News Frederick Corder

[…] their roles and Gaitanou returning to direct. And yes, the magic was recaptured and more.We caught Verdi's La traviata at Opera Holland Park on 11 June 2021, directed by Rodula Gaitanou with Lauren Fagan as Violetta, Matteo Desole as Alfredo, Stephen Gadd as Giorgio Germont, Laura Woods as Flora and Ellie Edmonds as Annina, with Matthew Kofi Waldren conducting City of London Sinfonia in Jonathan Lyness' reduced orchestration. Design was by Cordelia Chisholm, lighting by Simon Corder and movement by Steve Elias. Verdi: La traviata, Act Two - Laura Woods and chorus - Opera Holland Park (Photo Ali Wright) From the opening, the production placed us in the realm of Violetta's illness, the overwhelming sound of her difficulty breathing and during the orchestral prelude the sight of Fagan's Violetta being dressed by Annina (Allie Edmonds) and coughing up blood. Gaitanou did not labour the point, but […]

[…] Stanford, Parry and their pupils at the Royal College of Music, the mix of composers was somewhat more complex as Cigleris explains in his booklet note, "The Second World War had a significant impact on compositional styles in Great Britain. Pre 1939/40 the two predominant styles within British music were those of Post- Romanticism and Nationalism: It can be argued that the post-romantics came from the Royal Academy of Music, led by the ‘Wagnerian’ Fredrick Corder, while the Nationalists came out of the Royal College of Music under the influence of Parry and Stanford. Post 1945, with the influence of the BBC, Modernism became the dominant style". That said, it is striking quite how varied Stanford's pupils were! Whilst Spain-Dunk would belong to the 'Post-Romantics' from the Royal Academy of Music, alongside Granville Bantock and Arnold Bax. Spain-Dunk's Poem is a single movement work lasting around 10 minutes, using a […]

[…] a stripped-back form, recast with young Norwegian singers and directed remotely by Rodula Gaitanou! Edward Gardner conducted the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra with Bror Magnus Tødenes as Tito, Beate Mordal as Vitellia, Adrian Angelico as Sesto, Ingeborg Gillebo as Annio, Frøy Hovland Holtbakk as Servilia, and Christian Valle as Publio, with the Edvard Grieg Kor (chorus master Håkon Matti Skrede) who were relayed from a separate room. Designs were by Cordelia Chisholm with lighting by Simon Corder and Ivar Skjørestad The setting was modern, how could it not be, with a very stripped back look with hardly a note of colour. Act One took place against a narrow backdrop of an office, where cast members not performing sat. It was only in Act Two that the physical space seemed to expand, as the characters' world fractured. Opera seria is very much a genre for our times, requiring few cast members […]

Verdi: La traviata - Opera Holland Park (Photo Robert Workman) Verdi La traviata; Lauren Fagan, Matteo Desole, Stephen Gadd, dir: Rodula Gaitanou, cond: Matthew Kofi Waldren, City of London Sinfonia; Opera Holland Park Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 29 May 2018 Star rating: 4.5 (★★★★½) Vocal fireworks and an intelligent period production make La traviata move and sparkle. Ellie Edmonds, Lauren Fagan - Opera Holland Park(Photo Robert Workman) Opera Holland Park's 2018 season opened on Tuesday 29 May 2018 with Rodula Gaitanou's new production of Verdi's La traviata with Lauren Fagan in the title role, Matteo Desole as Alfredo and Stephen Gadd as Germont. The production was designed by Cordelia Chisholm with lighting by Simon Corder. Matthew Kofi Waldren conducted the City of London Sinfonia. Period productions of La traviata are becoming a relative rarity, with a tendency for companies to place the […]