22 May 7.30pm
University Church Oxford

Bampton Classical Opera
CHROMA

Harriet Eyley MELEAGRO (SOPRANO)
Samantha Louis-Jean ATALANTA (SOPRANO)
Lisa Howarth CLIMENE (SOPRANO)
Lucy Anderson ASTERIA (SOPRANO)
Rosa French NARRATOR

Robert Howarth CONDUCTOR
CHROMA
violins 1 Caroline Balding (leader), Charlotte Bonneton, Chihiro Ono
violins 2 Florence Cooke, Katherine Roberts
violas Bridget Carey, Katie Heller
cello Cecilia Bignall
bass Adam Wynter
oboes Emma Feilding, Nicky Holland
bassoon Helen Simons
horns Richard Bayliss, Richard Steggall

Gluck The Crown (La corona, 1765)
Azione teatrale, in one act, sung in Italian with linking English narratio
Libretto: Pietro Metastasio

Composed in 1765 The Crown (La corona) glories in the sensuous beauty and virtuosity of the soprano voice.  It was written for four Viennese Archduchesses, daughters of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and the formidable Empress Maria Theresa, young singers for whom Gluck had already composed his delectable Il parnaso confuso, performed by Bampton in 2014.  Both works set words by Pietro Metastasio and were destined for imperial family celebrations at the Hapsburg court theatre, although La corona was abandoned due to the Emperor’s death.  In Bampton’s performance the florid arias - as thrilling as anything by Handel – will be sung in Italian, linked by a narration in English.  Early music specialist Robert Howarth conducts, making his Bampton debut, and an outstanding cast includes Lucy Anderson, first prize-winner of the 2019 Bampton Young Singers’ Competition.  The performance adds to Bampton’s noteworthy exploration of rarely-performed operas by Gluck, one of the most significant and melodious of eighteenth-century masters.

140 socially-distanced tickets available.

Performance filmed ‘as live’ and available on demand from November 9 via www.bamptonopera.org.
 Approximately 50 mins - 1 hour, no interval

tickets: https://www.sjss.org.uk