Casting Announced For THE PARADIS FILES UK Tour
Learn more about the full cast!
By: Stephi Wild Mar. 09, 2022
Graeae, the UK's leading disabled led theatre company today announces the cast for its first ever chamber opera - the world premiere of composer Errollyn Wallen's The Paradis Files.
The production features Maureen Brathwaite (Glyndebourne Festival and Touring Opera, Welsh National Opera, ENO) as Hilde, Baroness von Paradis, Omar Ebrahim (RSC, Glyndebourne) as Baron von Paradis / a doctor / baritone gossip, Andee-Louise Hypolite (Das Rheingold - Gafa Arts Collective) as Dr Janice / alto gossip, Bethan Langford (HMS Pinafore - ENO, The Lost Thing - Royal Opera House) as Maria Theresia von Paradis, Ella Taylor (The Cunning Little Vixen - English National Opera, Paris and Helen - Bampton Classical Opera) as Gerda The Maid / soprano gossip and Ben Thapa (Idomeneo - Buxton International Festival, Tristan Und Isolde - Longborough Festival Opera) as Salieri / Dr Anton / tenor gossip.
Directed by Graeae Artistic Director, Jenny Sealey with musical direction by Andrea Brown, The Paradis Files is commissioned by The Stables for IF: Milton Keynes International Festival and produced in partnership with Curve Leicester and BBC Concert Orchestra.
In the glittering salons of 18th-century Vienna, Maria Theresia von Paradis is a star. Pianist, composer, touring musician; this pupil of Salieri and friend (and alleged lover) of Mozart has captivated Europe with her own sensational talent. They call her The Blind Enchantress.
Yet behind this dazzling success story there are darker forces at work. Some of those closest to Maria-Theresia are looking to profit from her blindness. Others are looking to 'cure' her - whatever it takes.
In this newly commissioned chamber opera, this extraordinary woman is finally drawn out of the shadows to reclaim her place in the spotlight of music history.
Composer Errollyn Wallen says
"It has been a joy to have been commissioned by Graeae and The Stables to bring this fascinating story of Maria Theresia von Paradis to life. I am so looking forward to the premiere of The Paradis Files, after the many exciting twists and turns of its development."
Director Jenny Sealey says -
"I am beyond excited to be starting rehearsals. Finally, we will have this glorious company of Deaf, disabled, neurodivergent and non-disabled singers, actors and creatives all in one room. Together, we will bring this brilliant new opera, by composed by Errollyn Wallen and libretto by Nicola Werenowska and Selina Mills, to life with musical direction by the incomparable Andrea Brown. Thanks as always to our producing partner, Leicester Curve, the BBC Concert Orchestra, to all our funders and supporter, and most of all to The Stables who commissioned the project in the first place for their 50th anniversary."
Musical Director Andrea Brown says -
"With a background in singing myself, I love working with singers in lots of different contexts. Opera has the ability to touch us all and I wanted to be a part of that. New opera is hugely exciting. There are no limits or barriers in this realm - and to work with a composer in its creation is exhilarating!"
The tour of The Paradis Files starts off with previews at Leicester's Curve on April 8th and receives its London premiere at the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall on April 13 & 14 before embarking on a nationwide tour starting with The Stables on April 20 & 21.
All performances will creatively integrate BSL, captioning and audio description. The performance interpreters are Chandu Gopalakrishnan and Max Marchewicz.
PERFORMERS
Maureen Brathwaite studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with inspirational Voice Teacher Johanna Peters. Whilst there she won the Anna Instone and the Ian Fleming Awards which allowed her to continue study first in London on the Opera Course and then in Florence.
She is an experienced Concert and Oratorio soloist having performed with such orchestras as La Verdi, CBSO, LSO, Halle and Orchestre de Lyon in repertoire ranging from Mozart, Verdi, Villa Lobos to Gershwin. Her concert repertoire has included African Sanctus by David Fanshawe, Mass in C minor by Mozart and the Verdi Requiem.
