Cimarosa's THE SECRET MARRIAGE Comes to Jackson's Lane Theatre

HGO, North London's leading opera company, presents a new production of Domenico Cimarosa's masterpiece of opera buffa, 'THE SECRET MARRIAGE'. 'What a treat to bring Cimarosa's sparkling, effervescent opera to life', says director SINÉAD O'NEILL. 'It was an immediate hit in 1792, and it's easy to see why. Fast-paced, with direct, well-drawn characters, tangled love affairs, confusion and misunderstandings, it is light-hearted, touching, and charming.'

Carolina is secretly married to her father's manservant, Paolino, the factotum of her pompous father, the merchant Geronimo. To win over Geronimo's favour, Paolino has masterminded a marriage contract between Carolina's elder sister and a Count. The Count's arrival, however, brings general pandemonium, as wires get crossed, plots misfire and romantic intentions are grievously mistaken. Carolina and Paolino must somehow untangle the threads.....

Neglected today, The Secret Marriage was in its time more popular even than Mozart's comedies. The fifty-third opera of Domenico Cimarosa, (in his time celebrated from Naples to St. Petersburg), when the Emperor Leopold heard it during its first run in Vienna he demanded it be repeated in full that same evening. It was a huge success and had well over 100 outings in its first year alone, reaching every European capital in the next few years. Not so much looking back to Mozart, Cimarosa's wit and style prefigure Rossini, born three weeks after the opera's premiere - this household sitcom was written almost 25 years before The Barber of Seville.

In HGO's production the opera, with its nimble score, buzzes from the start with effervescent energy. Cimarosa's score elicits a huge range of colour, and ensembles and arias abound for the very busy cast of six; an extraordinary variety ranging from deft patter and raucous argument to glorious lyricism, all in perfect balance. And that's reflected in HGO's pacy staging which recognizes that this is at heart pure musical theatre; sometimes subtle, sometimes slapstick, but always with a steady and compelling connection to the unfolding story.

Contact HGO Chairman David Conway (david.conway@hgo.org.uk, 07767 203661) for any further information and to let us know if you wish to review the production.

SINÉAD O'NEILL is delighted to return to HGO, having directed Susannah in 2008. Earlier this year, Sinéad was Stage Director of the inaugural Glyndebourne Opera Cup, and she returns to Glyndebourne in summer 2019 to direct the revival of Annabel Arden's Il barbiere di Siviglia. Previously for Glyndebourne, she directed the 2017 Tour revival of Barbiere and the BBC Proms semi-stagings of Pelléas et Mélisande and Barbiere. Sinéad founded Cambridge City Opera to create new work spanning artistic disciplines. Her original pieces include The Barrington Hippo, (with Kate Whitley), The Raven, On the Axis of this World, and London Burned, (all with Matt Rogers), and The Albatross, (with Kim Ashton). Sinéad is a Board Member of English Touring Opera.

Following the success of his ENO debut last season conducting Cal McCrystal's Iolanthe, the conductor and pianist Chris Hopkins will be conducting The Magic Flute and other works there in the next two years, alongside work at Garsington Opera and elsewhere. Previously he has worked with WNO, NI Opera, Holland Park Opera, Wide Open Opera, Opera Danube, OTC Ireland, and performed at venues in Britain, the US, Asia and extensively in Europe as well as live and recorded appearances on BBC 1, Radio 3 and Radio 4. Chris was honoured in 2013 to be made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

On November 2nd, the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrave Square London will be hosting a free event with HGO singers, Production Director Sinéad O'Neill and Music Director Chris Hopkins presenting Domenico Cimarosa's life and works, including the performance of some of the composer's most notable works, including arias from 'The Secret Marriage'. See http://tiny.cc/secretatici for details.

Hampstead Garden Opera, in being since 1990, is a company committed to the development of young singers, and stages two productions each year. Its consistently high musical, vocal and productions standards make HGO an important part of the artistic life of north London.

HGO won the Off West End (Offies) Opera Production Award 2013 for its 2012 staging of Così fan tutte, and have been finalists for the same award in the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Offies.

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