Author: Caroline Carragher

Many of you will know by now that the 2020 season at Opera Holland Park and all other summer houses has been postponed until further notice, due to the uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19. More information from James, Mike and Charles can be found via their website .

The most important thing to keep in mind is safety, both our own and everyone around us, and I’m taking social distancing extremely seriously. We can and should all be doing our bit to ensure the virus has nowhere to spread.

In the meantime, I’ve been enjoying going back to my choral roots and making some home recordings, which you can keep up with via my Facebook page Caroline Carragher – Mezzo Soprano.

Look after yourselves and, as beautifully put on the Met Opera chorus feed, let’s try and look after everyone as though they were our family.

Stay safe and well everyone, and we’ll see you on the other side! #StayAtHome

Caroline is thrilled to announce she will perform the role of Olga in Opera Holland Park‘s 2020 production of The Merry Widow.

Conducted by John Andrews and directed by Christopher Luscombe, the cast will be as follows:

Julia Sporsén – Hannah Glawari
Alex Otterburn – Count Danilo
Alison Langer – Valencienne
Stephen Aviss – Camille
John Savournin – Baron Zeta
Neal Cooper – St. Brioche
John Lofthouse – Cascada
Nicholas Garrett – Kromow
Caroline Carragher – Olga

18, 22, 24, 28, 30 July, 1 August at 7.30pm

#OHPMerryWidow
New production by Opera Holland Park
Surtitles in English
Music by Franz Lehár
Original book and lyrics by Victor Leon and Leo Stein
Translated and adapted by Kit Hesketh Harvey with Giles Havergal
Performed by arrangement with Glocken Verlag Limited, London
With the City of London Sinfonia and the Opera Holland Park Chorus

Priority booking dates
Founder/ Benefactor Priority Booking – Wednesday 22 January, 10am
Ambassador Priority Booking- Monday 27 January, 10am
Envoy Priority Booking– Monday 3 February, 10am
Silver and Gold Members Priority Booking– Monday 10 February, 10am
Friends Priority Booking– Monday 24 February, 10am
General Booking– Wednesday 26 February, 10am
INSPIRE £20 tickets – Wednesday 11 March, 10am
In person booking at the theatre – Wednesday 6 May, 10am

This weekend! Caroline will be joining forces once again with some of the Opera Alegria team to perform Vivaldi’s Gloria, and will also sing some operatic fireworks in the first half.

Directed by Ashley Valentine and featuring the chorus of St Giles’ Camberwell, Caroline will feature as guest soloist in the Vivaldi, together with Naomi Kilby and Fae Evelyn, sopranos, and Matthew Duncan, baritone.

Six weeks til show time! Having a blast with the Guildford Opera team – tickets are on sale now, see details in flyer above!

So excited to be joining forces with Louisa, Nigel, Blake and Nell for this!

With all proceeds going to the National Brain Appeal, Desire & Destiny will feature some of opera’s best-loved moments, including excerpts from Carmen, Die Walküre, Tosca and Aida (and just maybe a few other surprise inclusions!).
It’ll be an evening of high drama (and more than a few high notes) in aid of a wonderful cause, and we’d be delighted if you can join us.

Hinde Street Methodist Church
19 Thayer Street
Marylebone
London
W1U 2QJ
England

Friday 22nd March 2019
7:00 PM £20

Tickets and more details are available here

A role and company debut for 2019, I’m thrilled to be performing Anne Boleyn in Guildford Opera‘s forthcoming production of Saint-Saëns’ Henry VIII in May.

Conducted by Lewis Gaston and directed by Peter Melville, the production will be sung in English and with full orchestra.

More information to follow closer to the time!

Hugely looking forward to working with the wonderful Richard Harker again, this time at Hampton Choral Society where I’ll be alto soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

Saturday 11th May 2019 – St Mary’s University Chapel, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham.

Further information, including where to purchase tickets, to follow in due course.

