Projects and Programmes

Winterreise

Schubert's masterpiece in an acclaimed production using puppet, animation, and the enchanting sound of the nineteenth century guitar.

"amazing.. extraordinary.. wonderful.. absolutely compelling" - Sean Rafferty, Radio 3, In Tune

This haunting song cycle, written in the last months of Schubert's life, is one of the glories of the nineteenth century. In this production, originally commissioned by New Kent Opera, the character of the love-sick poet wandering alone through the wintry landscape is taken by a puppet. Accompanied by fortepiano and guitar, the feelings of loss and grief are explored in songs of famous beauty and tenderness. The design incorporates drawings by well-known artist and illustrator Peter Bailey, animated by Andrew Overton, while a stellar cast of new generation musicians bring the music alive in vivid and powerful manner.

A spellbinding evening.

Critic's Choice, Independent, 17.11.05
"must-see"
(Mark Pappenheim)

Critic's Choice, Evening Standard, 19.11.05
"fine baritone in his own imaginative new staging"
(Barry Millington)

"magic filled the air"
(Nick Kimberley, Evening Standard )

First Performance: 4th November 2004, in Margate's Theatre Royal as part of New Kent Opera's 3rd Festival.

Other Performances:
Edinburgh, St Cecilia's Hall, 25th August 2005
London, New End Theatre, Hampstead, 20th and 21st November 2005
St Endellion Festival, April 11th 2006
Buxton Festival, July 17th 2006
Oslo 12th August 2006
Aldeburgh 1st December 2006
Uppingham 9th/10th February 2007
York, 3rd March 2007

Upcoming performances:
Dublin, 24th November 2007
Edinburgh, Georgian Concert Society, 16th February 2008

WATCH VIDEO
(broadband recommended)

Aims: to peel back the accumulated patina of the years, the layers of ever-more hallowed recitals, to hear this wonderfully dramatic music as if for the first time, in the tradition of the charades and literary entertainments that were so much part of the life of Schubert's circle in Vienna; to bring the work in this way back to its roots, with the freedom born of the important influence of rhetoric, still discernible in the 19th century, which demanded risks and innovation of the performer; born too of the knowledge that in Schubert's time the idea of a complete song cycle in performance did not exist; and inspired in terms of the instrumentation by the image of Schubert on his deathbed accompanying himself on the guitar. We hope with these tools to open a space in which the audience can experience the poetry and music in an intense and personal way.

Origins: Puppetry is an ancient art form, at once ritualistic and playful. The idea behind performing Winterreise with a puppet came during a rehearsal Gary and I had a couple of years ago. We had both recently had experience working with puppets, and we felt that the intensity of communication possible, and the relationship between performer and puppet when the emotions are externalised in this way, would make the use of a puppet an intriguing means of presenting a song recital. So the opportunity to perform Winterreise, where the wanderer undergoes a journey into isolation, alienation and even schizophrenia, in the Theatre Royal in Margate, in collaboration with New Kent Opera, and with these performing tools, was a very exciting one for us.

The puppet has been designed and made by Mandarava, (who designed the puppets for New Kent Opera's first production (by Tim Carroll) of Acis and Galatea), and the animation by Andrew Overton is based on drawings by Peter Bailey, (who has illustrated books by Phillip Pullman, Kit Wright, Tony Mitton, Allan Ahlberg as well as several Folio Society publications, including Cider With Rosie and Selected Poems of John Betjeman).

"wonderful communication" Sean Rafferty, Radio 3, In Tune