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London based Second Movement opera company to perform Martinů’s “The Knife’s Tears” in Brno and Prague in programme of Czech one-act operas, in association with Brno based Ensemble Opera Diversa (30 & 31 October 2010)
Yvette Bonner as Eleanora, Jonathan Brown
as Satan, London 2007
© Second Movement
Following our recent report about the forthcoming Mavron Quartet performance of the Martinů String Quartet No 4 (H 256) in Cardiff, we are delighted to receive important news from another young British ensemble.
The company Second Movement has a track record of performing this composer’s music. Following successful staged performances of the one-act opera The Knife’s Tears [Les larmes du couteau/Slzy nože] (H 169) at Covent Garden Film Studios, London, in 2007 the company have been invited to give two performances of the piece in the Czech Republic at the end of October, as part of a programme of three modern short Czech operas. The other pieces will be performed by another exciting young company, the Brno based Ensemble Opera Diversa. Details of the two events are as follows:
Hannah Pedley as Mother, London 2007
© Second Movement
Programme:
• Martinů: The Knife’s Tears [Les larmes du couteau/Slzy nože] (H 169) – opera in one act
• Lukáš Sommer: Ela, Hela a stop [Ela, Hela and Hitchhiking] – miniopera, libretto based on early short play by Václav Havel
• Ondřej Kyas: Dýňový démon ve vegetariánské restauraci [Pumpkin demon in a vegetarian restaurant] – opera, libretto Pavel DrábekDates and venues:
30 October 2010, 7.00pm | Mozart Hall [Mozartův sál], Reduta Theatre, Zelný trh 313/4, Brno | www.ndbrno.cz
31 October 2010, 7.00pm | Divadlo DISK, Karlova 26, Prague | www.divadlodisk.czCasts
Martinů | Yvette Bonner (soprano) – Eleanora | Hannah Pedley (mezzo-soprano) – Mother | Jonathan Brown (baritone) – Satan | Nicholas Chalmers (conductor)
Sommer & Kyas | Lucie Kašpárková & Hana Škarková (sopranos) | Jakub Tuček (tenor) | Jan Šťáva & Martin Šujan (basses) | Tomáš Studený (speaker) | Gabriela Tardonová (conductor)
About The Knife’s Tears
In 1928 Martinů composed his second opera — the one act The Knife’s Tears (H 169) — whilst living in Paris. The libretto was written in french and was based on a play by Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, Les larmes du couteau, which is also the french title of the opera. In Czech it is known as Slzy nože.
Ribemont-Dessaignes (1884 – 1974) was a French writer and artist associated with the Dada and Surrealist movements. The editor of the Surrealist review Bifur, he was a significant artistic figure in inter-war Paris. When Martinů met him, some of his novels had appeared in Czech translations and his Dadaist plays had been staged in Prague .
The libretto deals satirically with themes of love, promiscuity and sexual rivalry between mothers and daughters. Although this was a period when traditional values were often challenged, there were powerful conservative forces at work too. So it is perhaps unsurprising that the original plan for a performance at the 1928 International Society for Contemporary Music Festival in Baden-Baden was not realised, although to be fair to the Festival jury the practical challenge of staging some of the composer’s fast-paced theatrical effects may have weighed as heavily as the nature of the text. In the event, the opera had to wait until 1969 for its première in Brno.
Martinů’s opera includes elements from popular music of the day but is also influenced by Stravinsky and the French group of composers known as “Les Six”. However, the piece is much more than the sum total of its influences. In its use of unreality, not to say its use of an accordion in its instrumentation, it looks forward to the opera Juliette (H 253). In his 1975 biography Martinů, Brian Large wrote “… Martinů produces an outrageous extravaganza which is at the same time a model of musical conciseness and instrumental sensitivity. The colour and sound achieved by the 15 players is remarkable.”
For more facts about the opera and a stimulating essay by Aleš Březina, please visit the Martinů Foundation [Nadace Bohuslava Martinů] web database >> .