Caroline Carragher’s Wona is outstanding

I have to commend the cast, all of whom gave sterling performances. Each singer had their own moment or moments, and there were a lot of notes. Everyone really committed themselves to the performance and to the piece, and their support for new opera is admirable.

Delighted with the press comments coming in about our world premiere – more info here!

Delighted to be featured in this article by Cate Hopkins about this weekend’s concert in Bridgend!

https://uwtsd.ac.uk/news/press-releases/press-2018/wales-international-academy-of-voice-graduate-celebrates-the-life-of-composer-ethel-smyth.html

Thrilled to say I’ll be creating the role of Wona in Keith Burstein’s The Prometheus Revolution with Fulham Opera, which will be performed as part of the Grimeborn Festival in August. Sophie Gilpin directs and Ben Woodward is the M.D.

Star-crossed lovers, rebellion and revolution against the backdrop of a corrupt political class. What would you sacrifice for lasting peace?
Keith Burstein’s new opera is a ravishing vision of our society crossing beyond the threshold of war towards a new age of peace and mutual respect.
The activists within a peace movement find themselves playing out the eternal myth of Prometheus, who took the fire from the Gods to give it to the mortals. But they too may pay a high price for their audacity…
Shot through with pathos and ironic humour, this dark parable is laced with the sounds of vaudeville, Broadway musical and pop ballads.
In the centenary year of the end of World War 1, Fulham Opera present a melodic and intensely lyrical new opera of passion, power and high emotion, presenting a radical and challenging evocation of the moment Humanity takes charge of the world.

Booking opens today! June 22nd – and tickets can be booked via the Arcola Theatre here:

Beyond excited to be part of the team for The Reckoning with The Art Of Change team!

Where:
We are going to be travelling across the country, visiting Liverpool, Manchester, Leicester, Sheffield and London. But before we go on tour we are doing a workshop of the production at the Iris Theatre in Covent Garden on May 4th. This will give us the space to rehearse the production and figure out if anything needs changing. We then hope to be able to reach even more venues once we have some images and photos from the workshop performance.

Your Support:
Your support will ensure that we are able to get the first phase of workshops off the ground. Your donation will help to fund, but not exclusive to: set/props, costume, stage manager, song composition, designer, and rehearsal venue. (Don’t forget the tea & biscuits!)

If you can help support us in this project, we’d be so grateful. We’ve got a fundraising page here – any assistance is hugely appreciated!

The Art of Change, launched in 2017, is a dynamic team of artists and project managers who are committed to bringing life to the often-neglected medium of art song. We use art song to bring a new perspective to current and historical socio-political events.
The Reckoning:
Our new political play THE RECKONING, written by Lila Palmer, combines dialogue with existing art songs, folk songs, and newly written songs, by composers Eve Harrison and Ella Jarman-Pinto. The piece covers three historic eras through the eyes of four women: the leveller Elizabeth Lilburne, the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, and two fictional modern MPs, interweaving their stories to explore how the voices of women have been heard over time. ​

Not long to go before opening night – loving working on this show!

Directed by Mark Burns, conducted by Michael Thrift and with a cast including Roberto Abate, Samuel Pantcheff, Sofia Troncoso, Ailsa Mainwaring, Tony Baker, Stuart McDermott, Ian Massa-Harris and Rosalind O’Dowd, it’s shaping up to be a very exciting production indeed.

Show dates are:

December 2nd 7:30pm
December 3rd (matinee) 2:30pm

Tickets are on sale now, and are available here

Caroline is thrilled to be performing the mezzo solos for the Voices In London Festival Chorus in Rutter’s Feel The Spirit, conducted by Richard Harker.

Voices of London presents an evening of sumptuous English choral music, sung by the Festival’s very own massed choir. Featuring over 200 voices in the Musicians’ Church, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, this is an event not to be missed.

