Belvoir Castle to host evening of opera and songs from musicals, led by Orlando Jopling
A night of opera and songs from musicals is being presented at Belvoir Castle led by the renowned musical director Orlando Jopling.
The evening will feature four singers and five chamber musicians from Orlando’s venture Wild Arts performing within the wonderful acoustics of the castle’s ballroom.
It takes place on Thursday, June 9.
The evening will follow four characters’ journeys through a kaleidoscope of arias, duets and ensembles from a carefully selected repertoire drawn from the worlds of opera and musicals.
Music from Britten, Strauss, Handel, Verdi and Mozart will feature along with songs from the greats of musicals, Stephen Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Wild Arts artistic director and conductor Orlando Jopling has worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and the Irish Chamber Orchestra among many others.
He was principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Royal Orchestral Society for ten years.
The event marks the first of a new artistic strand of programming to be introduced by Belvoir chief executive Emma Stenning who brings a wealth of experience in the performing arts from her previous roles.
Emma said: “I was thrilled to join Belvoir Castle last December in this new role of chief executive, and can’t believe how quickly the past five months have flown by as I have been getting to know the Estate, and the wonderful communities of people who live and work here.
“My background is in the performing arts, as a producer of theatre, opera and music, and so I arrived here with a real passion to bring some live performance to the castle and grounds.
“I could not be more delighted to introduce our first event in what I hope will become a regular programme of work. Orlando Jopling is an extraordinary conductor and musician, whose career-long project to bring music of world class quality to local and community settings has been something that I have long admired.
"When I invited him to bring his ensemble to perform in our beautiful ballroom, he jumped at the chance.
“Whether you’re an opera lover, or a first timer, this event will be for you, and I encourage you to join us from the outset as we move to bring more live performance to this historic setting.”
Designed to be relaxed, informal and accessible, guests are encouraged to arrive early and enjoy a picnic in Belvoir’s historic formal gardens from 5.30pm.
The Castle’s Portico Doors will open from 6.45pm and performances begin at 7.30pm.
