Brian Eddington died last month at the age of 74 years. A North Edinburgh man through and through, he was born in Leith but spent most of his childhood and early years in West Pilton after his family were rehoused there (writes LYNN McCABE).
Brian lived in Drylaw for a number of years and then moved down to Muirhouse where he lived for more than 2 decades. He returned to Leith a few years ago when he was unable to return to his flat in Muirhouse after having part of his leg amputated.
Brian loved his community and was involved in many different groups, classes and local initiatives over the years. He was a creative person and found a second home in Muirhouse Festival Association (MFAC) where he developed a passion for community arts.
He was a member of the local drama group and was actively involved in the annual panto and gala. Brian was also involved in the Greater Pilton Print Resource (GPPR) (later Greater Pilton Design Resource/Source) and North Edinburgh News (the NEN), which provided so much rich source material for the Never Give Up project which Brian helped to produce along with fellow activists.
Brian had a passion for photography and history and he was able to bring together his local knowledge and his skills to document the ongoing changes and developments in Muirhouse which he witnessed first hand as a local resident. His photographs tell their own story about the process of regeneration and the impact this has had on his community.
In 2009, Brian joined North Edinburgh Social History Group along with Roberta Blaikie, Anna Hutchison, Brian Robertson and Ian Moore with a mission to record the history of activism in North Edinburgh.
Brian was a great person to have on board and relished trawling through 40 years worth of back copies of the Commune and the NEN and long forgotten photos, leaflets and posters which had been stored in dusty store cupboards and filing cabinets in local projects waiting for someone to find a use for them.
During the project, Brian was sufficiently movitated to get over his aversion to computers and managed to pick up some IT skills along the way which enabled him to access photographs of the area which had been digitalised by the Scotsman.
The project was a long hard slog and took 2 years to complete but the Never Give Up publication, exhibition and film gave Brian, the group and the wider community a great deal of pride in seeing their community accurately represented for a change.
It is an important piece of work documenting the rich history of North Edinburgh and the important role played by local people in their fight for social justice – a fight which continues until this day.
Following the launch of the Never Give Up project, Brian was involved in helping to establish a new adult education class called Power to the People : an introduction to the history of Protest in Scotland.
The class ran for a number of years and brought together new activists alongside people who had been involved in local and national politics. Inevitably perhaps, the focus of the class moved from studying politics and protest to actually doing it!
The Power to the People group were involved in many local issues over the years including cuts to local services and the campaign to stop the eviction of local families from their homes.
Brian’s love of history and politics continued until the end with his daily blog on facebook about important Scottish figures and events.
I’ll finish with a wee quote from Brian from the Never Give Up publication where he is talking about his time in Muirhouse drama group:
“We used to do street theatre about different issues. We did a thing about the poll tax where someone got arrested for not paying their poll tax. They got sent to a privatised jail.
“We basically done it any place where we could find people standing about. Folk thought it was hilarious. We handed out leaflets about the poll tax at the same time – that was the serious part of it. It was a good way to get across a serious message”.
Brian’s funeral service takes place this morning at 11.30 at Warriston Crematorium’s small chapel.
The Royal Opera House has announced its 2023/24 Season, unveiling a bold programme of thrilling new work, UK premieres and much-loved revivals, alongside the biggest national learning programme in our history, exciting new regional partnerships, and a host of daytime events, behind the scenes tours, exhibitions and artistic Insights at our home in the heart of Covent Garden.
The Royal Ballet Season
The Royal Ballet presents a tapestry of works that celebrate the Company’s rich heritage and celebrated house choreographers, and brings creativity into spaces across the Royal Opera House with a Festival of New Choreography. The Season features revivals from Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan alongside contemporary classics by Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon and Cathy Marston.
The Company’s illustrious legacy from Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton and Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan is marked in a number of productions. Ashton’s boundless invention is displayed in two mixed programmes, with The Dream and his virtuosic Rhapsody. One of these programmes also features Les Rendezvous while the other includes Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, Hamlet and Ophelia, and a guest performance by The Sarasota Ballet of The Walk to the Paradise Garden.
The Sarasota Ballet will also demonstrate the genius of Ashton in the Linbury Theatre with a vibrant array of his creative output. The Royal Ballet and The Sarasota Ballet’s Ashton performances during the Season mark the opening of ASHTON WORLDWIDE, the Frederick Ashton Foundation’s five-year international festival conceived to celebrate the work and legacy of Frederick Ashton. Further information on the festival will be announced by the Foundation in due course.
Kenneth MacMillan’s dramatic flair is celebrated with the romantic tragedy Manon, which this Season celebrates its 50th birthday, and a mixed programme – Requiem, Danses Concertantes and Different Drummer – plus performances and a film premiere by Yorke Dance Project, illustrating the choreographer’s exceptional artistic development across the decades.
In other revivals, Carlos Acosta’s vibrant production of Don Quixote opens the Season for The Royal Ballet. This celebrated production, which premiered in 2013, is the perfect showcase for a Company dancing at its peak. The enduringly popular 19th-century classics The Nutcracker and Swan Lake will also feature in the Season.
Royal Ballet Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project returns following its critically-acclaimed world premiere in 2021. Inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, the afterlife is brought into blazing life through the poetic vision of McGregor and his creative team, including pioneering composer Thomas Adès and artist Tacita Dean.
Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet Christopher Wheeldon’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s late romance The Winter’s Tale celebrates its 10th anniversary. With striking designs by Bob Crowley and atmospheric music by Joby Talbot, The Winter’s Tale is widely considered a modern ballet classic.
Two award-winning works, Cathy Marston’s The Cellist, which takes its inspiration from the life and music of Jacqueline du Pré, and Valentino Zucchetti’s breezy Anemoi, receive their first revivals in a mixed programme of powerful musical heft.
The Festival of New Choreography champions new and diverse choreographic voices through the many spaces of our iconic Covent Garden home. A collection of new work will be seen on the Main Stage, and also included is an immersive new work for The Royal Ballet by Robert Binet presented in the Linbury Theatre and co-produced by the National Ballet of Canada.
