SHSH

New Scenography works for the production with Jubilee Opera in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

The first is a newly-devised and fully-staged production, A Time There Was. Scenes from Britten’s operas and other works (including Midsummer Night’s Dream, Turn of the Screw, Albert Herring, Golden Vanity and Nocture) have been seamlessly linked by conductor Steuart Bedford and director Frederic Wake-Walker to form a dramatic thread that creates a reflection on childhood as seen through the eyes of the tenor, sung by Alan Oke (Peter Grimes from ‘Grimes on the Beach’).

The soprano Alexandra Hutton and bass Alex Ashworth also take leading roles. The young innovative director, Frederic Wake-Walker, fresh from Mahogany Opera’s much-acclaimed production of Britten’s Church Parables, worked with a cast which includes thirty- five children aged 8 to17 from local schools, giving them the unique opportunity to work in a professional environment. There was a twenty-seven piece orchestra playing in the pit of the Jubilee Hall.

The scenography suggests the location of Aldeburgh in Suffolk, where Benjamin Britten worked and found inspiration for his music.  The clouds cover the entire stage apart from a hole, which has been created in order to allow continuous sequences describing the variation of time and ambient by the lighting effects. In this way, the simple scenography can describe the different time and emotion of the main character, perhaps Benjamin Britten himself.  The second element is the office of Britten, which is on the deck in front of the proscenium arch and close to the audience. It is to show that the story is looking into the past, therefore Britten’s office is separate from the abstract cloud scenery. Another element is a long deck from stage down to up and stage left to right. This deck ensures that all the children remain visible on the stage to spectators, it also creates a different perspective by providing a slight angle. It is also connected between Britten’s office and the main stage.

There are many props to describe the scene from his childhood to adolescent, such as a Victorian bath-tub, stuffed animals, bubbles, mobile boat, a chair and cooking table- all in Victorian style.

This scenography is in between abstract and concrete expressions, for the story needs to connect to memory of his childhood and present time to successfully celebrate Benjamin Britten’s centenary.

production : Jubilee Opera

artistic director : Frederic Wake-Walker

place : Aldeburgh, Suffolk, UK

scenography : Shizuka Hariu

lighting : Cis O’Boyle

costume : Kitty Callister