Tag: culture

Start 2023 with the best of  Royal Opera House Stream

  • 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.

Art project inspired by wild swimming set to make a big splash

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.

A woman in silhouette walks out to sea in the sunlight

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 Berg says: “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.

At a glance, projects include:

  • Ullapool Book Festival’s 19th annual festival to be held on 5 and 6 May 2023.
  • 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 Scotland said: “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.”

Royal Opera House – On Screen and On Demand 

  • 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 Il’yich 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 Il’yich 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.

Subscribe to Royal Opera House Stream today at roh.org.uk/stream.

Find your local cinema here: roh.org.uk/cinema.  

£150,000 Award for Civic Arts Organisations open for applications

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

A ‘perfect storm’ of financial pressure is being faced by Scotland’s cultural sector. This is the warning from the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee.

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.”

Live from Covent Garden: La bohème in cinemas this week

THIS week, Puccini’s opera of passion, friendship and heartbreak hits the big screen. On Thursday 20 October 2022, La bohème will be broadcast live from Covent Garden to 900 cinemas in 34 countries around the world.

Puccini’s masterpiece has enchanted audiences since its premiere in 1896, quickly becoming one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide. Richard Jones’ production offers superb lighting by Mimi Jordan Sherin and stunning sets and costumes by Stewart Laing – starting with a freezing garret under the stars, and perfectly evoking fin-de-siècle Paris. A timeless love story, it is both the perfect starter opera for cinema fans, and a treat for even the most seasoned operagoers.

Kevin John Edusei makes his Royal Opera debut conducting a world-class, international cast: American soprano Ailyn Pérez as Mimì; Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez as Rodolfo; Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky as Marcello; Australian-American soprano Danielle de Niese as Musetta; British baritone Ross Ramgobin as Schaunard; and British bass-baritone Michael Mofidian as Colline. Encore screenings will run from Sunday 23 October 2022.

Our cinema programme has brought opera and ballet to audiences across the globe since 2008. For the 2022/23 Season, an astonishing 13 productions from The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera will be broadcast to more than 1,300 cinemas from the UK all the way to New Zealand.

Each broadcast offers audiences the best seat in the house, and includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and insights into the rehearsal process.

The programme forms an integral part of our plan to secure our future, expand audiences and continue to help facilitate the vital recovery of cinema domestically and internationally.

Sarah Boyack: Scotland’s Arts and Culture on the brink of collapse

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.”

Twinkl Scotland celebrates World Gaelic Week

Global educational resources publisher, Twinkl, has a Gaelic-speaking team publishing resources in the language throughout the year.

From the 21st to the 27th of March, Seachdain na Gàidhlig (World Gaelic Week) is going to be enjoyed in Scottish classrooms and beyond.

The event is a wonderful way of shining a light on a significant part of Scottish heritage, and to celebrate an aspect of Scottish culture. The aims of the week are to encourage learning Gaelic, and to promote the cultural richness associated with Gaelic.

Gaelic is prominently used in the Highlands and islands of Scotland. There are also many urban Gaels using the language in Scotland’s cities. Gaelic is actively spoken in schools, among friends & family,  as well as in shops and restaurants.

According to the last census, over 87,000* Scots were able to speak, read or understand Gaelic. As a minority language, it has had a large impact on Scottish culture for centuries, right up to the present day. 

Twinkl has created learning materials that fit into five themes to help the language come alive. The themes can be used each day in the school-week when Seachdain na Gàidhlig takes place.

These are: Celebrate Gaelic, Learning the Language, Gaelic in the Real World, Gaelic in the Media, and Arts & Culture. These themes were created to support the teaching and the learning of Gaelic.

Twinkl is an EdTech company with a mission to ‘help those who teach’. The organisation has its own Gaelic-speaking team, dedicated to creating educational materials in the Gaelic language throughout the year. There are resources designed for fluent Gaelic speakers as well as learners. 

Julie-Anne Mackenzie, Twinkl Alba’s Product Owner said, “World Gaelic Week is a fantastic way of boosting the language’s profile, as well as celebrating its stories, music, and much more.  It is an opportunity for both learners and fluent speakers in a variety of contexts to celebrate and share their learning, whatever stage they are at.”

The Twinkl Alba team speaks Gaelic throughout the working day. Alongside the Gaelic resources that are made, emails are written, and meetings are hosted in the language. The team features content writers, graphic designers and editors dedicated to supporting teaching and learning in the language throughout the year. Employees come from a variety of educational and linguistic backgrounds throughout Scotland and beyond. 

Julie-Anne said, “It is a privilege to work on a team that creates thousands of educational resources in Gaelic a year. Gaelic is the primary language we use in a business setting, no matter the project we are working on.

“There are even English Twinkl employees who have enjoyed picking up some Gaelic words and phrases when working alongside us!” 

“Learning Gaelic is a fun challenge, and Twinkl Alba are here to support learners and teachers with a vast array of engaging resources. This is to supplement and enhance the learning experience. Why don’t you give it a try?”

For more information about World Gaelic Week, you can take a look at Twinkl’s World Gaelic Week Category Page.

Further support for culture recovery

Culture and events sectors to benefit from £16 million

The Scottish government’s Omicron business support fund will help cultural organisations, events, museums and freelancers recover from the economic impact of coronavirus restrictions.

£16 million funding for this financial year is being allocated as follows:

  • £12 million to Creative Scotland towards support for a hardship fund for creative freelancers, a recovery fund for cultural organisations and for Edinburgh Festivals celebrating their 75th year. Details of these funds will be announced next week by Creative Scotland.
  • £2 million for EventScotland to increase the total support for EventScotland’s national and international events programmes.
  • £2 million additional support for the Museums Recovery Fund to support a wider range of museums to recover from the pandemic.   

Culture Minister Neil Gray said: “This further £16m in support for the culture events, heritage and creative industries recognises how much we value these sectors which have been among those hit hardest by the pandemic.

“As we embark on our recovery, cultural activity has a pivotal role to play in reinvigorating our economy and communities as well as promoting individual well-being.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic the government has announced more than £240 million for culture and events and we are continuing to work closely with these sectors as they rebuild audience confidence.”

Iain Munro, Creative Scotland’s Chief Executive said: “This additional funding from the Scottish Government is very welcome and will provide a lifeline for many in the culture sector who have lost income as a result of the ongoing pandemic. 

“We are working quickly to get this funding to those who need it most. Details of how creative freelancers and cultural organisations can apply for the funding will be communicated shortly.”

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events said: “The additional £2 million in funding for Scotland’s events sector is welcome news as we continue to navigate through the impact of recent Covid-19 restrictions and look towards the future.

“It is vital that we continue to support the recovery of Scotland’s events sector by showcasing a wide-ranging event offering, whilst keeping Scotland top of mind and reinforcing its status and reputation as a world-class event destination.

“This additional funding will ensure we can continue to rebuild our vibrant events sector by developing a diverse portfolio of events that inspire both visitors and locals to attend, but which also deliver social and economic benefits to local communities across the country.”

Details of Creative Scotland’s funds will be available here:

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