The Royal Ballet presents the world premiere of a new production in the Linbury Theatre adapted from the play Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons by Sam Steiner. The Limit combines spoken word and dance with choreography by Royal Ballet Principal Character Artist Kristen McNally and direction by Ed Madden and features Royal Ballet Principals Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell in one of the casts. The Limit is set to a newly commissioned score by Isobel Waller-Bridge, who composed the score for the BBC series Fleabag as well as film scores for Vita and Virginia (2018) and Emma (2020).
We look to the future with our continued development of emerging creative and performing talent with Draft Works, International Draft Works and the Next Generation Festival. The Royal Ballet continues its long-standing commitment to fostering dance partnerships, with Northern Ballet, Fallen Angels Dance Theatre, Ballet Black and Sydney Dance Company in the Linbury Theatre.
Fallen Angels Dance Theatre make their Linbury Theatre debut. Led by Artistic Director Paul Bayes Kitcher, former Birmingham Royal Ballet soloist, the award-winning company supports those recovering from addiction and mental health adversity through dance, performance and creativity. This work marks the first collaboration between Fallen Angels and New Note Orchestra, a Brighton-based collective of 18 musicians in recovery.
Northern Ballet return to the Linbury Theatre with a programme of new contemporary ballet, including the premiere of a new work by Royal Ballet Soloist Benjamin Ella and a work by New York City Ballet Principal Tiler Peck.
INTERNATIONAL DRAFT WORKS_LINBURY THEATRE_ROH,
Canto De Ossanha_choreography; Joshua Junker, The Royal Ballet,
Ballet Black present a double bill featuring Will Tuckett’s Then or Now and Mthuthuzeli November’s Nina: By Whatever Means, a tribute to Nina Simone. Yorke Dance presents a new programme including work by Robert Cohan, Martha Graham and Kenneth MacMillan, and Sydney Dance Company make their Linbury Theatre debut.
On Wednesday 1 November, World Ballet Day, a much-loved global celebration that brings together over 50 of the world’s leading ballet and dance companies, celebrates its tenth anniversary. Over the course of 24 hours, rehearsals, discussions and classes are streamed for free across six continents, offering unique behind-the-scenes glimpses of ballet’s biggest stars and exciting new performers.
Director of The Royal Ballet, Kevin O’Hare, said: “As we approach next Season, we are thrilled to showcase the extraordinary artistry and skill of our brilliant dancers and orchestral performers in a fantastic range of heritage and award-winning contemporary classics.
“We also look forward to the creative energy that the Festival of New Choreography will bring to the whole of the Royal Opera House, and to continuing to spread the love of ballet through our far-reaching global and UK-wide partnerships. We can’t wait to welcome back existing audiences and to connect with those new to the art form.”
The Royal Opera Season
The Royal Opera opens its Season with two landmark works on both of our stages. On the Main Stage, Antonio Pappano partners with Barrie Kosky for the first time to conduct a bold new imagining of Wagner’s first chapter of the Ring cycle, Das Rheingold – a massive undertaking for any opera house with an outstanding cast including Christopher Maltman as Wotan and Christopher Purves as Alberich.
In the Linbury Theatre, George Benjamin and Martin Crimp bring us Picture a day like this – a major new work which receives its UK premiere following the world premiere this summer at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. After the historic success of Lessons in Love and Violence and Written on Skin, Benjamin and Crimp return alongside stage directors Daniel Jeanneteau and Marie-Christine Soma.
Antonio Pappano, whose first new production at the Royal Opera House was Christof Loy’s production of Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos in 2002, conducts his last new production at the Royal Opera House in Loy’s eagerly anticipated adaptation of Strauss’s Elektra – uniting two of today’s leading dramatic sopranos: Nina Stemme in the title role, and Karita Mattila as the haunted queen Klytämnestra.
In May, a Farewell Gala Concert for Antonio Pappano will see a stellar cast of soloists perform alongside the Chorus and Orchestra in celebration of his 23-year tenure. Maestro Pappano will then lead a cast that includes his longtime collaborator Jonas Kaufmann, and Sondra Radvanovsky and Carlos Álvarez in a revival of David McVicar’s lavish production of Giordano’s Andrea Chénier.
In June 2024, The Royal Opera is delighted to be returning to Japan on tour for the first time since 2019 with performances at Bunka Kaikan Theatre and NHK Hall in Tokyo, and Kanagawa Kenmin Hall in Yokohama. Antonio Pappano will be conducting spectacular casts in Oliver Mears’s darkly elegant production of Verdi’s Rigoletto and Andrei Șerban’s classic staging of Puccini’s Turandot.
The Royal Opera’s exploration into Handel’s Covent Garden operas and oratorios continues with his final masterpiece, Jephtha, which premiered on this site in 1752. This epic new production is staged by Director of The Royal Opera Oliver Mears and is conducted by Handel specialist Laurence Cummings. Extraordinary tenor Allan Clayton performs the title role, joined by an outstanding, largely British cast including Jennifer France, Alice Coote and Brindley Sherratt.
Aigul Akhmetshina and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya share the role of Carmen in Damiano Michieletto’s poetic, contemporary new staging of Bizet’s beloved Carmen. Antonello Manacorda and Emmanuel Villaume conduct two accomplished casts in this sultry new production which evokes the passion and heat of Bizet’s score.
Next Season, the Royal Opera collaborate with Fuel for the first time, presenting the world premiere of Woman & Machine – a ground-breaking binaural opera experience from Mercury-nominated songwriter ESKA, directed by Kirsty Housley. Incorporating the sonic worlds of the neonatal unit and the womb, with influences of contemporary, electronic and Zimbabwean Shona Music, this new work connects themes of life, survival and womanhood.
This Christmas, a range of family favourites return to our stages. Little Bulb’s Oliver award-winning Wolf Witch Giant Fairy will excite children and families in the Linbury Theatre with the original troupe of travelling players returning as the energetic ensemble cast, bringing this endearing folk opera to new audiences, young and old.
