A Viennese Soirée
A Celebration of Viennese Operetta
Catrine Kirkman (Soprano)
Claire Lapworth (Soprano)
Kirsty Bennett (Mezzo-Soprano)
Samir Savant (Tenor)
Chris Cann (Baritone)
Graham Rogers (Bass-Baritone)
Piano: Paul Guinery
Devised by Chris Cann & Paul Guinery
Stage Manager: Steve Greenwood
Lighting Designer: Mike Wyer
Assistant Stage Manager: Tony Bannister
Filming: Jerry Pinel
With special thanks to:
John Lill and all at Louth Playgoers’ Riverhead Theatre.
Jules Cave Bergquist & Tim Roe at Holy Trinity Church, Prince Consort Road, Kensington
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
A Viennese Soirée - Programme
Overture
Part 1 – The Nineteenth Century
Die Fledermaus – Johann Strauss II
“Come with me”
“My happiness is blighted”
“Fill the glass and raise it high”
“Chacun à son goût!”
“My dear Marquis” (The Laughing Song)
The Gipsy Baron – Johann Strauss II
“I’ve no time for learning writing”
“Exactly four and twenty years ago”
The Treasure Trio
“Comrade, drink a glass of wine” (The Recruitment Song)
A Night in Venice – Johann Strauss II
“In masquerade, we’ll be arrayed”
“Come, Heart’s Delight, in my Gondola”
The Opera Ball - Richard Heuberger
“Come into this Chambre Séparée”
The Dubarry - Karl Millöcker
“I give my heart”
Der Obersteiger - Karl Zeller
“Don’t be cross”
Wiener Blut – Johann Strauss II
“Now write it down”
“Welcome, home, so dear, so charming”
“Vienna Blood”
INTERVAL – 20 MINUTES
Part 2 – The Twentieth Century
The Merry Widow – Franz Léhar
“If I was a Parisian”
“As Diplomatic Attaché”
“Hello, here’s a soldier bold”
“Vilja”
The Count of Luxemburg – Franz Léhar
“The Noble founder of our line”
“Love goodbye”
“Since first I burst upon the scene”
The Land of Smiles – Franz Léhar
“Flirting, whilst I’m dancing”
“My heart belongs to you”
The Gipsy Princess – Emmerich Kálmán
“Heia! Heia! In the lonely mountains is my home”
“Girls are the thing!”
Countess Maritza – Emmerich Kálmán
“When I hear that Gipsy music”
“Let’s go to Varasdin”
“Vienna Mine”
“Nut brown maiden from the prairie”
“Waltz our worries away”
Synopsis of Musical Numbers
Die Fledermaus (The Bat) by Johann Strauss II
Gabriel von Eisenstein Chris Cann
Rosalinde (His Wife) Claire Lapworth
Adele (Their Maid) Catrine Kirkman
Alfredo (An Italian Opera Singer) Samir Savant
Dr. Falke (A Barrister) Graham Rogers
Prince Alexander Orlofsky Kirsty Bennett
Gabriel von Eisenstein is due in jail for some petty offence, but before he leaves, Dr. Falke persuades him to have one last night on the town, disguised as the Marquis Renard (“Come with me”). Eisenstein cheerfully accepts and bids a heartfelt farewell to his wife, Rosalinde and maid, Adele, who believe him to be on his way to prison (“My happiness is blighted”). However, this is all a scheme of Falke’s to get his own back on Eisenstein for a making a fool of him at a society ball several years before. Once alone, Rosalinde is serenaded by her admirer, the Italian tenor, Alfredo, eventually giving way and joining in his drinking song (“Fill the glass and raise it high”). That night at a grand ball, the Russian émigré Prince Orlofsky tells the assembled guests that he intends to live life to the full, following his family motto: “Chacun à son goût!” Eisenstein is astonished to see Adele arrive at the ball and accosts her as his maid. However, she clams not to know him and tells the other guests that she must remind him of his lover (“My dear Marquis”).
Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gipsy Baron) by Johann Strauss II
Count Homonay (A Colonel of Hussars) Graham Rogers
Sandor Barinkay (A Young Exile) Samir Savant
Kálmán Zsupán (A Pig Farmer) Chris Cann
Saffi (A Gipsy Girl) Catrine Kirkman
Czipra (Her Mother) Kirsty Bennett
Mirabella (Zsupán’s Housekeeper) Kirsty Bennett
The rustic pig farmer, Zsupán sings of his joy in his job (“I’ve no time for learning writing”). Zsupán’s housekeeper, Mirabella relates how she was once carried off by a masterful Turkish Pasha at the siege of Belgrade (“Exactly four and twenty years ago”). The young exile, Sandor Barinkay, falls in love with the gipsy girl, Saffi. Together with Saffi and Czipra, her mother, Barinkay discovers his ancestral treasure, buried in a ruined castle (The Treasure Trio). Saffi turns out to be of royal blood and Barinkay, feeling that he is socially too far below her, enlists in the army, egged on by Count Homonay’s recruitment song: “Comrade, drink a glass of wine”. In case you’re interested, Barinkay distinguishes himself in battle and returns to Vienna in triumph, where Saffi still waits for him!
