Gala Opening , The North Wall Arts Centre, Summertown, Oxford.
GF Handel:: Apollo e Dafne, 7 July 2007
Turning now from disaster to triumph, the first week in July was Handel week in Oxford. On the Monday, a gala concert celebrated the opening of the North Wall Arts Centre in Summertown. The small baroque group Florilegium, under the baton of Nicholas Kraemer, was joined by soprano Sophie Daneman in arias from Theodora and, after the interval, also by baritone Stephen Loges in a sexy performance of the erotically charged (though virginity conserving) Apollo e Dafne. Michael Attenborough directed. The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba opened the programme which also contained the Water Music Suite No 3.
While some might prefer a more robust style of Handel playing, this concert provided a most fitting opening for this new Arts Centre with its 200 seat versatile auditorium as a major venue for music and drama (though avoid the side galleries which only have benches). This will be ideal for such companies as Opera Anywhere and The Anonymous Singers, who have struggled to mount dramatic performances in the Holywell Music Room and JdP. With parking available across South Parade, this should be no problem.
Turning now from disaster to triumph, the first week in July was Handel week in Oxford. On the Monday, a gala concert celebrated the opening of the North Wall Arts Centre in Summertown. The small baroque group Florilegium, under the baton of Nicholas Kraemer, was joined by soprano Sophie Daneman in arias from Theodora and, after the interval, also by baritone Stephen Loges in a sexy performance of the erotically charged (though virginity conserving) Apollo e Dafne. Michael Attenborough directed. The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba opened the programme which also contained the Water Music Suite No 3.
While some might prefer a more robust style of Handel playing, this concert provided a most fitting opening for this new Arts Centre with its 200 seat versatile auditorium as a major venue for music and drama (though avoid the side galleries which only have benches). This will be ideal for such companies as Opera Anywhere and The Anonymous Singers, who have struggled to mount dramatic performances in the Holywell Music Room and JdP. With parking available across South Parade, this should be no problem.