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Puck’s Adventure
Sat 10 December
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“A HUGE thank you… The singers were incredible and really engaged the children who sang the songs on our 50 minute journey back to school! The show was a perfect way of ending the day.” – Teacher
“The children were really buzzing…” – Teacher
“An absolutely amazing experience… blown away.” – Parent
“My son had such a wonderful time… he was beaming afterwards.” – Parent
“Best trip EVER!” – Pupil
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Join Clonter this Christmas for a special interactive musical family show.
Sing along with Puck, the mischievous sprite, and some of Shakespeare’s other best loved characters, on an adventure through the forest, where you will meet the King and Queen of the Fairies, Oberon and Titania, Bottom the weaver, who is rehearsing for Britain’s got talent, and Hekate the Witch, who is on a mission to save the planet.
This Interactive Musical Show is filled with fun and fantasy, magical mishaps, puppetry, including songs from the musical, Beauty And The Beast, the ballet, A Midsummer Nights’ Dream, and the opera, Romeo and Juliet.
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What makes this performance interactive?
Before the show you will be taught songs and actions to join in with during the performance.
You will learn songs like, “Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble” which will turn Bottom into a donkey!
And a song about all kinds of weird and wonderful creatures like spotted snakes and thorny hedgehogs – complete with puppets.
This family show is not only funny and mysterious but will also give children an introduction to the language of Shakespeare, some British sign language, and some key words in foreign languages, such as ‘Ange adorable’ (adorable angel) in French, ‘La luna’ (the moon) in Italian and ‘Nature-geist’ (nature spirit) in German, through opera, in an accessible and fun way.
Suitable for 5 – 11 year olds.
This show has been added to Clonter’s Christmas calendar due to the overwhelming response from the hundreds of children that took part in the Education programme this autumn.
Come and join us at Clonter this Christmas for a spectacular, interactive tale of witches, sprites and fairies on Saturday 10th December!
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Puck’s Adventure – Behind the Scenes
Photo Album
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Cast
John Ieuan Jones (Baritone)
Welsh operatic baritone John Ieuan Jones graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2019, where he studied with Matthew Best. His studies were kindly supported by the Drapers’ Company, the D’Oyly Carte Trust, George Henry Peters Scholarship and the Gwilym Gwalchmai Jones Award. He now studies with Russell Smythe. Ieuan has been fortunate to have won several awards and scholarships, including the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, the Help Musicians UK Sybil Tutton Award, first prize in the RNCM James Martin Onken Song Prize and runner up in the prestigious Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Prize. The Eisteddfod has played a big part in Ieuan’s career, and he has been successful at a National level, winning both main prizes for singing, the Blue Ribband Osbourne Roberts Scholarship and the W. Towyn Roberts Memorial Scholarship. His operatic roles include Boyar Sheloga/Bomley in Ivan the Terrible, Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo and Male 1 in The Life and Death of Alexander Litvinenko with Grange Park Opera, the title role in Brundibar by Krasa with Welsh National Opera, Antonio (cover) in Le Nozze di Figaro at Longborough Festival Opera, Masetto in Don Giovanni with The Merry Opera Company, the title role in Der Diktator by Krenek with Oxford Alternative Orchestra and Marcello in La Boheme with Outreach Opera. Ieuan also covered this role at Grange Park. As an in demand concert singer, Ieuan has performed internationally as a guest soloist, having performed throughout the UK, in Europe and the USA. Highlights include being the guest soloist at the London Welsh Festival of Male Voices at the Royal Albert Hall, an opera gala at the Bridgewater Hall, sharing the stage with Sir Bryn Terfel in the opening concert of the National Eisteddfod at the Millennium Centre, an opera gala at St David’s Hall Cardiff, and being invited out to perform at the North America Festival of Wales in both Washington and Philadelphia. Ieuan also works in theatre, and in 2019 played the Count in a national tour of new musical, The Marriage of Kim K by Leo & Hyde and in 2022, is very excited to be making his National Theatre debut in the Emlyn Williams play The Corn is Green. This will be a singing role. Ieuan’s association with Clonter includes having taken part in a number of Education Workshops, helping develop and directing the show, Papageno’s Quest, that has gone on the Just So Festival in 2021, touring to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year; entertaining an afternoon tea audience with a show of Songs from the Shows pre-pandemic, developing an online version as part of Clonter’s ‘Keeping you Entertained’ programme during 2020, which culminated in a series of patio concerts outside local nursing homes; taking part in the online recital series, with a programme of English and Welsh songs.
