The Prodigal Son
Debussy
Welcome
Thank you for coming to our performance of Debussy’s The Prodigal Son. Throughout the pandemic, all aspects of life have had to change and adapt and we at Opera on Location are thrilled to be bringing you our first live performance since August 2019. Your support means the world to us and we are delighted that you are here today to watch live opera.
Thank you and we hope you enjoy the show,
Gareth Lloyd and Kathryn Gasic
(Artistic Directors)
The Prodigal Son returns to Sheffield
In 1884 Debussy first wrote L’enfant prodigue and with 22 of the 28 votes available he won the prestigious Prix de Rome. In 1908 Debussy re-orchestrated the piece and under the baton of Sir Henry Wood the piece received its world premiere in Sheffield as part of the Sheffield Music Festival.
For today's performances Opera on Location have commissioned a new orchestration for a ten-piece ensemble by George Morton along with an English libretto by director and librettist Ashley Pearson, to replace the original libretto by Édouard Guinand.
Opera on Location
Formed in 2013, Opera on Location is a vibrant Opera company based in Sheffield with one simple aim: to perform exciting site-specific opera.
After gaining charitable status in June 2020, Opera on Location continue to be committed to bringing innovatively staged, high quality, affordable opera to Sheffield and South Yorkshire.
As part of Opera on Location’s commitment to making opera more accessible, productions are always sung in English with newly commissioned librettos which reflect the modern-day world.
Cast and Creatives
Click/Hover on a photo once to see who, click again to read more about them.
Andrea Tweedale
Lia
Andrea Tweedale graduated from the RNCM with an MMus and PGdip, both with distinction. Her studies were kindly supported by the Worshipful Company of Musicians and Independent Opera at Saddler’s Wells, who also awarded Andrea a fellowship after graduation.
Shortly after graduation, Andrea performed the role of Gilda Rigoletto at Longborough Festival Opera to critical acclaim (‘A sensation in the role’ - The Birmingham Post, ‘Excellent singing’ - The Independent). Andrea has since performed with Opera North, The Grange Festival, Iford Arts, and Waterperry Opera Festival. She also regularly performs with Charles Court Opera, Opera On Location, Heritage Opera, and Opera Up Close.
Andrea’s recent performances include Maguelonne Cinderella (Opera on Location), Mendelssohn’s Elijah (Manchester Grammar School), Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder (Hallam Sinfonia), Aïda (Opera North), Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Sheffield Cathedral), and a one-woman show (With a Song in Her Heart) for Opera Up Close.
Operatic roles include the title role in Tosca, Mimi and Musetta La Bohème, Donna Anna Don Giovanni, Countess The Marriage of Figaro, Tatyana Eugene Onegin, Micaëla Carmen, Witch/ Mother Hansel and Gretel, Berta The Barber of Seville, and Aunt Norris Mansfield Park. She created the role of Anya in Adam Gorb and Ben Kaye’s Anya 17, which she performed in the UK and Romania.
Oratorio work includes Verdi’s Requiem, Britten’s War Requiem, Brahms’ Requiem, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Haydn’s The Seasons, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, Poulenc’s Gloria, and Handel’s Messiah. Other solo performances include The Classical Proms (Concertgebouw, Holland), New Year concerts with Much Loved Productions and the British Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Frankenstein with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic 10/10 ensemble, and Vaughn Williams’ Serenade to Music (Bridgewater Hall).
Andrea has also appeared on CBBC where she broke a glass using her voice on How to be epic @ Everything.
Gareth Lloyd
Azaël
Gareth Lloyd graduated from Sheffield University with a BMus Honours degree in 2009. He is currently working as a freelance operatic tenor, private singing teacher and musical director for Easy Street Theatre Company. At university Gareth sang numerous solos with The University of Sheffield Chamber Choir including the Mozart Requiem, Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, Schubert's E flat Mass and Honegger's King David.
His operatic credits include Don Curzio The Marriage of Figaro with West Riding Opera, le Remendado Carmen, Monostatos The Magic Flute and Faust in Faust with Sheffield City Opera, Rustico Celos aun del Aire Matan and Council Trial by Jury with The University of Sheffield and Ferrando Così Fan Tutte in Steel Opera's inaugural production. Gareth has featured as a soloist with The Escafeld Choral Selections from Sweeney Todd, Il Pirata.