Eine Nacht in Venedig (A Night in Venice) by Johann Strauss II
Francesco (A Gondolier) Samir Savant
Caramello (A Barber) Graham Rogers
Annina (A Fish Seller) Catrine Kirkman
Ciboletta (A Cook) Kirsty Bennett
The Duke of Urbino Samir Savant
During the Carnival, two young couples prepare to go to a grand costume ball (“In masquerade, we’ll be arrayed”). Meanwhile, the licentious Duke of Urbino uses the anonymity of his disguise to elope with the wife of a noble Venetian Senator. Disguised as a Gondolier, he carries away the lady, singing the beautiful barcarolle: “Come, Heart’s Delight, in my Gondola”.
Der Opernball (The Opera Ball) by Richard Heuberger
Henri Graham Rogers
Hortense Catrine Kirkman
Hortense suspects (rightly, as it turns out) that her husband, Henri, has an eye for the ladies. She decides to catch him out by going, in disguise, to the famous Vienna Opera Ball and arranging a rendezvous with him in a secluded “Chambre séparée”. Henri, totally oblivious to the trap, takes the bait!
The Dubarry by Karl Millöcker
Jeanne Dubarry Claire Lapworth
The Dubarry tells a rather fanciful version of the rise of the great eighteenth century French courtesan, Madame Dubarry. In this aria, Jeanne, the young Dubarry vows that there is only one man in her life (“I give my heart”).
Der Obersteiger (The Master Miner) by Karl Zeller
Catrine Kirkman
This aria is actually sung by the tenor role in the operetta. However, it has proved so popular with sopranos, that it has become part of their concert repertoire. It tells a cautionary tale of a proud girl who refuses the suit of a humble village lad, only to change her mind and fall in love with him. However, it is now too late, and he has married someone else. He refuses her advances, saying “Don’t be cross”.
Wiener Blut (Vienna Blood) by Johann Strauss II
Count Zeldau (Prussian Diplomat) Chris Cann
Gabriele (His Estranged Wife) Claire Lapworth
Josef (Their Steward) Graham Rogers
Count Zeldau has separated from his wife, who found his Prussian reserve dull. Glad to be rid of his demanding spouse, the Count dictates a letter to his new love, Franzi, arranging a rendezvous (“Now write it down”). He is assisted by his loyal Steward, Josef, who himself has eyes for Franzi’s maid, Pépi. The Countess makes an unexpected visit to the Château and relives the memories of her not entirely happy marriage (“Welcome, home, so dear, so charming”). When confronted by the Count, she explains the reason for her departure: the Prussian Count needs to live more like the carefree Viennese. The Count promises to try his best! (“Vienna Blood”)
Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) by Franz Léhar
Hanna Glawari Claire Lapworth
Count Danillo Danilowitsch Graham Rogers
Raoul de St. Brioche Samir Savant
Vicomte de Cascada Chris Cann
At the Pontevedrian embassy in Paris, the star attraction of the ball is the presence of Hanna Glawari, widow of the richest man in Pontevedro. She is surrounded by a hoard of admirers, most of whom are penniless fortune seekers. She desperately tries to put them off with a display of her earthy manners (“If I was a Parisian”). The Ambassador, Baron Zeta, is terrified that Hanna might marry one of her French admirers, thereby losing Pontevedro her millions. He therefore orders the wastrel Count Danillo to marry the widow. Danillo is busily engaged in the pursuit of pleasure (“Then off to Chez Maxim”) and is an old flame of Hanna’s, but he agrees to scare off the opposition. Hanna and Danillo embark on a battle of wits, slowly discovering that they are still very much in love (“Hello, here’s a soldier bold”). The next evening, Hanna gives a Pontevedrian party at which she sings the famous folk-song “Vilja”.