On the main stage, music lovers of all ages can enjoy Antony McDonald’s mischievous production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, newly translated into English by Kelley Rourke. Mark Wigglesworth conducts two stellar casts including Anna Stéphany, Hanna Hipp, Anna Devin and Lauren Fagan.
Following the Irish National Opera’s (INO) Olivier award-winning Bajazet and Least Like The Other, INO and The Royal Opera present their third collaboration: a brand-new staging of Vivaldi’s 1734 opera, L’Olimpiade. The production is directed by Daisy Evans, with conductor Peter Wheelan leading the Irish Baroque Orchestra.
In April, the Jette Parker Artists present a thrilling double-bill. Eleanor Burke directs Martinů’s surreal one-act opera Larmes de couteau and Harriet Taylor directs John Harbison’s adaptation of text from W.B. Yeats’ Full Moon in March. Both works are conducted by Edward Reeve, who will lead the Britten Sinfonia.
The 2023/24 Season also features a raft of beloved revivals including Christof Loy’s La Forza del Destino, Laurent Pelly’s L’elisir d’amore, Oliver Mears’s Rigoletto, Damiano Michieletto’s heat-soaked double-bill Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci, Richard Jones’ production of La bohème, Jonathan Kent’s Tosca, Tim Albery’s production of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Moshe Leiser’s and Patrice Caurier’s Madama Butterfly, Katie Mitchell’s production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and Jan Philipp Gloger’s production of Così fan tutte.
Director of The Royal Opera, Oliver Mears, said: “Despite opera in the UK being under pressure as never before, The Royal Opera is determined to mark Antonio Pappano’s final season as Music Director with ambition and style across our diverse output.
“We embark on the mammoth task of a new Ring cycle directed by Barrie Kosky, produce eight thrilling new productions across both our stages, continue our Covent Garden Handel odyssey, and – as we have for three hundred years – present the very finest singers and conductors working in the world today. This will be a season our audiences will love – and a fitting final bow for one of our most treasured ever colleagues.”
Royal Opera House across the UK
The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet present 13 productions in 1500 cinemas across the globe next Season, including such beloved classics as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker and exciting new productions of Carmen, by Damiano Michieletto and Das Rheingold, by Barrie Kosky.
Message In A Bottle, the acclaimed dance theatre production by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Kate Prince, set to the music of Grammy Award-winning artist Sting, has also been filmed for cinema release in May 2024, in partnership with Sadler’s Wells and Universal Music UK. The international refugee crisis is at the centre of this production – an imagined story about one displaced family, and a universal story of loss, fear, survival, hope and love. Songs including ‘Every Breath You Take’, ‘Roxanne’, ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ and ‘Fields of Gold’ feature in new arrangements.
This is on top of wider digital innovation as we make available 24 more productions on ROH Stream. These will include work from Wayne McGregor, and Joseph Toonga’s See Us, as well as The Royal Ballet’s new production of Cinderella. These will be supported by a raft of new behind-the-scenes films, interviews and performances, including a celebration of Antonio Pappano’s tenure as Music Director of The Royal Opera; a host of choreographic and vocal masterclasses; and exclusive World Ballet Day content, with rehearsals and insights from across its rich ten-year history.
We also announce our biggest, boldest and most impactful national learning programme to date, inspiring creativity of children and young people across the country. Our flagship Create & Learn programmes drive this national output, which sits alongside industry-leading talent development projects, a new partnership in South Yorkshire, with Rotherham, and a raft of daytime events, family activities and free concerts in our Covent Garden home.
In July, we unveil our first ever national Create Day, connecting more than 2,000 children across four locations around the country: Coventry, Doncaster, Thurrock and Covent Garden. Large scale events, connected via live broadcast, take place in each location and see participants perform pieces inspired by Crystal Pite’s Light of Passage, the culmination of months of work in schools around the UK. This will be expanded still further in 2024, with every school in the country being invited to take part, making it the largest shared cultural schools project ever hosted in the UK.
In Rotherham, we work with local partners to deliver a programme of activity with the aim of reaching every primary school in the region. The programme gives pupils aged 5-11 access to curriculum-linked lesson plans, in school workshops, the chance to see live performances at the Royal Opera House, and to participate in large-scale performance opportunities locally.
It features a collaboration with the Rotherham Music Service on a performance at Magna Science Adventure Centre in June 2024, with more than 1,400 primary school children performing alongside artists of the Royal Opera House in a unique celebration of art, learning and participation. The programme intends to support the creative confidence of teachers and young people in the run up to Rotherham being the first Children’s Capital of Culture in 2025.
Following on from the great legacy of ROH Bridge, we also launch ROH East, a dedicated new programme which works in Levelling Up for Culture schools across the East of England, building confidence of teachers and inspiring creativity of young people across Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and North Kent. We also celebrate the tenth anniversary of Thurrock Trailblazer, which has delivered arts initiatives to almost 100,000 children and young people in 57 schools across the region to date.
At home in Covent Garden
Following this Season’s programme of work in support of Ukraine and those displaced by the war, we continue to work with the displaced Ukrainian community inspiring hope through the collective act of singing. This builds on work undertaken across the 2022/23 Season with the Ukrainian community in London. This included the Songs for Ukraine project, as well as dedicated performances from both The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera, which helped to raise £450,000 for Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Young ROH goes from strength-to-strength in its third year, with 10,000 tickets made available to 16–25-year-olds for just £30. The scheme has helped attract younger audiences, which now make up the single largest audience group at the Royal Opera House. This programme sits alongside six whole house Schools’ Matinees, offered at a heavily discounted rate to state school children, and the Paul Hamlyn Christmas Treat, offering a specially-invited audience the chance to see The Nutcracker in our first ever relaxed performance on the Main Stage. We will welcome more than 10,000 young people up and down the country as part of this project.
147 events take place in Covent Garden including 16 free Live at Lunch performances and 40 Insights, offering a unique behind-the scenes look at our resident companies. Many of these are broadcast online for free. We also unveil our biggest programme of guided tours to date, offering 11 unique behind-the-curtain experiences which promise to build on the more than 50,000 tour guests we welcomed last Season. This includes high teas, a look at our second home at the High House Production Park in Thurrock, and curated histories of the Royal Opera House through the lens of Pride and International Women’s Day.
