded of this hearing the chorus of the Hebrew slaves from Nabucco the other day.I hadn't realised why it was so important to Italians until a documentary about the opera singers retirement home explained how it expressed, despite being a biblical event, feelings about a vital part of Italian history. The wider story also reflects many aspects(sadly) of modern life, so the issue isn't relevance, as I see it.

Opera like all great art deals with the eternal doesn’t it?Failure to engage with “contemporary stories “ is precisely what I like about it. I read a large amount of “contemporary” fiction and watch a lot of “contemporary” tv drama and most of it is a waste of time. Gotterdamerung will still be performed when Henley and all the ACE apparatchiks are long forgotten but , if he has his way , probably not in this country,