As an operatic soprano Maureen have sung a variety of roles with companies such as Glyndebourne Festival and Touring Opera, Welsh National, Birmingham Opera, Pegasus Opera, English National, Opera Geneva, Opera de Lyon.
In 2018 she sang the role of Rosa Parks in the world premiere of Quiltsong by Dr Susan Self.
Unexpected delights have been the opportunity to be part of the premiere of Between Worlds (Tansy Davies) at the Barbican. The premiere of Scenes from a Bar (Matthijs van Dijk), and the Oscar winning soundtrack of the Black Panther Marvel film.
Began singing as a chorister at Coventry Cathedral and went on to study voice at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He served his performing apprenticeship at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Glyndebourne. He has been associated with many new music projects and this will be the third opera he has been involved with composed by Errollyn Wallen.
ANDEE-LOUISE HYPOLITE
Born and raised in London, Andee-Louise studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the National Opera Studio.
Operatic roles have included Berta in The Barber of Seville, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mrs Grose in The Turn of the Screw and Mrs Herring in Albert Herring. She has also performed the role of Frankie in Carmen Jones.
Her Oratorio repertoire includes Bach's St Matthew Passion and Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah and Belshazzar, Vivaldi's Gloria, Mozart's Requiem and Mass in C minor and Verdi's Requiem.
Andee-Louise is also an occasional performer of more popular music, singing songs from West End shows and jazz and blues standards.
BETHAN LANGFORD
British mezzo-soprano Bethan Langford is a graduate of the Guildhall School Opera Course and the National Opera Studio, and is a former Scottish Opera Emerging Artist. A versatile performer, her repertoire spans opera, art song, contemporary music and experimental music.
Highlights so far include Hebe in Cal McCrystal's new production of HMS Pinafore for English National Opera, her debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Maxwell's The Lost Thing, Second Lady in Tom Allen's The Magic Flute for Scottish Opera, Angel II in George Benjamin's Written on Skin with the Melos Sinfonia at The Mariinsky Theatre, Waltraute in Die Walküre at the Hackney Empire, Dorabella in Così fan tutte for Bury Court Opera, Third Maid in Elektra under Esa-Pekka Salonen for the Verbier Festival, Noble Orphan in Richard Jones' Der Rosenkavalier at the Glyndebourne Festival and the BBC Proms and the title role in the award-winning The Rape of Lucretia at Grimeborn.
A keen recitalist, Bethan has performed at many leading concert venues around Europe including the Heidelberger Frühling Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Buxton International Festival, Ryedale Festival, The International Lied Festival Zeist and regularly at the Oxford Lieder Festival.
She gave her professional solo debut recital at the Wigmore Hall in Spring 2020. Bethan is a Samling Artist, a Yeoman of the Musicians' Company and a proud past recipient of the Elizabeth Eagle-Bott award for partially sighted and blind musicians.
Winner of Second Prize at the 2020 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, Ella Taylor is a soprano with a passion for performing contemporary music and works by women and gender non-conforming artists. They graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, where they gained Distinction in MA Performance, a DipRAM for an outstanding final recital and the Charles Norman Prize and during 2019/2020 were a Young Artist at London's National Opera Studio.
Opera includes Paris in Paris and Helen - Bampton Classical Opera, Sparrow in Powder Down - Shadwell Opera, Rooster/Mrs Pasek in The Cunning Little Vixen - CBSO, Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen - ENO, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte - Wild Arts and Satan in Paradise Lost - The Shipwright.
In concert, Ella has worked with many of the UK's choral societies, and leading ensembles including the London Sinfonietta, Classical Remix and Ensemble 360, as well as performing at the British Composer Awards (now called the Ivors). Ella is delighted to be making their debut with Graeae.
BEN THAPA
Ben Thapa studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal College of Music, London and at the Wales International Academy of Voice with Dennis O'Neill, supported by the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Joaninha Trust and the Wagner Society.