We unveil a host of thought-provoking free exhibitions and displays throughout next Season which bring our spaces to life and invite audiences to delve deeper behind the scenes. These include a celebration of the huge talent that was Maria Callas, celebrating the centennial of her birth, and a dedicated exhibition by photographer Mary McCartney who captured exclusive behind the scenes images of Wayne McGregor’s critically acclaimed ballet The Dante Project. There will also be commemorative displays of beautiful historical costumes including a celebration of the centenary of Nicholas Georgiadis who designed sumptuous costumes for Kenneth MacMillan ballets including Manon and Mayerling.
Nurturing Talent
We continue our efforts to offer new projects that develop future talent and drive diversity across both of our art forms and the industry. Following the success of our Pilot Orchestra Mentorship programme in 2022/23, we launch ‘Overture’ in partnership with Black Lives in Music, continuing to work with young musicians aged 18-25 from the global majority or other underrepresented backgrounds to provide essential mentoring tailored to the participants’ individual needs while enhancing skill sets, insight and training in the classical music field.
Over the Season, we run six more Creative Exchanges with community groups around London, providing a creative space for Royal Opera House artists and external participants to come together, share their experiences and create their own work inspired by ballet and opera stories.
Chance to Dance, our flagship programme aimed at giving primary school children from areas with limited artistic provision their first opportunity to engage creatively with ballet, expands to include five areas, and the Youth Opera Company, our in-house chorus of 50+ state school children, perform in two main stage productions: Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci and Carmen.
The Jette Parker Artists recruit an additional seven international artists to take their first steps on the international stage; and we welcome our biggest ever cohort of apprentices (15) into a range of departments across the organisation- including roles in costume, lighting, technical and production, IT, and marketing.
The Cellist_The Royal Ballet, ROH Covent Garden,
Choreography: Cathy Marston ,
The Cellist; Lauren Cuthbertson,
The Conductor; Matthew Ball,
The Instrument; Marcelino Sambe
Scenario; Cathy Marston and Edward Kemp,
Music;Philip Feeney,
Designer;Hildegard Bechtler,
Costume designer;Bregje van Balen,
Lighting designer; Jon Clark,
Alex Beard, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, said: “I am delighted to introduce our extraordinary 2023/24 Season – a Season packed with bold and exciting new work and much-loved revivals, alongside the biggest and most impactful programme of national learning work in our history.
“We make full use of our iconic Covent Garden home with a full schedule of daytime events, tours, exhibitions and artistic insights, and continue to secure the future of ballet and opera with our ongoing programme of talent development and innovative creative partnerships.”
Join us in person, watch in cinemas, via ROH Stream, or experience our work through programmes country wide. Tickets are from £9 across the Season.
A fund that connects visionary culture organisations with business sponsorship opportunities will open for its seventh round of applications this month.
Managed by the charity Culture & Business Scotland and supported by the Scottish Government, the fund will provide backing of up to £12,000 each to as many creative organisations as possible ranging from grassroots initiatives to established cultural events.
When distributing funds, Culture & Business Scotland also account for an organisation’s ethical and environmental credentials, with a focus on supporting organisations which have implemented Fair Work policies, incorporated carbon neutral plans and embedded equality, diversity, and inclusion into their activities.
Many organisations and businesses have benefited from this fund in the past. A significant beneficiary of the Culture & Business Scotland fund is Edinburgh-based theatre company Vision Mechanics, which used that investment to lever funds from A.T. Best Handlers Ltd in 2019, enabling the creation of Scotland’s largest puppet.
Made from recycled materials, the puppet, known as ‘Storm’, undertook a tour of the country to raise awareness of marine pollution and the urgency of caring for the environment.
The project culminated in the appearance of Storm at Cop26. As well as this, the project addressed community and social empowerment and equalities, diversity and inclusion and also generated significant local cultural tourism benefits.
For the business, it met a number of external facing business needs, such as image enhancement, business and brand awareness, marketing, but also addressed internal business aspirations, including staff relations and development and creative development.
Tommy McCormick, Culture & Business Scotland Fund Manager, said: “Since its launch, the Culture & Business Fund has helped to forge impactful relationships between culture organisations and businesses, with powerful and innovative results.
“We are delighted to reopen the fund for a seventh year, extending opportunities to a wider range of organisations and providing creatives with the resources to bring their artistic visions to life.”
Vision Mechanics, the organisation behind the Storm puppet, added: “We could not have made Storm without this sponsorship. It was a nail-biting budget and this deal made it possible.
“The additional funding from CBFS was essential. If it had not been available, we might have had a telehandler, but perhaps not been able to build the puppet.”
Since its inauguration in 2017, the fund has enabled over 200 projects across Scotland to transform their artistic and creative visions into reality.
Over £1.2 million of funding has been awarded so far to creative projects across the country, from Grampian Art Hospital Trust in the north to Dumfries and Galloway Art Festival in the south.
The fund serves Culture & Business Scotland’s commitment to facilitating meaningful connections between the culture and business sectors, creating the possibility for businesses to sponsor creative projects with vision and scope.
6 new recordings launched between January and April
The Royal Ballet: The Cellist, Romeo and Juliet and Sylvia
The Royal Opera: La traviata, Fidelio and Madama Butterfly
This New Year, the Royal Opera House will add six new performances to Royal Opera House Stream for audiences around the world to enjoy: The Cellist, Romeo and Juliet and Sylvia from The Royal Ballet; and La traviata, Fidelio and Madama Butterfly from The Royal Opera.
The new titles join a library of over 50 beloved productions and over 100 behind-the-scenes videos, giving audiences an opportunity to discover more by the artists they love, and watch world-class art wherever they are.
The year kicks off with a recording of Cathy Marston’s extraordinary one-act ballet The Cellist (2020).
