Regents Opera July Newsletter - Strauss - The Opera Awards, Alpine Symphony, Der Ring!

Dear All,

I hope you’re enjoying the summer! Hottest day of the year today, apparently.

So. let’s think about something involving some snow…

So yes, that’s a concert ENTIRELY WITHOUT SINGERS!!

The Regents Opera Ring orchestra, workshops orchestra and friends have come together to put on a fundraising concert for the The Ring.

Principal cello, Alison Holford, will play Walton's lyrically beautiful Cello Concerto before we raise the roof with Strauss's epic Alpine Symphony.

We couldn't leave Wagner out so the Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin will kick off proceedings.

Tell your friends!

The Opera Awards - would you like to nominate us?

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Opera Awards? They are a way of the Opera Industry congratulating their peers for various good (or less good) bits of work! If we were to even be nominated for one, let alone winning one (which is pretty unlikely…!), then I think it would greatly help our visibility and reach across the industry and wider opera-loving community. So, how do you feel about nominating us?

Might we suggest…

Director: Caroline Staunton
Equal Opportunities/Impact: Regents Opera Orchestral Workshops
Female Singer: Catharine Woodward (Regents Opera / Bayreuther Festspiele)
Male Singer: Peter Furlong
New production: Siegfried / Regents Opera
Opera Company: Regents Opera

and of course, if you’re feeling particularly fruity, you can always add my name for Conductor!!

The Ring Cycle in waiting…. 205 days to go…

Yes, the Ring is still happening in February-March 2025, and we’re very excited about it. Caroline is in London right now, fresh from the end of the Staatsoper Berlin Spielzeit, about to go and see the new venue. We’re sad to lose our wonderful Philippa Boyle as Ortlinde and 3. Norn, but we heartily welcome Ella de Jongh as Ortlinde as Jillian Finnamore (also Woglinde) takes over 3. Norn.

We’re about to announce more fundraising initiatives (if you can help, please get in touch…), but more than anything else PLEASE BUY TICKETS!! Single tickets for Götterdämmerung are currently sold out, but please buy complete Ring tickets and, if you haven’t already seen them, single tickets to the other operas. They’re amazing, and will be quite evolved from their first iteration!

and finally…

I don’t care, I’m going to write huge congratulations to Catharine Woodward for her upcoming debut at the Bayreuther Festspiele as Gerhilde in Die Walküre. It’s so pleasing when our singers go on to impressive things. We’re thrilled. And I’m looking forward to my first trip to Bayreuth as a consequence! Hurrah!

Hope you all have a marvellous rest of the summer season. I’ll be teaching a lot of singer on the Berlin Opera Academy and taking our Don Giovanni to various chateaux in France!

Very best wishes to all,

Ben

And thanks as ever to our kind sponsors at the Big Yellow Storage branch in Camberley - thank you for looking after our stuff!