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Naomi Rogers (Soprano)
Naomi is a soprano from Suffolk with a Master of Music in Performance degree and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Royal Northern College of Music. She has most recently finished working with Clonter Opera, BBC1, Opera North, Buxton Opera, and Northern Opera Group. This season, Naomi looks forward to singing for Opera Holland Park in Adamo’s UK premier of ‘Little Women’, singing Papagena and Gretel in the Edinburgh International Festival, and working with Clonter Opera for their month of opera outreach. In 2023 she looks forward to premiering a contemporary opera by Gary Lloyd, playing the lead role and taking it on tour around the UK. Past operatic performances include: lead role (Juno) in Oxfordshire Contemporary Opera’s ‘@Emele’ (Simmonds), Northern Opera’s ‘Thomas and Sally’ (Dorcas) by Arne, and Pauline Viardot’s ‘Cinderella’ (ugly step-sister Armelinde) which was the winner of the ‘Classical Music Digital Awards 2020. She sang a role in Poulenc’s ‘Dialogues des carmélites’ (Soeur Martha), Vaughan William’s ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ (Madam Bubble), Puccini’s ‘Suor Angelica’ (Maestra della Novizie), Offenbach’s ‘La Vie Parisienne’ (Clara), Kurt Weill’s ‘Street Scene’ and Benjamin Britten’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (Peaseblossom). Furthermore, she performed at the Buxton’s International Opera Festival in the operas ‘Georgiana’ (multiple composers) covering the role of Grey, and in the chorus of both Tchaikovsky’s ‘Eugene Onegin’ and Caldara’s ‘Lucio Papirio Dittatore’. Naomi also premiered the brand new opera ‘Dotter Of Her Father’s Eyes’ by Gary Lloyd, singing the title role at the Dublin 2019 WorldCon, held in the Convention Centre Dublin. As a regular concert performer, Naomi’s highlights are performing as guest opera singer on BBC1’s ‘I Can See Your Voice’ 2021, as guest soloist at the International Opera Awards 2019 which took place at the Saddler’s Wells Theatre in London and singing Mozart repertoire with the Hallé Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall. In 2020, Naomi made her recording debut as soloist in Sullivan Songs alongside Sir David Owen Norris and in last June featured as an artist for La ScenaMusicale, Canada’s most respected classical music, opera, jazz and world music magazine. Finally, Naomi ended 2021 on a high, winning the Sir David Maddison Opera Prize. Naomi’s association with Clonter began at the beginning of the Pandemic when, alongside John Ieuan Jones, she kept the Clonter audience entertained with an online digital show of Songs from the Shows, to accompany afternoon tea. She also took part in a series of patio concerts outside local nursing homes. This culminated in Naomi joining Ieuan in Papageno’s Quest for the Just So Festival, which then toured to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer.
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Flora Birkbeck (Mezzo Soprano)
Flora Birkbeck is a mezzo soprano from Essex. She began studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Opera School in September, generously supported by the RCS Scholarship Trust. She recently completed her Master’s of Music under Elizabeth McCormack at the RCS. Flora obtained her Bachelor’s with First Class Honours from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2019, where she studied with Mary Plazas. Operatic engagements include Woodcutter Boy in Vaughan Williams’ The Pilgrim’s Progress, Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri scenes, Cornelia in Guilio Cesare Scenes, Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte scenes, The lady with the hat box in Postcard from Morocco scenes, Tisbe in La Cenerentola scenes, Annio in La Clemenza di Tito scenes, and chorus in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne and Handel’s Theodora with RNCM Opera. Contemporary opera roles include Romy/Marlene for Eldad Diamant’s M.D.R.S., and principal roles in the premieres of five operas with MCYO. Flora looks forward to creating Steph in Pierre Flasse’s L’Art pour L’Art next year. Flora performed the role of Florence Pike in Clonter’s recent production of Albert Herring.
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Anna Michels (Accompanist)
Praised by critic David Smythe for her ability to “dance across the keys with spirit”, Anna Michels is a Scottish-Dutch pianist who combines her love of performing and teaching in a multi-faceted career. Anna is a graduate of Maastricht Conservatoire where she studied a double Bachelor in Piano with Dr. Katia Veekmans, and Music Theory with Dr. David Lodewyckx and Inge Pasmans. During her time in the Netherlands, Anna was a prizewinner of international competitions, both as a soloist and chamber musician. These include prizes at the Prinses Christina Concours, the International Anton Garcia Abril Chamber Music Competition, the International Swedish Duo Competition, the Scando Vocallis Lied Duo Prize, and the Maastricht Concerto Competition. Her passion for unearthing hidden treasures of the classical repertoire, with a focus on Scottish composer Ronald Center, has culminated in giving lecture-recitals internationally, including at the London International Piano Symposium and Musica Scotica Conference. Born in Scotland, Anna began piano lessons at the age of seven, and studied with Professor Heather Slade Lipkin at the Junior Academy of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, before moving to St Mary’s Music School in 2013. There she made her debut concerto performance with Schumann’s Piano Concerto in the Edinburgh Music Festival Final, as well as winning the Director’s Recital Prize. She was a prizewinner of numerous national competitions, including the Rotary “Young Musician Competition”. Anna is a recipient of the Cross Trust and was awarded the Falkirk Civic Trust ‘Young Personality of the Year’. She is currently studying for her Master’s in Piano Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Head of Keyboard, Aaron Shorr.
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Ticket Pricing & Booking Information
Tickets Children £10, Adults £20, FREE for Max Card holders, home educating families and families from schools invited to take part in Clonter’s education outreach programme.
Suitable for 5 – 11 yr olds
Doors Open 1.30pm
Performance Starts 2.30pm
Interval 30 minute interval; picnic tables available
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Drink Arrangements – Since May, the bar has been under new management, and all drink consumed inside the premises must be purchased from the bar. These may be ordered in advance.
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N.B. Table booking facilities close a week before the performance date. Pre-order drinks facilities close at 4pm the day before a performance.
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