Wednesday, October 19, 2011

'Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Network' Outlines 'Croydon Festival' on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in 2012

[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor at age 23]

Croydon Festival
Much More Than Just The Hiawatha Man
Year long Festival. Full details to be published later, but will include:

6 January. Launch in Croydon Mayor's Parlour

February. Thelma. World Premiere of SC-T's opera Thelma. Surrey Opera. Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls. See below and www.surreyopera.org/thelma.html.

For more details about the planning of the Festival see Croydon Advertiser, 5 August 2011 on www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/Festival-mark-life-composer/story-13077458-detail/story.html

The Network is exploring organising a number of events to complement the Festival.


THELMA
by
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)
This ‘missing’ opera is to be given its World Premier Production at The Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon in February 2012.
Following their numerous critically acclaimed productions, most recently Britten’s Albert Herring, Surrey Opera will be staging the World Premier of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's, long since thought lost opera Thelma at The Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon, where the composer lived and worked for his entire life.

Thelma is a thrilling saga of deceit, magic, retribution and the triumph of love over evil. The opera is the result of three years intense composition by Coleridge-Taylor and, probably mainly due to his untimely early death at the age of 37 the opera, until now, has never reached the stage. In a new performing edition by Stephen Anthony Brown, Surrey Opera sets the record straight!

This World Premiere production will be directed by Christopher Cowell, designed by Bridget Kimak, and Jonathan Butcher, Surrey Opera’s Artistic Director, will conduct. Thelma is produced by Surrey Opera in association with The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Festival and the Fairfield Halls, Croydon.

Performances:
Thursday 9th February at 7.30pm - World Premiere!
Friday 10th February at 7.30pm
Saturday 11th February at 7.30pm

Tickets:
£18 - £25 will be available soon from the Fairfield Halls Box Office on 020 8688 9291 or online at www.fairfieldhalls.co.uk

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