Friends of Stony Stratford Library: History of Opera

Friends of Stony Stratford Library Talk.

'The History of Opera: 1600 to the Present Day': A talk by Jamie Hayes.

His talk will cover the evolution of opera from its earliest beginnings in Renaissance Italy, through the Baroque period, the age of Mozart, the rise of grand opera in nineteenth-century Europe, and the spread of opera worldwide in the twentieth century. There will be musical examples!

Jamie has had a distinguished career as an opera director, working at many opera houses and festivals including Covent Garden, Opera Holland Park, Wexford, Buxton, Victoria State Opera (Melbourne) and Icelandic National Opera (Reykjavik). He was Director of Productions with British Youth Opera between 1995 and 2000, and has directed many productions at leading conservatoires, including the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His productions range from Mozart and Rossini via Verdi and Bizet to Gilbert and Sullivan and Britten. He has also directed many musicals and was Associate Director to Nicholas Hytner on the original production of Miss Saigon in the West End and on Broadway.

Tickets for the talk will be available at the Library (tel. 01908-562562) from Wednesday 10 April. There is no charge for tickets, but FoSSL is grateful for donations to cover costs and to support activities at the Library.

As always, wine, fruit juice and home-made cake will be served after the talk.

For more information, contact fosslmk@gmail.com.