In 2013 he produced and played the role of Flute in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream as part of the A Boy Was Born festival in Sheffield. After the success of this sell-out production, Gareth co-founded the company Opera on Location. With Opera on Location Gareth has played the role of Rodolfo in La Bohème, Lenski Eugene Onegin, Cavaradossi Tosca, Don José Carmen Don Ottavio Do Giovanni and Alfredo in La traviata. His other engagements have included playing Frank in The Impresario, Ralph Rackstraw HMS Pinafore with Wolverton G & S, Jenik The Bartered Bride with Bearwood Opera and Max Der Freischütz with Aylesbury Opera.
Gareth regularly performs in special events and has recently been seen singing Nessun Dorma as part of Sheffield’s BBC Music Day celebrations and as a featured soloist at The Sheffield City Hall where he performed as part of ‘An Evening with Paul Gascoigne’. He is currently studying with Rachel Nicholls.
Thomas D Hopkinson
Siméon
Originally from Nottingham, Thomas is an Associate Young Artist at The National Opera Studio and is a Sybil Tutton award winner supported by Help Musicians. He was previously a Young Artist at The National Opera Studio and graduated from Royal Northern College of Music where he earned his MMus and Postgraduate Diploma. In 2017 Thomas was also the recipient of The Wexford Festival Opera’s Aria Friends Bursary.
Thomas has performed the roles of; Viktor Anya 17 (Awayday Music Productions); Nettuno & Tempo Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, Dulcamara L’elisir d’amore (RNCM Opera), Hans Foltz Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Hallé), Wagner Faust (Clonter Opera), Count Ceprano (cover) Rigoletto, Biterolf (cover) Tannhäuser (Longborough Festival Opera), Prince Gremin, Zaretsky & Commander Eugene Onegin, The Learned Judge Trial by Jury, Il Commendatore Don Giovanni (Opera on Location), Ferrando Il Trovatore (Opera Seria), Don John Much Ado About Nothing, Poins At The Boar’s Head (Northern Opera Group), Sarastro Die Zauberflöte, Dr Grenvil La Traviata (Westminster Opera Company), Samuel (cover) Un Ballo in Maschera (Grange Park Opera), Marchese d’Obigny La Traviata (Al Bustan Festival, Lebanon) Monterone Rigoletto, Batone L’inganno Felice & The Caliph Mahadi The Veiled Prophet (Wexford Festival Opera) The Mourner Fantasio, Second Prisoner Fidelio & Le Gouverneur (cover) Le Comte Ory (Garsington Opera).
As part of his time, as a Young Artist, with The National Opera Studio, Thomas performed a variety of scenes and arias with the Orchestras of Opera North and The Welsh National Opera.
Thomas also recently performed with the choruses of Opera North, Longborough Festival Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, Grange Park Opera and Garsington Opera.
Thomas also works on the concert platform and has performed Beethoven’s ninth symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Requiem, Tippet's A Child of Our Time, Mozart's Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols, Haydn’s The Creation, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonnelle, Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri, Samuel in Handel’s Saul, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, Verdi’s Requiem and multiple Opera Galas.
Ashley Pearson
Director / Librettist
Ashley is a London-based writer and director. She has worked as an assistant and staff director at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera and Lyric Opera Studio Weimar. Her work as a librettist includes Cinderella, La Traviata (Opera on Location), Carmen (King’s Head Theatre, published by Oberon Books), and Music Oft hath Such a Charm (OperaUpClose, UK tour).
Her opera directing credits include the Offie nominated Partenope (Hampstead Garden Opera), Don Giovanni, Cinderella, La Traviata (Opera on Location) and Cosi fan Tutte, Orpheus in the Underworld and Die Zauberflöte (St. Paul’s Opera). Ashley holds a Masters in Theatre Directing from East 15 Acting School, and has studied directing at GITIS (Russian University of Theatre Arts) and Seacoast Theatre Centre. She is currently writing her first TV show and novel.