The Count of Luxemburg by Franz Léhar
René, Count of Luxemburg Chris Cann
Prince Basil Basilowitsch Graham Rogers
Angèle Didier (An Opera Singer) Catrine Kirkman
The impoverished Count René of Luxemburg is determined to continue his family tradition of extravagance (“The Noble founder of our line”). To save himself from bankruptcy, he accepts an offer of payment from the eccentric Russian millionaire, Prince Basil, to undertake a marriage of convenience with the Prince’s lover, Angèle Didier. After a short time, they can be divorced and the new Countess of Luxemburg will have the social status to marry Prince Basil. Angèle is less than keen to marry a man she has never met (“Love goodbye”), but inevitably, she and René fall for each other. Romantic disaster is averted when Prince Basil’s licentious reputation and penchant for Showgirls is revealed (“Since first I burst upon the scene”), making a marriage with Angèle out of the question.
Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles) by Franz Léhar
Countess Lisa von Lichtenfels Catrine Kirkman
Prince Sou-Chong Samir Savant
The capricious Countess Lisa flirts with all the young men at her coming of age Ball (“Flirting whilst I’m dancing”). However, she falls desperately in love with the enigmatic Chinese Ambassador, Prince Sou-Chong. When the Prince is recalled to China, Lisa chooses to go with him. However, this does not bring a happy ending, and Lisa finds the constraints of her new life, combined with homesickness, too much to bear. She leaves Sou-Chong, but not before he allows his mask of insouciance to slip and passionately declares his love for her in the famous aria “My heart belongs to you”.
Die Csárdásfürstin (The Gipsy Princess) by Emmerich Kálmán
Sylva Varescu (A Cabaret Singer) Claire Lapworth
Count Boni Káncsiánu (Her Manager) Chris Cann
Sylva Varescu, the star of the Orpheum Cabaret, gives a final performance before leaving Europe for a lucrative career in the United States (“Heia! Heia! In the lonely mountains is my home”). Her manager, the eccentric Count Boni is also saddened to be leaving the delights of the Budapest Showgirls behind, preferring their company to all the riches waiting in New York (“Girls are the thing!”)
Countess Maritza by Emmerich Kálmán
Countess Maritza Kirsty Bennett
Count Tassillo Wittemburg Samir Savant
Baron Kálmán Zsupán Chris Cann
Prince Moritz Popolescu Graham Rogers
Count Tassilo has lost all his money in a stock market crash and is working as steward for the absentee landowner, Countess Maritza, with whom he has fallen in love. She arrives with a group of guests for a house party, and sings a hot-blooded Csardas (“When I hear that Gipsy Music”). Tassillo recalls the opulent life he used to lead in Vienna (“Vienna Mine”). Maritza is very wary of fortune-hunting suitors, and has invented a fictional engagement to put them off. Her imaginary fiancé is named Kálmán Zsupán (shamelessly borrowed from The Gipsy Baron), but a nobleman of this name promptly turns up to claim her. For her part, Maritza is more than a little tempted by his offer of marriage! (“Let’s go to Varasdin”) In order to save her struggling estate from bankruptcy, Maritza enlists the help of her guests in working the land, and they sing a rollicking working-song as they do so (“Nut brown maiden from the Prairie”). Needless to say, all works out and Tassilo and Maritza are eventually united, encouraging everyone to “Waltz our worries away”!
The Company
Kirsty Bennett studied singing at Trinity College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, and has since made her living acting, directing and teaching singing! On her journey from Soprano to Mezzo Soprano she played a wide range of Gilbert and Sullivan roles from Josephine and Aline to Mad Margaret and the Fairy Queen. Her Musical Theatre repertoire includes Miss Adelaide (Guys and Dolls), Carrie (Carousel), Hortense (The Boyfriend) and Roxie Hart (Chicago).
Recently Kirsty directed Albert Camus’ The Fall for Tiltyard Productions – the play has toured schools and prisons as well as small theatres and led to her developing her own one woman show A Little Yearning, a European Cabaret with songs by Brel, Weill, Edith Piaf etc. She is currently working on a two person adaptation of George and Wheedon Grossmith’s Diary of A Nobody.
Kirsty lives in London with her partner and four year old son.
Chris Cann has performed in a variety of stage works including all the extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Principal roles include The Learned Judge (Trial by Jury), Major-General Stanley (The Pirates of Penzance), Lady Jane [!] (Patience), The Lord Chancellor, Lord Mountararat, Strephon and Private Willis (Iolanthe), Cyril (Princess Ida), Pooh-Bah (The Mikado), Dick Dauntless and Sir Despard Murgatroyd (Ruddigore), The Duke of Plaza-Toro and Don Alhambra del Bolero (The Gondoliers), King Paramount (Utopia Limited) and Ludwig (The Grand Duke). Other roles range from Count Florestein in Balfe’s The Bohemian Girl to Professor Higgins is Shaw’s Pygmalion. Chris is the founding artistic Director of the New London Opera Group and directed last year’s production of The Mikado in Louth as well as co-devising the highly successful G&S concert Here’s a how-de-do! Chris has also worked with the University of London Opera Group and the Centenary Opera Company and has directed The Sorcerer (twice), HMS Pinafore, Iolanthe, Princess Ida and Ruddigore.
