Opera Theatre of Weston presents Noye’s Fludde by Benjamin Britten January 2013

Opera Theatre of Weston (OTW) co-artistic directors Nan Nall and Lise Messier will present a new production of Noye’s Fludde by Benjamin Britten in January 2013.  That year marks the 100th anniversary of Britten's birth and OTW is thrilled to be part of the yearlong worldwide celebrations.  The one-act opera is a unique take on the well-known biblical tale of Noah and his Ark.  It is a foundational story that helps humankind understand its place in the world, its responsibility to care for it and the balance – between nature and man, between man and God – that must be achieved to sustain it. Continuing OTW’s mission of “bringing children to opera and opera to children”, this production will reach new heights as the majority of the cast will consist of local youngsters taking the parts of Noye's sons and their wives and twelve pairs of animals.  Children will also participate in the orchestra and more than 2,600 school children will attend the performances.  Noye’s Fludde will be mark the thirteenth annual Opera in Winter produced by OTW. 

The choice of this opera has startling relevance following the devastating floods in Vermont fromTropical Storm Irene on August 29, 2011.  Much of the physical damage has been repaired, but the emotional aftermath lingers.  With help from teachers, therapists and OTW staff, young people from around the state will share their own experience of the flood.  During the process of learning aboutNoye’s Fludde, they will create their own narrative arc, some in poetry form.  As a focus of OTW’s new outreach program, Storybook Opera Project, OTW choreographer Ashley Hensel-Browning, who is a graduate of the Harvard School of Education, will help the students transform their writings into creative movement responses (“dancing poetry”).  This integrative experience will enhance their appreciation of Noah’s journey, as well as chart their own.

Storybook Opera Project is a collaborative effort to prepare young audiences for the opera performance.    This project features the development and implementation of a comprehensive study guide and an educational tour to southern Vermont schools.  Students are engaged in pre-performance activities, including learning some of the musical highlights of the opera and comparing the opera’s libretto with the original story.  Teachers use the opera in their classrooms as a learning tool across the curriculum, introducing their students to all aspects of the opera’s time period and culture.  Kids discover the connections between the opera, the larger world and their own lives.

In addition to the school outreach program, special workshops will be held for the children involved with the staging of Noye’s Fludde.  A total of thirty two children will appear as animals saved by the Ark, Noah’s sons and their wives, and two dancers who will perform the roles of the dove and the raven. Open auditions will be held in March and the children will then attend workshops and rehearsals during the summer, in preparation for the more intense rehearsal period during the school winter break when they will meet Noah (Christopher Besch), Mrs. Noah (Peggie Telscher) and Mrs. Noah’s Gossips. Producing Director of the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Steve Stettler, will perform The Voice of God.   In June, the children’s chorus will help create their own masks during a workshop at the studio of OTW costume designer, Robin D’Arcy Fox.  In August, Noye’s Fludde Music Director Angela Gooch will spend time with the children on the music and choreographer Ashley Hensel-Browning will put the chorus through their first steps.  Resident percussionist, Anne D’Olivo, will train four young students to play an exciting array of percussion instruments.  Other young musicians will be sought to play recorders as well as some more regular orchestral instruments.  Benjamin Britten is renowned for his creative orchestration techniques and audiences will be treated to such musical devices as the whistling of the dove and the sound of the wind on the recorder and the percussive effect of slung mugs which cleverly depict the first and last raindrops falling.

Britten was inspired to write Noye’s Fludde after the terrible flood of 1953 in Great Britain which took 300 lives, damaged numerous buildings, including the composer’s home in Aldeburgh, and much of Suffolk’s coastline.  Britten completed the opera in December 1957 and the first performances were given the following summer during the Aldeburgh Festival at Orford Church.  Incidentally, the part of Noye’s son Jaffett was sung by a young Michael Crawford, now famous for his origination of the lead role in Lloyd-Webber’s Phantom of the Opera.  Many of the local community members affected by the flood were present at the performance and it must have been a particularly emotional moment when the congregation joined the cast in singing the hymn “Eternal Father Strong to Save” which is featured during the storm scene.  For OTW’s production, members of local church choirs will be prepared ahead of time to sing the three Anglican hymns included in the score and audience members will be given the option to join the cast and choir, in the true spirit of Vermont community.

In addition to the school matinees, public performances will be on Sunday, January 6 at the Paramount Theatre, Rutland and Saturday and Sunday, January 12 and 13 at the Weston Playhouse. 

OPERA THEATRE OF WESTON YOUTH CHORUS TO PRESENT EXCERPTS FROM NOYE’S FLUDDE AT NORTHSHIRE BOOKSTORE

21 local youngsters who will portray the animals in Opera Theatre of Weston’s January production of Noye’s Fludde (Noah’s Flood) by Benjamin Britten sang excerpts from the opera at a special preview performance at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester on Sunday November 4. The free event included an introductory talk about the opera given by Stage Director Diana Stugger, Producing Director Lise Messier, and General Manager and Percussionist Anne D’Olivo. 