Juliane Gallant
Musical Director
Juliane Gallant is an inaugural conductor in the Tapestry Opera Women in Musical Leadership fellowship, in partnership with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Pacific Opera Victoria, where she is mentored by conductors JoAnn Falletta and Rosemary Thomson.
She has worked as musical director with Hampstead Garden Opera (La bohème), King’s Head Theatre (Carmen, Tosca), Opera on Location (Cinderella, La Traviata, Don Giovanni, Carmen), St Paul’s Opera (Cosi fan tutte, Orphée aux enfers), Opera Upclose (Carmen, Music oft hath such a charm, Ulla’s Odyssey), Opera MIO (A Fantastic Bohemian: The Tales of Hoffmann revisited), Clapham Opera Festival (La Bohème), and as répétiteur for Magnetic Opera (The Medium), Rossini Young Artists (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar (Die Zauberflöte).
Juliane is an alumna of the National Opera Studio, and studied Piano accompaniment with Pamela Lidiard at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She also holds degrees from the Université de Moncton, the University of Ottawa, and the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal. In 2018, Juliane was one of only 12 conductors selected for the Women Conductors Course: Conducting for Opera, run by the Royal Opera House, the National Opera Studio and the Royal Philharmonic Society. She has since continued to train with the Royal Opera House, both online and in person, studying with Jessica Cottis, Sian Edwards and Alice Farnham. She is an Opera Awards Foundation bursary recipient.
Michelle Santiago
Repetiteur / Pianist
Canadian pianist, Michelle Marie Santiago holds Piano Performance degrees from the Université de Montréal (DMus, MMus) and the University of Alberta (BMus), as well as a Master of Performance in Piano Accompaniment and an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. In addition to her formal studies, she has attended the Aspen Music Festival (USA), the Orford Arts Centre Academy (Canada), the Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada) and the Gijón International Piano Festival (Spain), the Franz Schubert Institut (Austria), the Académie Francis Poulenc (France) and the Vancouver International Song Institute (Canada). She has also participated in master classes with world-renowned performers and pedagogues such as Christian Ivaldi, Susan Manoff, Helmut Deutsch and Graham Johnson among others.
She has been a staff pianist for the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute and pianist-in-residence for Musique sur Mer (Canada), played for several voice classes at the Université de Montréal and was also a staff accompanist at McGill University.
Michelle has been a prizewinner at the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Association National Piano Competition, the Canadian Music Competitions, and the Concours de l’orchestre symphonique de Montreal. She was awarded the Piano Accompaniment Prize and the Tracey Chadwell Memorial Prize for contemporary song at the Guildhall School, as well as the Denis Horner Accompanist’s Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Bursary for Young Singers Competition.
She currently resides in London where she is a freelance pianist, repetiteur, vocal coach and piano teacher and a staff accompanist at the Guildhall School. She is also the piano teacher at one of London's leading independent schools.
George Morton
Arranger
George Morton is a conductor, arranger and orchestrator and specialises in reducing large scale symphonic works for ensemble and chamber orchestra. His orchestrations are published by Universal Edition, Steel City Music Publishing, 360 Music, Boosey & Hawkes, and Schott Music and are performed extensively across the world. George's arrangements have been described as "brilliant" by John Storgårds, "beautifully done" and "just right for the occasion" by Bob Chilcott, “very cleverly done" by Sheku Kanneh–Mason and "enjoyable, idiomatic arrangements” by David Owen Norris. George was awarded 'Best Arranger' at the Making Music Awards 2020 for his orchestration of Clara Schumann's Quatre Pièces Caractéristiques.
George's arrangements have been performed by ensembles including the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Lapland Chamber Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Zug Sinfonietta, NOVA Filharmonija, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Juilliard Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble Deva, Covent Garden Sinfonia, Bath Philharmonia, Kungliga Opera Stockholm, and Camerata Innsbruck. George's orchestrations have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Rai 3 (Italy), Swiss Classical and BBC iPlayer. Eminent conductors and soloists to perform his arrangements include Martyn Brabbins, John Storgårds, Clark Rundell, Bob Chilcott, Jess Gillam and Sheku Kanneh–Mason. Recent commission highlights include the London Chamber Orchestra, BBC Singers, RLPO, BBC Concert Orchestra, LPO Education and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Ensemble
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