The production – the choreographer’s first work for the Royal Opera House’s Main Stage – is a lyrical memoir of the momentous life of the cellist Jacqueline du Pré, whose brilliant career was cut short by the onset of multiple sclerosis at the age of 28.
Composer Philip Feeney incorporates music by Elgar, Beethoven, Fauré, Mendelssohn, Piatti, Rachmaninoff and Schubert into an exquisite score that is itself an homage to the cello. This multi award-winning production stars Royal Ballet Principals Lauren Cuthbertson, Marcelino Sambé and Matthew Ball.
On Thursday 19 January 2023, our latest revival of Verdi’s ever popular La traviata arrives on Royal Opera House Stream.
Richard Eyre’s production, with sumptuous belle époque-inspired designs by Bob Crowley, has long been a Royal Opera favourite, winning critical acclaim for its exquisite sets, lavish costumes, and unforgettably dramatic staging.
The performance (recorded in 2022) is sung by a truly international cast that includes Pretty Yende as Violetta Valéry, Stephen Costello as Alfredo Germont and Dimitri Platanias as Giorgio Germont.
February begins with the release of Tobias Kratzer’s production of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio (2020), with Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano conducting a spectacular cast led by Lise Davidsen and David Butt Philip.
Then, on Valentine’s Day 2023, Romeo and Juliet will be made available. Kenneth MacMillan’s classic adaptation of Shakespeare’s play – set to Prokofiev’s iconic score and featuring evocative designs by Nicholas Georgiadis – has remained a firm favourite of The Royal Ballet’s repertory since its premiere in 1965, which was danced by Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn.
The production offers dancers in the lead roles a wealth of opportunity for differing interpretations of the star-crossed lovers.
Two further new productions will be available from March: Frederick Ashon’s ballet Sylvia (2005), starring former Royal Ballet Principal Darcey Bussell and Guest Artist Roberto Bolle; and Puccini’s devastating opera Madama Butterfly (2022), conducted by Nicola Luisotti and sung by a stunning cast that includes acclaimed Italian soprano Maria Agresta as Cio-Cio-San, American tenor Joshua Guerrero as Lieutenant B.F Pinkerton, Spanish Baritone Carlos Álvarez as Sharpless, and English mezzo-soprano Christine Rice as Suzuki.
All Royal Opera House Stream productions come complete with extra wraparound material – interviews, masterclasses, rehearsal footage and more – giving audiences a unique behind the scenes insight into one of the world’s leading theatres.
Royal Opera House Stream currently hosts over 50 stunning works from The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera, with highlights including Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project, Katie Mitchell’s production of Handel’s Theodora, Frederick Ashton’s La fille mal gardée, Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale and Puccini’s Tosca.
In addition to the 100+ pieces of behind-the-scenes content already online, further features – ranging from rehearsal footage to interviews and masterclasses – will be made available across 2023 for subscribers to enjoy.
Join today to watch the world’s greatest performers, emerging talent, leading choreographers and trailblazing creative teams from the comfort of your own home. From family favourites and modern masterpieces to heartbreaking arias and passionate pas-de-deux, Royal Opera House Stream offers it all: truly transformative experiences for only £9.99 a month or £99 annually.
Whatever your interest – whether classical or contemporary – there’s a breadth of content for you.
New productions from March 2023 will be announced over the coming months.
New artwork celebrates 50+ swimmers in Scotland’s East Coast communities
Fife-based artist Joanna van den Berg will embark upon a new two-year art project inspired by the lure of coastal swimming thanks to National Lottery Funding through Creative Scotland’s Open Fund.
Developed in collaboration with swimmers, coastal artists and communities, Joanna will develop a series of mixed-media artworks, with a companion collection of writing and images.
This new project titled IMMERSE will take the form of a tribute, exploration and celebration of the growing numbers of ‘feisty 50+ers, women in particular’, whose lives, well-being and sense of solidarity have been galvanised through regular immersion in Scotland’s seas, lochs, rivers and reservoirs.
As one of many who started wild swimming during the Covid pandemic, artist Joanna van den Berg has drawn inspiration from the physical and emotional impact of this directly immersive encounter with the landscape. In Joanna’s own words, ‘the act of transitioning from land to water; the shock, the fear, the exhilaration.’
IMMERSE will host a series of exhibition/gathering events in coastal venues, aiming to produce a companion publication/anthology of text and images for wider distribution by December 2024. News on these, along with call-outs for contributors and regular updates on the project, will be available on an IMMERSE Instagram/Facebook channel from January 2023.
Artist Joanna van den Bergsays: “I’m delighted to have been awarded Open Project funding for IMMERSE, a project to create visual narrative for the emotional and physical lure of wild, coastal and tidal pool swimming.
“I’ll be developing work that draws directly from the stories and experiences of swimmers in Scotland’s East Coast communities.
“Much of my work is bound in transitions between land and water, lost and found, known and unknown, and is increasingly underpinned by my experience of aging.
“I am one of an armada of wild swimmers (many of whom are older women) with a newfound and directly immersive relationship with the landscape. I’m particularly interested in the correlation of wild swimming with age-related changes to our bodies, lifestyle and social autonomy.”
The project is one of 69 projects receiving a total of £1,197,933 National Lottery funding in this latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund awards.
A new album from acclaimed Glasgow-based folk band Gnoss.
Look To the Rainbow – the first biography of the Scots-born singer, actress and entertainer Ella Logan from Alison Kerr.
A new duo album fromLouise Dodds and Elchin Shirinov comprised of traditional Scottish Folk Songs and interwoven with influences of both jazz and Azerbaijani folk music.
The Party Shrimp – an interactive, outdoor, visual walkabout performance for children (5+), families from Adrenalism.
A Scotland-wide series of exhibitions, talks and workshops engaging audiences in the story of Bernat Klein, a Serbian born designer whose career based in the Scottish Borders spanned six decades.
Paul Burns, Interim Deputy Director of Arts & Engagement at Creative Scotlandsaid: “As the year draws to a close, we are once again inspired by the range of exciting new projects that have received Open Fund support.
