And with the words, “Heare are lions, leopardes in”, Noah’s son Sem welcomes the first animals into the ark in Britten’s opera Noye’s Fludde.
Whereas I have had to squeeze them into the boot of my car – not quite an ark – for them to be safely delivered to Cheltenham. There, makers and painters and school children joined me to finish off flocks of birds.
I stayed with festival director Meurig Bowen, whose marmalade cat seemed to approve of my slightly bigger cat – the lion of St Mark, one of several animals represented on a banner. And long conversations about the logistics of this project have solved some problems.
Rachel Gay, Meurig’s wife and choral director, is working hard with the singers. Director Edward Derbyshire has started rehearsals and choreographic blocking. Art co-ordinator Niki Whitfield is mopping fevered brows and keeping the visuals on track, as we move into the final 10 day period.
I’m very excited by the creation of the troublesome gossips, who – if you look at the pictures below – are gorgeously grotesque, exactly what I wanted. And below you will see some of the other finished banners… with flying oxen… and flying birds.
It’s an exciting, if scary, time. There remain challenges. But we are all determined to create something unique, special, unforgettable, beautiful, and worthy of Benjamin Britten’s one hundredth birthday. Tickets are selling very well, and all in all it seems our operatic ark will set sail as scheduled. If you are anywhere near Tewkesbury Abbey in July, don’t miss it! Details are on the right of this post…
OH!!! and also, the art from this production – both designs and final pieces created by me – will be FOR SALE! So come along a grab a unique piece of history, and a one off piece of hand made art!
AND LASTLY, myself and the brilliant Carducci Quartet will be talking about this and my other events as guest director on RADIO 3’s IN TUNE on Monday 24th July, from 16.30…
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