Opera at Isleworth Public Hall: Wed 21 June to Sat 24 June 2006
Opera at Isleworth Public Hall: Wed 21 June to Sat 24 June 2006Isleworth Baroque presents... ...a double bill of two short operas - Dido & Aeneas by Henry Purcell; Bastien & Bastienne by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.Isleworth Public Hall, South Street from Wed 21 June to Sat 24 June starting at 7.30 pm.Prices:Wed 21 June £8.00 (concessions £5)Thu 22 June £10.00 (concessions £7)Fri 23 June £10.00 (concessions £7)Sat 24 June £12.00 (concessions £10)Concessions are the usual ones - full time education, 60+ and people qualifying for means tested benefits. We assume people know whether they qualify and do not ask for proof.EITHER Send a cheque for the amount (payable to Isleworth Baroque), to:Tom Beaton, Isleworth Baroque, 42 Church Street, Isleworth, TW7 6BG (write the number of tickets, date of performance, your name, address and phone number on a slip of paper or on the back of the cheque).OR call in at Deli-cacies, the little cafe/deli immediately next door to the hall. They are selling tickets over the counter.OR in the final few days, reserve seats by phoning me on 020-8568 3756 so your tickets are ready to be paid for at the door.OR buy your tickets at the door on the night. But we do sometimes sell out in advance, and those of you who know the hall will remember there can be a bottleneck at the desk and the more organised we are in advance the better.Venue.Isleworth Public Hall is in South Street, off Twickenham Road. The H37 Richmond to Hounslow bus stops immediately outside and the 267 Hammersmith to Fulwell via Brentford and Twickenham stops round the corner in Twickenham Road (ask for Isleworth War Memorial).The bar opens at 6.00 pm as well as in the interval and after the show.Also on Saturday 24 June from 6.00 to 6.45 pm in the hall is a pre-performance talk, Bastien & Bastienne Revisited given by Laurence Slater. This costs £3.00 (no discounts).Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell was written in about 1688. It is based on a classic Greek story. Dido is Queen of Carthage. When Aeneas and his crew are shipwrecked in Carthage, he and the queen fall in love. However, Aeneas is called away by the Gods to found Rome. Dido cannot live without him and kills herself (singing a beautiful lament as she dies). The story also features lighter moments with malevolent witches and drunken sailors This opera lasts about an hour.Then, after the interval, the much shorter...Bastien & Bastienne written by Mozart in 1768 when he was twelve is a light-hearted love story. Bastienne, a shepherdess, fears that her dear friend Bastien's head has been turned by the local Lady of the Manor. There follow a series of misunderstandings, some engineered by the good magician Colas, whose wiles in the end fix everything for the traditional happy ending. Although called an opera the tuneful songs are interspersed with spoken dialogue.So you see it's all good clean family entertainment. And don't be put off by the word 'opera'. The music isn't at all heavy!Isleworth Baroque is a group of enthusiastic amateur instrumentalists and singers led by professional musicians and enhanced for this production by some professional and semi-professional principal singers.Have you got any questions? Post one here and I'll try to answer it, or call me on 020-8568 3756 or visit our website at www.isleworthbaroque.co.ukTom Beatonfor the Isleworth Baroque committee.
Tom Beaton ● 7174d4 Comments