“The diversity and scope of these projects is reflective of our society as a whole, and we hope that these projects will continue to enrich the lives of people of all ages in Scotland in 2023 and beyond.”
Summary of the Society’s work over the past 12 months accompanied by headline findings from surveys
This morning the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society launches its review of the year: an in-depth look at the work it has accomplished over the past 12 months.
With unease caused by a new wave of COVID in early 2022, there was still uncertainty that a fully formed Fringe could take place this August. However, against what felt like impossible odds at times, the Fringe re-emerged in glorious technicolour, with local performers joined by artists from across the UK and 63 nations.
In June, Fringe Society President Phoebe Waller-Bridge launched the Fringe Society’s new vision – to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat. This was followed in August with the announcement of new alumni Patron, Eddie Izzard, who started her career as a street performer on the famous Royal Mile.
As the festival approached,activities to celebrate the Fringe’s 75th anniversary took place, through memories collected from audiences and artists over the years.
The popular street events programme expanded into new areas of Edinburgh’s city centre, with over 3,200 performances taking place, and the Fringe Central participants’ hub opened its doors to over 2,100 arts industry, media, producers and visiting delegations.
Projects such as Fringe Days Out and the Children and Young People ticketing scheme returned as the Society continued with local schools and community groups. These vital initiatives supported children, young people, and those across Edinburgh who might not otherwise get to experience the Fringe.
By the end of August, over 2.2m tickets had been issued, and artists from 63 countries had performed in over 3,400 shows across Edinburgh.
Read the Fringe Society’s full review of the year 2022 at:
Following a year of heightened interest in the Society’s work, today the Society also announce the headline results from a mass feedback project, launched in September.
A significant part of the Society’s annual evaluation is surveying a broad group of stakeholders. This year was no different, with the largest listening drive since 2019. The Society commissioned Scotinform to facilitate surveys to registered artists, audience members, venues, workers, arts industry and media, who combine to create the Fringe ecosystem.
More than 10,000 responses across the surveys were received, with results now being used to support the development of new projects, and to target our future plans. These vital data insights also give us the evidence base we need to advocate for focused support and address some of the challenges identified by the Fringe community.
The positioning of the festival continues to be strong: 76% of audience members agreed that the Fringe is one of the most important cultural eventsin the world. When asked for motivations for attending the 2022 Fringe, respondents cited seeing a variety of events/performances (76%) and enjoying live performance after the pandemic (49%).
Edinburgh’s residents continue to be vital to the festival: 65% feel the Fringe makes the city a better place to live, alongside 75% who feel it makes Edinburgh a better place to visit. With the cost-of-living crisis likely to extend into 2023, 66% of audiences would like ticket offers or discounted tickets, with 91% of Edinburgh residents interested in a discount for EH postcodes.
The live experience continues to be a major motivator, with only 7% agreeing that they would like to see more online shows at the Fringe. As we look ahead to 2023, there is continued optimism from audiences, with 81% of respondents stating they are likely to come to the Fringe in 2023.
Unsurprisingly, following the intense interest in a Fringe app for 2023, 46% of audience respondents said they felt an app would have improved their Fringe experience, with 66% stating they would use an app in the future. This aligned with artist feedback, with 71% stating a Fringe app is very important to them. Work on the 2023 app is already underway and details on its functionality and launch timings will be announced in the new year.
For artists, the Fringe continues to be a core platform for artists’ careers, with 82% of those attending the Fringe for the first time doing so for professional development reasons. For returning Fringe artists, experiencing the Fringe was the biggest motivator, with 82% citing this as the main reason.
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Accommodation continues to be a concern for many performers: 87% of artists felt that affordability of accommodation and living costs will be a barrier to future participation in the Fringe; however 70% of artists said they are still likely to bring a show to the Fringe in the future. Interestingly, 17% of artists did not engage directly with the Society, and as such were not aware of the full offering of services available to them such as Fringe Connect and Fringe Marketplace.
While a small sample of workers responded to their survey, the Society continues to review how we reach and support this group more. Recognising work undertaken in support of the Real Living Wage, 77% of Fringe workers said they were paid on or above this benchmark at this year’s festival. 91% were also satisfied that they had a line manager to seek help from, if and when they needed it.
In addition to the statistical information, Scotinform evaluated free text responses across the surveys. In general, there was an appetite for more information to be shared with all respondents, at more regular points of the year.
Advance detailed information was clearly sought, and as such The Society is refining its communications strategy to ensure first time, and returning artists, have the year-round support they need to attend the Fringe in the future.
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “It’s easy to forget how tumultuous this year has been – between Omicron variants, the cost-of-living crisis and de-stabilising world events, it feels miraculous the Fringe happened at all.
“The fact that it did is a testament to the concerted effort and support of a cast of thousands, including artists, audiences, venues, media, staff, volunteers, crew, sponsors, elected officials and the city of Edinburgh itself.
“Improvements can always be made, and the insights and data gained from our recent listening exercise are already being taken forward.
“We recognise that there are ongoing challenges, and our team are working hard behind the scenes to continue to advocate for our artists, and to support audiences as they plan for Fringe 2023.”
Brand-new this week on Royal Opera House Stream: Theodora (2022)
The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration in global cinemas
Theodora, Royal Opera House, January 2022
This week, the Royal Opera House is delighted to be bringing world class art to audiences across the globe – offering the very best of The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera in cinemas and on demand.
On Thursday 17 November, Katie Mitchell’s gripping new production of Handel’s Theodora (4*) will be available to watch on Royal Opera House Stream.
Sung in the original English libretto and conducted by Baroque specialist Harry Bicket, the opera is a tour de force for soloists and chorus alike, with ensembles, duets and arias of profound depth and beauty.
The opera’s stellar cast includes soprano Julia Bullock as Theodora, making her Main Stage debut; Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; Opus Klassik award-winning countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński; tenor Ed Lyon; baritone Gyula Orendt; and Jette Parker Young Artist Thando Mjandana.
The performance is released alongside a rich array of behind-the-scenes content, including a masterclass with Joyce DiDonato and an Insight event about the production.
