We are pleased to report that our October concerts went very well. Rehearsals were a bit strange to start with due to social distancing and all the sanitising required to keep Covid at bay and similarly we took every precaution in the concert venues in order to keep everyone as safe as possible. Ticket sales were a bit on the low side but we had anticipated this would be the case not only because of on-going public concerns related to Covid but also the much publicised petrol “shortages”. Fortunately the latter eased shortly before the first concert and sales picked up including some last minute purchases on the day.

Audience members seemed genuinely delighted to be back out in public listening to music again and as well as many complimentary remarks we also gained one or two new followers. It was lovely to look out into the audience and recognise some friendly and familiar faces so if you managed to get to one of the concerts thank you for your support and hopefully you enjoyed the experience. Certainly for our singers it fulfilled a long-awaited wish to sing together and perform in public once again.

So, moving on – normally we would be looking at providing carols for The Bluebell Railway throughout December but as they are not running their evening dinner trains again this year our services are not required. This has been a good fundraising exercise over the past several years so we shall miss that seasonal influx into our coffers. Looking ahead to 2022 we are still deciding what might be possible bearing in mind the recent government warnings that Covid is still with us and restrictions may be tightened up again. We are considering moving our next production into October but obviously this depends on a number of things such as singers’ availabilities so we cannot make any firm announcements just yet. Recruitment is also a big issue - we have a few people waiting to audition but it would be really good to get some younger people involved so if you know of anyone who is interested in singing, and importantly, fit and active, do ask them to get in touch for more details.

We will post news on our website as and when there is anything to report and meanwhile once again, thank you all for your support which we really do appreciate.

Stay well and all good wishes from everyone at Heber Opera.

Heber Opera are delighted to be performing a series of concerts this Autumn

Tickets will be available from 1st September

Hope you are enjoying the spring weather which we are having at the moment.

The Heber Opera management team continues to monitor the pandemic situation as we are all very keen to return to rehearsing and performing as soon as we can. The recent progress through the government’s roadmap means that we are delighted to announce that (Covid restrictions permitting), Heber Opera are planning three short concerts in October as follows:

The concerts will be short programmes of solos, ensembles and choruses accompanied with the Heber chamber ensemble.

Of course we are still in the lap of the gods regarding any social distancing or other legal requirements in October so we cannot even be certain how many people will be allowed in the audience! For that reason we cannot put tickets on sale yet. When they ARE available, tickets will be £10 (no concessions) and available from Ticket Source. We will circulate flyers with booking details just as soon as we can, but in the meantime please put the dates in your diaries.

Thank you for all your support in the past and we look forward to welcoming you to performances in the future. Stay safe and well.

The Heber Opera Management Team

We’ve been struggling for most of 2020 to find ways of performing opera. Freelance singers and musicians have been badly hit by the pandemic and the lack of performances of any kind for most of the year, and it doesn’t look as though it’s going to get any better until well into next year. The issue, of course, is that opera is a dramatic medium; socially distanced opera performances can’t replicate the tension or passion of physical closeness. Glyndebourne managed a live socially distanced performance of Offenbach’s ‘Mesdames de la Halle’ and the energy of the performance almost made us forget though the cleverness of the production reminded us throughout that the characters were not to get too close.

Two other companies have resorted to digital media to attempt to present Covid-secure opera.

A virtual Hansel and Gretel

Iford Arts, a Wiltshire-based company known for its educational outreach activities, launched ‘Gingerbread!’ in August. This production cleverly uses Zoom-style home recordings against special backdrops to tell the Hansel and Gretel story in a digital medium.

You can find this performance on YouTube Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOgmTXA6hQs where you will also find links to the subsequent episodes.

The Virtual Opera Project

Taking the idea one step further, one hugely enterprising solution has been the ‘Virtual Opera Project’. This performance of Ravel’s opera ‘L’enfant et les sortileges’ was undertaken in collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concordia Foundationand is a full-scale digital creation directed by Rachel Hewer. All the singers were recorded at home, the orchestra was recorded socially distanced, actors worked in green-screen studio to provide the ‘bodies’ for the singers. The effect, brilliantly stylised, is remarkable.

Of even more interest to Heber members and supporters is the fact that the conductor was Lee Reynolds, who many will remember from Lewes Operatic, and who played in our orchestra for a number of shows. He also prepared the reduced arrangement of Ravel’s score. Well done, Lee, brilliant achievement! (And if you read the cast list, you’ll find that Grace Lovelass sang in the chorus.)

The production is available on YouTube, but only for 30 days from 16 November: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTkwaB8l4SA

If you are impressed with this digital creation, please consider making a donation.

It is with much regret that we announce the decision to cancel our production of “Martha” which was due to be performed this May.

Taking into consideration the Prime Ministers recent comments regarding the on-going Coronavirus epidemic which is supposed to peak around our chosen performance dates, we felt there was no responsible option other than to cancel or at least postpone our performances. The plan, all being well, is to present “Martha” in 2021.

To all our supporters, we are sorry to disappoint you but sincerely hope that you will “watch this space” for news about future events and in particular that you come and see “Martha” when it is performed next year.

We had our first floor rehearsal, last Sunday and it’s always a bit of a shock to the system trying to put moves to words and music that isn’t fully in the memory banks yet. Singers arrive to find some strange cabbalistic markings on the floor which are explained as the set. The director airily tells them that this consists of three rostra being a central 2x 2 flanked on each side by a 1x 3 which are slightly lower and by the way there will also be steps on the remaining 2 sides of the centre. She ( the director) stresses that people should not walk across the markings on the floor un less they have been told to step up onto a rostrum.

It is understandably very difficult to imagine a 2 tiered structure when the only indication is a series of hyphens on the floor ( because we had nearly run out of masking tape!!) Regular Heber singers have got used to the complexities of all this stuff and just shrug and go with the flow but it must be total gobble-di-gook to anyone who is working with us for the first time.

Never the less, we had a very productive rehearsal – a good session with principal soloists from 6.00pm and then with chorus from 7.30pm to 10pm. Sunday evenings are quite intensive and everyone works very hard especially Tim Nail our pianist who plays solidly for 4 hours – what a star!

The show itself is good fun with a lot of humorous moments and importantly for a change, nobody dies! The story involves social class divisions, brotherly affection, confusion over identities, the rejection of romantic love first by the girl and then by the boy but all finally concluding with and true love triumphant.

Tickets will be on sale from March 1st (via Ticketsource ) and for those of you who don’t like on-line booking, our telephone line will be live from March 2nd.

 

“Martha” is a lovely show and not performed very often so do come and see it.