Operatic roles include Arbace in Idomeneo and Aufidio in Lucio Silla for Buxton International Festival; Melot in Tristan und Isolde for Longborough Festival Opera; Kuzka in Khovanschina for Birmingham Opera Company; Tito in La Clemenza di Tito at the Teatru Manoel; Vanya Kudrjas in Káťa Kabanová for Scottish Opera; and The President in Stockhausen's Mittwoch aus Litcht for Birmingham Opera Company and at the BBC Proms. He has also performed Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Florestan in Fidelio for Garsington Opera's Emerging Artists.
Ben is an active performer on the concert platform across a wide range of repertory. Highlights include Monteverdi Vespers (Monteverdi Choir); performances of Handel Messiah, Haydn Creation & Mozart Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall; Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music at the Royal Festival Hall with the Philharmonia Orchestra; and Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle at Jesus College Cambridge.
CREATIVES
MUSIC: ERROLLYN WALLEN CBE
Errollyn Wallen CBE is a multi-award-winning Belize-born British composer. Her prolii??c output includes over twenty operas and a large catalogue of orchestral, chamber and vocal works which are performed and broadcast throughout the world. She composed for the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games 2012, for the Queen's Golden and Diamond Jubilees, a specially commissioned song for COP 26, 2021, and a re-imagining of Jerusalem for the Last Night of the Proms 2020.
BBC Radio 3 featured her music across the i??rst week of 2022 for Composer of the Week.
Her critically acclaimed opera, Dido's Ghost premiered at the Barbican in June 2020 and will receive its US premiere in 2023.
Errollyn composes in a Scottish lighthouse and her recordings have travelled to outer space. The premiere and tour of The Paradis Files coincides with the premiere of another new opera, Quamino's Map, for Chicago Opera Theater.
DIRECTOR: Jenny Sealey MBE
Jenny co-directed the London 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony alongside Bradley Hemmings (GDIF). She has been Artistic Director and CEO of Graeae since 1997 and has pioneered a new theatrical language - the creative integration of sign language and audio description within performance.
MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR - ANDREA BROWN
Andrea is Head of Choral Conducting at The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. She is Musical Director of Tippett Voices, The Festival Chorus and The Exeter Festival Chorus and works regularly with the BBC Singers, North London Chorus and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent work includes concerts in Berlin with hortus vocalis, the Czech Republic with Festa Musicale and 'Memorial' with Tippett Voices at the Barbican Centre. She was MD and conductor on Graeae's 1418 NOW commission, This Is Not For You in 2018.
LIBRETTIST: NICOLA WERENOWSKA
Nicola Werenowska is an award winning neurodivergent playwright and radio dramatist who is committed to exploring underrepresented voices in her writing. Nicola was 16 when she was a runner up in the Royal Court Young People's playwriting competition, but it took her another 15 years before she wrote professionally, following her life-changing dyspraxia diagnosis.
Nicola has been on attachment to Graeae Theatre, The National Theatre studio and a member of the Royal Court National Writers' group. She is currently Associate Artist at the Mercury Theatre and High Tide Theatre and is adapting The Secret Garden for Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds summer show 2022. She was chosen to work with the BBC Writers' Access Group in 2019 and is now developing scripts for television.
CO-LIBRETTIST AND HISTORIAN: SELINA MILLS
Selina is an award-winning writer and journalist. In 2009 she was awarded a Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction. Her book, Life Unseen: The Story of Blindness, will be published by Routledge in 2021. It is the first accessible history of the subject written in over fifty years.
The Paradis Files is supported by Arts Council England, The Vision Foundation, Fidelity UK Foundation and The Cockayne Foundation.
Tour Dates
Fri 8 - Sat 9 April (previews) Curve Leicester https://www.curveonline.co.uk
Wed 13 - Thu 14 April (World Premiere) Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall, London https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk
Wed 20 - Thu 21 April The Stables, Milton Keynes https://www.stables.org
Sat 23 April Mercury Theatre, Colchester https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk
Tue 26 April Hull Truck Theatre https://www.hulltruck.co.uk
Thu 28 & Fri 29 April Perth Theatre https://www.horsecross.co.uk
Thu 5 & Fri 6 May Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama https://www.rwcmd.ac.uk
Wed 11 & Thu 12 May Crucible Theatre, Sheffield https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
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