Artists of The Royal Ballet in The Royal Ballet production of Jewels, a ballet in three acts choreographed by George Balanchine (1904-1983) to music by Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) and Igor Stravinsky, performed at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 16 December 2013
ARPDATA ;
JEWELS ;
Music by Gabriel Fauré, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky ;
Choreography by George Balanchine ;
Artists of The Royal Ballet ;
The Royal Ballet ;
At the Royal Opera House, London, UK ;
16 December 2013 ;
Credit: Bill Cooper / Royal Opera House / ArenaPAL
The night before, on Wednesday 16 November, The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration will be broadcast live on opening night to over 850 cinemas in 31 countries around the world.
The evening will offer an unmissable opportunity to see a stunning roster of Royal Ballet Principal dancers, the highest rank in the Company, together on stage. The gala celebrates the breadth and diversity of the Company’s repertory with a mix of classic and contemporary gems.
It includes The Royal Ballet’s first performance of For Four by Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon; world premieres by Pam Tanowitz, Royal Ballet Emerging Choreographer Joseph Toonga and First Soloist Valentino Zucchetti; and a performance of Diamonds, from George Balanchine’s Jewels. Encore screenings will run from Sunday 20 November 2022.
These two productions add to further free content on BBC channels. Oliver Mears’ new production of Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia – conducted by Corinna Niemeyer and sung by a cast drawn from the Jette Parker Artists Programme and the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme – will be broadcast on Saturday 26 November 2022 on BBC Radio 3.
Additional Royal Opera House productions continue to be available on BBC iPlayer.
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation opens applications for £150,000 Award for Civic Arts Organisations
Cultural organisations across the United Kingdom have been invited to apply for the £150,000 Award for Civic Arts Organisations, run by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
This year’s award is themed around ‘Co-Creating the Future’. It spotlights organisations that are helping to transform communities, even in the most challenging of contexts – whether by igniting joy, hope, compassion and energy, improving wellbeing, forging new connections, or developing solutions.
The Award for Civic Arts Organisations began in 2020, as a response to the Covid19 pandemic. This year, many arts organisations still face difficulties: according to Arts Council Wales, the costs of staging cultural activities have risen by as much as 40 per cent. The Award offers prize funding of £150,000, one of the largest amounts for an award in the arts.
Louisa Hooper, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), said: “The Award for Civic Arts Organisations is designed to support cultural projects that put community at their hearts. In difficult times, it’s more important than ever that art and culture are available to everyone.
“By prioritising co-creation, this year we’re looking to recognise organisations that create lasting change by working with and in communities to address their needs and concerns, deepen relationships, and use arts and creativity to enable positive change.”
Previous recipients of the award include The Art House in Wakefield, which created the first studio sanctuary for asylum seekers in the UK, Project Art Works, a collective of neurodivergent artists and activists based in Hastings, and Heart n Soul and the Museum of Homelessness, both based in London.
Baroness Bull, chair of the Award panel, said: “The Award for Civic Arts Organisations is vitally important in encouraging and rewarding genuine engagement and co-creation with local communities.
“In the years since the award was founded, we’ve seen hundreds of entries from organisations across the UK demonstrating a commitment to changing lives through art.”
Sydney Thornbury, CEO of The Art House in Wakefield, highlights the impact the award can have for organisations themselves: “The stability the Award provided combined with these new funding opportunities has deepened the work we were already doing and has opened up new opportunities for how we can further extend our civic impact.”
The independent panel of judges are Darren Ferguson, CEO/Founder, Beyond Skin; Ica Headlam, Founder, We Are Here Scotland; Philipp Dietachmair, Head of Programmes, European Cultural Foundation; Rachel Noel, Head of Programmes and Partnerships, Tate; Rhiannon White, Co-Artistic Director, Common Wealth Theatre; Saad Eddine Said, CEO/Artistic Director, New Art Exchange; and Sydney Thornbury, CEO/Artistic Director, The Art House (main recipient of 2022 Award).
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch, founded in 1956, was one of the earliest champions of community engagement in the arts.
In 1959, it published the seminal report Help For The Arts, which pioneered ideas including artists and writers in residence in non-artistic institutions, and arguing for more focused and sustained funding for arts organisations outside London and the major cities.
‘Perfect storm’ of financial pressure facing Scotland’s cultural sector
In a report published this week, Holyrood’s Committee looks ahead to the Scottish Government’s 2023-24 budget and the impact of budgetary decisions on Scotland’s culture sector. It calls on increased urgency to address budget pressures through innovative approaches to funding.
The report underlines recommendations made by the Committee during previous budget scrutiny. It calls for these innovate approaches to be accelerated in order to address the difficulties being faced.
During its consideration, the Committee heard the challenges facing that sector have become more acute as it struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and further compounded by the cost of living crisis following on from longer term budget pressures. The Committee has recommended taking an innovative approach to budgeting including greater use of public and private investment as well as multiyear funding.
The Committee also repeats its call from last year for the mainstreaming of the culture budget. It also asks the Scottish Government for updates on embedding culture more broadly as part its plans for a wellbeing economy. This would take into account the contribution which preventative spend in areas like the arts and other cultural activities makes towards health and wellbeing.
Speaking as the report launched, the Committee Convener Clare Adamson MSP said:“Scotland’s cultural sector plays a vital role in Scottish life. But we heard blunt warnings from those within the sector that stark choices lie ahead.
“Increased operating costs come at a time when most cultural venues are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, and without truly innovative approaches to funding, there is a real danger that Scotland’s skilled cultural workforce will be lost along with some of our best loved cultural icons.
“There are no doubt considerable pressures across all areas of the Scottish Government budget, and there are no easy choices. But the current situation provides an opportunity to accelerate these innovative solutions. The Scottish Government must take action to protect this fundamental part of our society.”
AROUND 30 arts and culture organisations attended a Roundtable on the impact of the cost of living crisis on culture, hosted last week by Scottish Labour’s Spokesperson for Culture, Sarah Boyack MSP and shared their concerns about the future of the sector.