The production of Noye’s Fludde will be the first opportunity for many of the school children, whose ages range from 7 – 16, to sing on a public theatre stage with professional artists.  The Youth Chorus will appear in a total of nine performances at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland and at the Weston Playhouse during the first two weeks of January.

The OTW Youth Chorus is drawn from the Southern Vermont towns of Belmont, Ludlow, Dorset, Shrewsbury, Arlington, Hydeville, Grafton, Manchester, Fair Haven, Mount Holly, Wells, Rutland and North Chittenden.  OTW’s outreach touring program, Storybook Opera: Tropical Storm Irene Project is visiting schools in these towns and others during the fall.  Youth Chorus members and their fellow students will share their own experiences and memories of Irene in poetry, prose and dance with the help of OTW choreographer, Ashley Hensel- Browning.  This project is supported in part by the Vermont Irene Response Grant award from The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, the Vermont Humanities Council, the Vermont Community Foundation, the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

OPERA THEATRE OF WESTON SEEKS CONGREGATIONAL SINGERS FOR  NOYE’S FLUDDE 

Benjamin Britten arranged three well-known hymns for Noye's Fludde to be sung by the “congregation” to underscore the drama unfolding on the stage.  As part of OTW’s ongoing outreach work, the company will hold rehearsals for anyone wishing to learn the special congregational music to be sung as audience members while attending the public performances.  These will be held at the Paramount Theatre, Rutland on January 6 at 2 pm and at the Weston Playhouse on January 12 and 13 at 2 pm.  

For the Rutland performance, the rehearsals will be held at Trinity Church, Rutland from 6:00 – 7:30 pm on Sunday December 30 and at the dress rehearsal at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday January 5 at 2 – 3 pm.  Rehearsals at the Weston Playhouse will be on Thursday January 10 at 6:30 – 8:00 pm and at the dress on Friday January 11 at 11:30 – 12:30.  Please phone 824-3821 or e-mail otw@sover.net to sign up for this important community role and to purchase tickets for Weston performances.  Go to www.paramountlive.org  802-775-0903 to purchase tickets for the Rutland performance.

SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES

Sunday January 6                                             2:00 pm                                Paramount Theatre, Rutland, VT

Saturday January 12                                        2:00 pm                                Weston Playhouse, Weston, VT

Sunday January 13                                           2:00 pm                                Weston Playhouse, Weston, VT               

OPERA THEATRE OF WESTON RECEIVES GRANT FROM THE VERMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR STORYBOOK OPERA PROJECT

Katherine McNally, whose Chester home was affected by Tropical Storm Irene, will portray Mrs. Ham

LOCAL SCHOOLS REVISIT TROPICAL STORM IRENE THROUGH STORYBOOK OPERA PROJECT

 Schools will be open and busy with new semester activities on August 29^th., the first anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene. While trusting there will not be a repeat of that historic flood, there are still many school children dealing with its physical and emotional aftermath. Opera Theatre of Weston (OTW) will be there to help with a new production and fall outreach touring program.

Before mounting Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde (Noah’s Flood) in January, OTW is about to launch Storybook Opera Project. With help from teachers, therapists and OTW staff, approximately 2,700 children from schools throughout Southern Vermont will participate in this program. These include communities that hit the headlines that summer day -- Cavendish, Jamaica, Rochester – whose students will share individual memories of Irene by creating their own narrative arc.

OTW choreographer Ahsley Hensel-Browning, a graduate of the Harvard School of Education, will help students transform their experiences into poetry, prose and dance. This integrative approach will enhance their appreciation of Noah’s journey as well as chart their own.

Many of the 32 youngsters who will perform in Noye’s Fludde have their own experiences to recount. The role of Mrs. Ham, Noah’s daughter-in-law, will be played by Green Mountain Union High School senior Katherine McNally. Half of her home was washed down river and the family had to quickly find rented quarters, leaving Katie’s beloved piano behind. Other singers come from towns where the devastation is still apparent, including Ludlow, Grafton, Rutland and Killington.

Storybook Opera Project is also a collaborative effort to prepare young audiences for the musical performance itself. It features the development and implementation of a comprehensive study guide and educational tour to southern Vermont schools.

Students are engaged in pre-performance activities including hearing musical highlights of the opera and comparing its libretto with the original story. Teachers use the opera in the classroom as a learning tool across the curriculum, introducing young people to all aspects of the opera’s time period and culture.

Students can then discover the connections among the opera, their own lives and the larger world.
This Storybook Opera: Tropical Storm Irene Project is sponsored in part by grants from the Vermont Humanities Council, the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, The Vermont Community Foundation and the Vermont Arts Council/National Endowment for the Arts