Retrospect - July in Pictures

Another month has flown by at City of London Sinfonia. During July we had many more performances at Opera Holland Park, as well as two family day concerts in Newmarket and Whitechapel, a performance with Michael Collins at Petworth Festival and a chamber lunchtime concert at St Thomas' Hospital.


The highlight of our month was undoubtedly welcoming the Olympic Torch to Holland Park with our friends from Opera Holland Park. We look forward to August when we’ll be taking part in the Paralympic Flame Celebrations in Suffolk.

Here's a few pictures from the past month...

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The sunny view from our roof terrace at Piano House, Brixton

 

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July saw performances at Opera Holland Park 2012 - here is the audience and orchestra waiting for Falstaff to begin

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The Onegin set during the interval at Opera Holland Park 

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The office team rehearse for their handbell rendition of Land of Hope and Glory to celebrate the start of the Olympics

  

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The Olympic Torch passed by our office in Brixton on Thursday 26 July...

  

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...whilst our players were warming up for the arrival of the torch in Holland Park

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The moment the torch arrived and passed through the Opera Holland Park choir

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Our principal oboe, Dan Bates, introducing the quintet at St Thomas' Hospital at our lunchtime chamber concert on 30 July

 

Images: Anna Jessiman, Alex Marshall and Gillian Hunter

Olympic Torch in Holland Park

On Thursday 26 July, the Olympic torch passed through the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and stopped briefly in Holland Park. We were delighted to perform, along with the Opera Holland Park Chorus and Investec Choir, for this very special occasion. Here's some photos from this special day.

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Conductor Stuart Stratford with the City of London Sinfonia violins

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Orchestra leader Matthew Scrivener with Stuart Stratford

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The Opera Holland Park Chorus and Investec Choir

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A 'minute maestro' participant

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Stuart Stratford and more 'minute maestro' conductors

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Julia Riley and Anna Leese singing The Flower Duet from Lakmé

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City of London Sinfonia violins

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Peter Auty performing Nessun Dorma

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12-year-old Tabitha-Skye Mcduffus from Chelsea Academy carried the torch through Holland Park

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Tabitha carrying the torch through the choir

Images: Anna Jessiman

Zany for Zanetto

As the Gianni Schicchi/Zanetto double bill at Opera Holland Park comes to an end this week, we focus on Mascagni's lesser known one act opera Zanetto.

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1.    Mascagni had so many devoted fans during his lifetime that 'mascagnano' was recognised as a common noun in the Italian dictionary.

2.    The premiere of Zanetto in 1896 featured as part of the annual celebrations for Rossini’s birthday.

3.    A private performance of Zanetto was held in London shortly after the Italian premiere, with Italian sisters Sofia and Giulia Ravogli.

4.    Five years ago in June 2007, Zanetto was performed in New York for the first time since its US premiere in October 1902.

5.    Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, the librettist for Zanetto (along with Guido Menasci), was a lifelong friend of Mascagni’s, born in the same year and city.

 

The remaining performances of the Gianni Schicchi/Zanetto double bill are on July 12 & 14 at 7.30pm, as well as The Christine Collins Young Artists' performance on July 14 at 2pm.

Retrospect - June in pictures

June was a busy month for us with the start of our ninth season at Opera Holland Park, a UK premiere of Gluck's Il trionfo di Clelia at the Royal Opera House and several education projects inbetween. We started the month in good spirits celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in style with our friends at Piano House and finished by humming along to Donizetti, Mozart and Puccini.

Here's a few pictures from the past month...

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Gillian and Alex raise their cups for the Diamond Jubilee

 

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Watching Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor which opened this year's Opera Holland Park 2012 season

 

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Gillian, our Education Manager, received a new instrument to add to her collection

 

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A few of our players performing at Great Ormond Street Hospital

 

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Preparing the set for Clelia at the Linbury Studio Theatre, downstairs at the Royal Opera House

 

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Rehearsing for Il Trionfo di Clelia

Gen up on your Gianni

For the next edition in our trivia opera guide for novices and opera buffs alike, we take a look at  Puccini's one-act opera Gianni Schicchi.

  • The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico (The Triptych)—three one-act operas. When Il trittico premiered in New York, Rome and London, Gianni Schicchi was an immediate hit and by 1920 Puccini had given his reluctant consent to separate performances. Gianni Schicchi has subsequently become the most-performed part of Il trittico and has been widely recorded
  • The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's The Divine Comedy

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  • The world premiere took place at the Metropolitan Opera (above image) in New York unusually without Puccini being there
  • Woody Allen directed Gianni Schicchi for Los Angeles Opera in 2008
  • Gianni Schicchi was to be the last opera Puccini ever completed


Gianni Schicchi is in rep at Opera Holland Park until 14 July.

Check out our Opera Holland Park Pinterest Board for more interesting facts on this year's season.