Paul Guinery studied the piano at the Royal College of Music in London and was made an Associate (ARCM) in 1975 having gained experience there as a pianist and coach in the Opera School. He then took a degree in Modern Languages at Oxford before joining the BBC. For several years he was a staff announcer and newsreader for the BBC World Service at Bush House before moving to Broadasting House to become a staff announcer for BBC Radio 3. He has presented many programmes over the years including the chamber music series Concert Hall; the long-running request programme Your Concert Choice; the Sunday morning series Sacred and Profane and the choral music series Choirworks. Now a freelance, he still introduces orchestral concerts on the air, working closely with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on tour and at home - including the Proms. Paul has had wide experience as a piano accompanist and takes part in a music festival every year in Cornwall.
Catrine Kirkman graduated with a Masters degree in music from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and continues to be taught by Jessica Cash. Recent operatic roles include Juliet in a new production of Britten's The Little Sweep for the 2004 Britten Festival in Aldeburgh, Laurette in the first performance in English of Bizet’s Doctor Miracle, First Bridesmaid in a nine-week run of The Marriage of Figaro with the Savoy Opera Company at the Savoy Theatre, London, and the world premiere of Owen Bourne's "pub opera" The Salisbury Songs. She is a specialist in early music, recent engagements including a solo recital at the 2004 Cirencester Early Music Festival, Handel’s L’Allegro at the Snape Proms with the Britten-Pears Young Artists, and performances of Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Bremen, Germany, at the Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, and the Globe Theatre in London. Catrine has also sung the lead in many of the Gilbert and Sullivan Savoy Operas, including Josephine (HMS Pinafore), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Yum-Yum (The Mikado) and Rose Maybud (Ruddigore). This is Catrine’s second visit to the Riverhead Theatre, having performed here in last year’s evening of Gilbert and Sullivan favourites.
Claire Lapworth graduated in Theatre Studies from Warwick University, and has since sung with numerous amateur and semi-professional operatic groups in London. She has featured in many concerts and last summer was delighted to appear as a guest soloist with The Imperial Male Voice Choir. Previous roles include; Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro) at Warwick, Rusalka, Octavia (The Coronation of Poppea) with City Opera and Lushya in Shostakovich’s Cheryomushki with Imperial Opera. Before joining the ranks of newLOG her most recent outing was with Imperial Opera’s Shakespeare Review which saw Claire and four other performers tackling a daunting range of singing and acting styles.
Graham Rogers studied music at the University of York and now works as a scheduler for BBC Radio 3. He was a member of the BBC Symphony Chorus for several years, taking part in performances of large scale choral works around the country and abroad, most prestigiously in several of the BBC Proms each year at the Royal Albert Hall, London, including the celebrated Last Night. Graham has sung in many other choirs and vocal ensembles, most recently with London-based chamber choir Pegasus. One of Graham's musical passions is Gilbert and Sullivan, and he has played many of the lead roles in the famous Savoy Operas including Strephon (Iolanthe) and the eponymous Mikado of Japan, both here at the Riverhead Theatre. Other roles include Dick Deadeye (HMS Pinafore), Sergeant of Police (The Pirates of Penzance), Florian (Princess Ida), Ko-Ko (The Mikado), Robin Oakapple (Ruddigore) and The Prince of Monte Carlo (The Grand Duke). Graham also co-devised and performed in last year's concert of G&S favourites, Here's a How-de-Do!
Samir Savant appears in his second production with newLOG, having sung Nanki- Poo in last summer’s production of The Mikado. Samir (Sam in the Viennese) is no stranger to stage and screen, being born in Bollywood (well, fringes of), and making his first television appearance with the Manchester Boys’ Choir in Songs of Praise (no, really!). Various roles in studenthood followed, including parts in Kiss Me Kate, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and as Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore with the Cambridge University G&S Society at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall.
Sam works as a fundraiser and marketeer in the arts, but manages to squeeze in some singing. He chairman and tenor-member of Pegasus, one of London’s leading chamber choirs, who recently reached the semi-finals of the BBC Choir of the Year competition. Sam speaks five languages and can effect a perfect cartwheel; neither skill will be in much evidence in this performance, but he would be happy to oblige, and even tell you what his name means in Arabic, if you buy him a drink afterwards!