presents a concert performance of:
Mozart's "Il Seraglio"
("The Abduction from the Seraglio")
Dates (all at 7:30 pm) |
Venues |
Saturday 3 June, 2000 (see review below) |
St Michael's Church Hall, Elmwood Road, London W4 (click here for a map - slow!) |
Sunday 4 June, 2000 |
Trinity Church, Mansel Road, Wimbledon, SW19 (click here for a map - slow! NB Mansel Rd is one-way towards Wimbledon Hill Road) |
Saturday 10 June, 2000 |
St Michael's Church Hall, Elmwood Road, London W4 (click here for a map - slow!) |
|
Tickets £7.00 (£3.50 concessions, under-16s) |
Available on the door or phone 020 8742 2596. Email enquiries to John Rolt |
For a description of the plot (plus discography), please link to the Rough Guide
For the libretto (in the original German!), link to OperaGlass
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Performers in order of appearance |
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Pasha Selim / Narrator |
John Rolt |
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Belmonte, a Spanish nobleman |
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Osmin, overseer of the country palace of Pasha Selim |
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Constanza, beloved of Belmonte |
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Pedrillo, servant to Belmonte |
David Menezes |
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Blonde, Constanza's maid |
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Janissaries, slaves, guards |
Hazel Hart, Caroline Morgan, Camilla von Massenbach, Sarah Evans, Malcolm Welchman, Nigel Brown, Chris May, Tim Evans, John Rolt |
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"Orchestra" (piano duet) |
Jan Cunningham and Alistair Jones |
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Music Director |
Il Seraglio | Who are we | The archive | CoS home page | Opera/choral links
Reviewed in the Brentford,
Chiswick & Isleworth Times, Friday 9
June: The Company of Singers Charming Evening Chiswick opera fans were treated to a rare performance in
English of one of Mozart's earliest and most charming
operas, The Abduction from the Seraglio last
Saturday night. It was given by the West London based "Company of
Singers", a group of experienced singers, directed from the
piano by Alistair Jones. The cast of five performers seized
with relish the comic opportunities presented by the plot,
the intricacies of which were held together by John Rolt's
spoken narration. The singers were led with heroic grandeur
by Jeremy Valentine as the noble Belmonte and Louise Hillier
as Constanze, his beloved. Their comic servants were warmly
presented by David Menezes and Dawn Rolt. All rose to the
technical challenges of some very tricky music. However, in this opera, all these characters risk having
their thunder stolen by Osmin, one of Mozart's most
comically villainous creations. He was portrayed with
considerable passion by Christopher Wright seemingly making
light of some frightening technical demands in lower
register. All this was sung to the fastidious piano duet
accompaniment of Alistair Jones and Jan Cunningham,
supported by chorus members from Chiswick Choir. It made for a relaxing and charming evening's
entertainment and it will be repeated this Saturday, June
10th - again at St. Michael's Church Hall. Copyright: Ambrose Philpotts, June 2000
Il Seraglio | Who are we | The archive | CoS home page | Opera/choral links