The roundtable was organised to better understand how dramatically increasing running costs and falling income due to overstretched households will impact on arts and culture organisations in Edinburgh and across Scotland.
From smaller, community-based organisations such as Sing in the City, Project Artlink and the Scottish Contemporary Art Network, to bigger and diverse institutions, including Scottish Ballet, Museum Galleries Scotland and Glasgow Life, the picture painted was grim and raised questions about current plans to address the unfolding crisis.
Sarah Boyack said that the organisations varied in size, budgets, challenges and needs for the future, highlighting the scale of the problem and the need for action.
The list MSP for Lothian commented: “A common theme that emerged during our roundtable is that without urgent support, many of Scotland’s Arts and Culture organisations will collapse.
“In the last fortnight, Falkirk Town Hall, the Filmhouse in Edinburgh, the Belmont in Aberdeen and the Edinburgh International Film Festival have all gone under so we need urgent action and support for the sector now.
“Despite reassurances from the Scottish Government that our National Collections will remain open to the public free of charge, we recently found out that flagship Edinburgh galleries might have to not only reduce hours but also cut on their outreach programmes funded by earned income.
Sarah Boyack continued: “The Scottish Government has a history of empty promises and soundbites over action – they’ve been warned, time and time again, about the “perfect storm” of the pandemic, declining incomes, rising energy bills and inflation.
“Year on year real terms cuts to local government have exacerbated the sustainability community based art and culture organisations and led to a loss of highly skilled staff. The Scottish Government has been warned about the long-lasting impact that this will have on the sector, with haemorrhage of talent and skills, closures and under-provision of services.
“Arts and culture organisations are hugely important not only to our cultural landscape, our economy and people’s well-being and mental health, but are also spaces that people can spend time in during the cost of living crisis – for free.
“I will be writing to the Cabinet Secretary to ask about a detailed cross government plan to support our arts and culture – we need clarity and action now, not soundbites.”
Words most associated with EDINBURGH are history, architecture & theatre/arts
New research has revealed that Edinburgh is labelled as historical by people across the UK. The survey by Legal & General asked respondents to select the words they most associate with various UK cities, including their own.
The survey found that the top words associated with Edinburgh are historical (53%), architecture (42%), and theatre/arts (40%).
Other key findings include:
Respondents living in Edinburgh chose historical (71%), theatre/arts (65%), and architecture (62%) as the top words associated with their city
The words least associated with Edinburgh are industrial (10%), rugby (11%), and football (14%)
Edinburgh was the second most prosperous (23%) and innovative (16%) city, behind London only
Edinburgh is the UK city most associated with architecture, chosen by 42% of respondents
Legal & General also investigated the various satisfaction levels of people living in the UK in their Rebuilding Britain Index report.
The study finds that 69% of Brits are satisfied with their local area – this was 68% among those in Scotland. However, there are many factors such as healthcare (62%) and public green spaces (50%) that significantly affect levels of contentment.
People in the south-west of England have the highest levels of satisfaction with their local area (76% of survey respondents).
In contrast, just 62% of those polled in the north-east say they are satisfied with their area – the lowest of any region.
“Expensive” is the word Brits most associate with London (68% of respondents).
“Historical” is how Brits are most likely to describe Edinburgh (53%), while Sheffield is viewed as “industrial” (43%), and the word most associated with Newcastle is “football” (44%).
Overall, 69% of the UK are satisfied with the place where they live.
Access to high quality health services (GP, dentists, pharmacy) is the factor that most determines satisfaction with an area – 62% selected this option.
Satisfaction runs deep
There is no shortage of local pride in Britain’s regions, but the sunny south-west, including Bristol, Bath and the towns and villages of Somerset and Gloucestershire, has the highest levels of satisfaction (76%) among locals when asked to rate the place where they live.
New research from Legal & General as part of their Rebuilding Building Britain Index explores satisfaction levels across the UK.
As part of the research, 20,000 people were surveyed to find out how satisfied they are with their lives – and how different factors – from work opportunities to transport – affect their levels of contentment.
The study found that Brits are largely happy with their neighbourhood – 69% say they’re satisfied with their local area.
The key to happiness
But not everyone would describe their local patch as a happy place to live. In the north-east of England, just 62% of respondents said they’re satisfied with their area – the lowest of any region. And when asked which factors have the biggest impact on satisfaction levels, the survey revealed that healthcare, public green spaces and a reliable mobile signal are crucial to how people view their surroundings.
Other factors include congestion and quality of local roads, as well as the availability of well-paid employment options.
The words on the street
Our health, happiness and sense of place is affected by the way we perceive the world around us. So how do Brits view different cities across the UK? A new survey commissioned by Legal and General asked respondents which words they would use to describe different urban centres. Here are the top answers:
LONDON
Expensive (68%)
SHEFFIELD
Industrial (43%)
BIRMINGHAM
Industrial (36%)
GLASGOW
Historical (35%)
BRISTOL
Historical (28%)
NEWCASTLE
Football (44%)
CARDIFF
Rugby (35%)
LEEDS
Football (33%)
EDINBURGH
Historical (53%)
BRIGHTON
Lively (42%)
Newcastle had the most UK respondents label the city as ‘friendly’ with 35% selected this as an option to describe the area. Sheffield (25%), Birmingham (24%), Cardiff (26%) and Brighton (30%) were the only other UK cities where ‘friendly’ was selected as one of the top 3 associated words.
Respondents offered other words and phrases as part of the survey which they believe resonate with UK cities, such as the ‘Commonwealth Games’ for Birmingham, ‘University’ for Bristol and ‘LGBTQ’ for Brighton.
John Godfrey, Director of Levelling Up, Legal and General comments: “Our Rebuilding Britain Index focuses on how economic infrastructure and the built environment can support efforts to level the playing field of opportunity.
“The end-game is in people leading happier and more fulfilling lives – but we’ve found that life satisfaction can be significantly impacted by our surroundings. Our research into the common associations people in the UK have with our capitals gives us interesting insight into this specifically.”