Second Movement
Second Movement was founded in 2004 by director Oliver Mears, conductor Nicholas Chalmers and producer Abigail Toland to provide a platform for young artists, musicians, designers, directors and technicians to work together on the professional production of fully staged opera. The company specialises in rarely performed and risk taking repertoire. Works produced include the UK stage premiere of Rothschild’s Violin, an opera based on Chekhov’s short story, composed by Benjamin Fleischmann and completed by Shostakovich, the UK premiere of The Knife’s Tears by Bohuslav Martinů and the world premiere of Fade by young US composer Stefan Weisman. Second Movement is committed to bringing new audiences to opera and challenging preconceptions about the form. It stages its operas in unexpected places which have included an old banana warehouse in Covent Garden and a Victorian music hall in Hoxton. Future plans include a full staging of The Three Wishes or the Inconstancy of Life (H 175) by Martinů.
For the forthcoming Brno and Prague performances of Martinů’s The Knife’s Tears, Second Movement has reunited the cast and creative team from the acclaimed 2007 London production. These will be teamed with the Opera Diversa orchestra of Czech musicians. Direction will be by Oliver Mears and sets by Simon Holdsworth.direction from Oliver Mears and sets by Simon Holdsworth.
Soprano Yvette Bonner studied at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with the Dip. RAM, the Academy’s highest award for performance and the Blyth-Buesst Operatic Prize. She was the winner of the Emmy Destinn Award for Young Singers for Czech opera and song. Among the Czech opera roles she has performed are the title roles in Dvořák’s Rusalka for Iford Opera (which the Dvořák Society webmaster attended and much enjoyed) and Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen for Aix–en–Provence Festival. Mezzo-soprano Hannah Pedley studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. While still at the Northern, Hannah made her professional debut with Buxton Festival. Canadian baritone, Jonathan Brown, has studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), the University of Western Ontario, Cambridge University and the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh.
Musical Director and conductor, Nicholas Chalmers, is Assistant Chorus Master of English National Opera. For Second Movement he has conducted four productions including the UK stage premieres of Rothschild’s Violin (Fleischmann/Shostakovich) and The Knife’s Tears (Martinů).
Second Movement would like to extend its thanks to Pavel Drabek and all at Ensemble Opera Diversa for their invitation to perform Martinů’s vibrant and original rarity in the composer’s homeland and to Aleš Březina and the Martinů Foundation in Prague for their continued support.
Gabriela Tardonová
Ensemble Opera Diversa
Ensemble Opera Diversa is a group of professional musicians and singers, performing chamber music and chamber opera. Although founded in 2003, its origins reach back to 1999 when Ondřej Kyas and Pavel Drábek co-wrote two minioperas:
- The Parrot (in English), a 30-minute opera for 3 singers and piano, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven
- The Two Brothers (Dva bratři), a 15-minute opera in Czech for 3 singers, flute, oboe & piano
Since 2003, Ensemble Opera Diversa has premiered over 15 mini-operas (written by Ondřej Kyas and Pavel Drábek) and 2 full-length chamber operas.
In 2005, Jan Bělohlávek, the principal violinist of the Ensemble, founded a chamber string orchestra which performs both classical and modern music. Since 2005, the orchestra has grown both in size and in popularity, regularly collaborating with soloists and performing both new Czech music and new work by Austrian composers.
The young Czech conductor, Gabriela Tardonová, has worked regularly with the company. Below you can watch a video of her conducting Martinů’s short 1928 orchestral work Le Jazz (H 168) from the same year as The Knife’s Tears. It is a much lighter piece than the opera, but it has entertainment value. Alternatively if the video does not work in your web browser in our page, the following link will take you to the source on You Tube >>
Can you help support Second Movement in this venture?
Second Movement have agreed to fund part of the costs of this production, and would greatly appreciate support from supporters of Czech music in the UK. Any donations will be recognised in the programme of the event.
If you feel able to support this exciting performance, please contact Abigail Toland of Second Movement who will provide bank details. Her e-mail address is abigail@secondmovement.org.uk.
