NARCISSUS & ECHO NATIONAL UK PREMIERE TOUR AND FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED
MEDIA RELEASE | BILL ELMS ASSOCIATES on behalf of THE LOWRY
Mon 15 August 2011 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Milan Govedarcia, Theatre in the Mill and The Lowry in association with London’s Little Opera House present
NARCISSUS & ECHO
By Anja Djordjevic
NATIONAL UK PREMIERE TOUR AND FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED
Full casting and tour details are today announced for the UK premiere of the award winning Serbian chamber opera, Narcissus & Echo. Composed by Anja Djordjevic with Libretto by Maria Stojanovic and starring David Sheppard as Narcissus and Lizzie Marshall as Echo, the production will embark on a national tour in October. Narcissus & Echo opens at The Lowry, Manchester 5 - 7 October.
In 2003 Anja Djordjevic, won the prestigious Stevan Mokranjac Prize for Narcissus & Echo, this was the first contemporary opera staged by a female composer in Serbian music. These UK performances will be presented in English. Directed by Chris Hill, with musical direction from Morag Galloway and Design by Lucy Read and Giulia Scrimieri, the production is produced by Milan Govedarica.
Milan Govedarcia said “Narcissus & Echo has been on my mind since I saw its original production in Belgrade in 2002. Nine years later, I'm delighted to announce its UK premiere (in English translation) and for the matter of fact - the first UK premiere of a Serbian opera ever. To be in the position to, in collaboration with young UK artists, present such a fine piece of modern opera and an author (Anja Djordjevic) unknown to the wider audiences is nothing but pleasure.”
Narcissus & Echo is from the classical Greek myth of the nymph Echo and her fatal love for the beautiful Narcissus. Echo falls for Narcissus who has eyes only for his own reflection. Their tragic love story is overseen by a chorus of wise and witty nymphs. With music that draws on the baroque sound of Purcell and Monteverdi, this chamber opera blends both the classical and the contemporary genres.
Anja Djordjevic is a composer from Belgrade. Djordjevic has collaborated with many international musicians including Goran Bregovic, both as singer and musical arranger. In the period from 2000 until 2004, she was a member of Balkan music ensemble Marsija, founded by Žorž Grujic. In 2003 the ensemble recorded the album High Tree. In 2003, together with fellow composers Božidar Obradinovic (piano) and Vladimir Pejkovic (bass), she founded Flat Sky Trio. Her many stage credits include; Cantata Atlas, three songs dedicated to Nikola Tesla, stand alone vocal pieces include; Si me quitaran, Heat, Shark and Spray of Evian. Multimedia performances include; Classifieds, Musical Life of Jevrem, and Tesla-total Reflexion. In 2005, Djordjevic was composer in residence at Visby, Gotland, Sweden. She now lives in Belgrade as a freelance composer.
David Sheppard plays Narcissus. Sheppard studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, before embarking on a career that encompasses a wide range of repertoire on both the operatic stage and the concert platform. His credits include for English National Opera; Radamisto, Agrippina, Le Grand Macabre, Welsh National Opera Il Ritorno D’Ulisse in Patria/Monteverdi – Pisandro and L’Umana fragilita,Jeptha and Broomhill Opera Tolomeo. His appearances in contemporary music includes many projects with Electric Voice Theatre, including the World Premiere’s of Andrew Lovett’s Don’t Breathe A Word and Abraham on Trial for which he received critical acclaim. H regularly appears in concert and oratorio throughout Europe in repertoire ranging from Bach and Purcell to new music. Sheppard recently has been performing the role of Ottone in The Coronation of Poppea, directed by Mark Ravenhill, at The King’s Head Theatre London. Future projects include Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Russia.
Lizzie Marshall plays Echo. This year Marsh played the premiere role of Demeter in Act Two of Eve Harrison's new opera, Hera's List, which was collaboration with York Spring Festival. In July 2010 Lizzie was director of and co-librettist for an innovative production of Die Fledermaus with York University's Opera Society and recently played Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing with York Shakespeare Project. Future projects include a new song cycle for solo soprano by composer Edd Caine and poet Adam Strickson in As in Waking Dream at Sewerby Hall in North-East Yorkshire.
Chris Hill directs. His theatre credits as a director include, Kidnapping Agatha (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Men Together Today (Arch 468), Me As A Penguin (UK Tour) and Osterley (Urban Scrawl Radio Project). As Assistant Director, Swan Hunter (Opera North), II Signor Bruschino (British Youth Opera), Othello (Northern Broadsides) and Peter Pan (West Yorkshire Playhouse).
Recent music graduates of York University Emily Mowbray and Fiona Constantine play the Nymphs. Narcissus & Echo marks their professional stage debut.
The production will then tour to Theatre in the Mill, Bradford (13 – 15 October) and London’s Little Opera House (19 – 20 October)
LISTING INFORMATION
Narcisuss & Echo
The Studio at The Lowry
Wed 5 – Fri 7 October 2011
Time: 8pm
Tickets: £12 (Concessions available)
How to Book: In person from The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, M50 3AZ, call 0843 2086005 or go online www.thelowry.com
Running time: 1hr (Approx no interval)
-ENDS-
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information, interview and tickets please contact Bill Elms at Bill Elms Associates on 0151 245 0135 | 07930 454376 | bill@billelms.com or Philip Strafford at Pip PR on 0781 653 8202 | pipstrafford@yahoo.co.uk, www.pip-pr.co.uk
Press Performance: Wed 5 October – 8pm
IMAGE GALLERY
For high resolution images, please go to The Lowry’s image library www.thelowryimages.com. New users need to register by clicking on ‘register’ on the left hand side of the page, fill in the required information (which includes creating your own password) and click ‘create account’. You will then have access to images via the log-in page by clicking on All Albums>Theatres>The Studio>Narcissus & Echo
THE LOWRY
The Lowry celebrated its 10th anniversary on 28 April 2010 and has spent 11 years delighting, engaging and challenging both local and national audiences with the very best in visual art and performance. The Lowry Centre Trust is a not-for-profit charitable organisation and registered charity (no. 1053962). All income supports our world-class Theatres and Galleries programme, the care and display of the LS Lowry Collection and our life-changing Community and Education work. The Lowry’s Chief Executive, Julia Fawcett was awarded an OBE for services to the Arts in the Queen’s 2010 New Year Honours list.
Posted on Monday, 15 August 2011 under News Press Theatre Press