Jonathan Dove The Passing of the Year

George Shearing Songs and Sonnets

John Rutter Feel the Spirit

Voices of London Festival Chorus | Richard Harker & Helen Smee conductors

Also featuring:

Music Makers of London | Hilary Campbell conductor

Tickets are available here – all are most welcome!

Caroline is very excited to announce that she will be returning to Ormond Opera in November to sing the title role in Bizet’s Carmen.

Director: Mark Burns
Musical Director: Michael Thrift

Performances will be:

Saturday 25th November, 7:30pm
Saturday 2nd December 7:30pm
Sunday 3rd December (matinee) 2:30pm

Further information and tickets will be available from https://ormondopera.co.uk/ in due course.

*********************** UPDATE ***********************

Regrettably, this event has been postponed by the organisers due to the local pub also holding a similar event on the same evening. New date to follow!

******************************************************

Caroline is delighted to be presenting a concert of favourites from the world of opera with Andy Smith at the piano.

Doors open at 7:30, music at 8pm. Tickets are available from Sash via sash@moreofthegoodstuff.co.uk or by calling 07958 634585.

For more information and a map/details about how to get there, please follow this link:

Dummer Down Farm
Dummer
Basingstoke, Berkshire
RG25 2AR

Caroline is thrilled to announce she will be performing the role of the Fairy Queen in Forbear! Theatre’s forthcoming production of Iolanthe.

Performances run from December 5th to 18th (except for 12th & 17th) at the Barons Court Theatre, and tickets are currently on sale.

For more information, and to purchase tickets, please follow the link below.

http://www.forbeartheatre.com/shows/iolanthe/

Caroline is thrilled to be returning to the role of Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, this time with Ormond Opera. Tickets are currently on sale for £20, or on the door for £25.

Caroline is thrilled to be returning to St John’s Church, North Gate, Gloucester to present the second of her afternoon recitals there. She will be accompanied by Susan Honeywill, and the programme will feature well loved festive numbers from the 16th century to present day.

Monday December 19th, 12:30pm

St John’s Church
St John’s Lane
Northgate Street
Gloucester
GL1 2AN

Admission is free, with a retiring collection. All are most welcome!

Caroline is delighted to announce that she will be competing in the Stuart Burrows International Voice Award on June 18th in Carmarthen.

Caroline is thrilled to be joining forces with Ormond Opera again after appearing in their production of The Pirates of Penzance in March.

Caroline, alongside soprano Rosalind O’Dowd, tenor David George Menezes, baritone Samuel Pantcheff and accompanist Jakob Rothoff, will perform well-loved favourites from the operatic repertoire, with some gems from the realm of G&S thrown in for good measure.

More information about tickets available soon.

St James’ Church
St. James’ Road,
Hampton Hill
Middlesex
TW12 1DQ

http://www.stjames-hamptonhill.org.uk/

Caroline is delighted to be returning to Charlton Kings Choral Society this weekend to perform the mezzo solos in Duruflé’s Requiem and a new choral work, In Praise Of Earth’s Beauty, written by the conductor, John Wright. She will be performing alongside baritone Tom Hunt, organist Fiona Brown and the Regency Sinfonia.

Tickets are available either from the CKCS Box Office Administrator at: boxoffice@ckcsonline.org.uk or at the door on the night.

Tickets cost         £15
Concessions       £10   (Children and full time students under 25 years of age.)

This week S4C broadcast a concert featuring Jose Carreras, orchestra of WNO, Los Calchakis and Serendipity Singers, the latter of which Caroline was a proud member until it disbanded in 2008.

You can watch the concert on demand by following the link below!

http://www.s4c.cymru/clic/e_level2.shtml?programme_id=285252031

Caroline is delighted to announce she will be joining the ensemble of Opera Holland Park this season to perform in their productions of La Cenerentola and Die Fledermaus. Full details of performances are available in the Schedule page.

Up next – Caroline will be singing with Ormond Opera in an evening of comedy and music in aid of St Anne’s Church in Soho on February 19th, 7:30pm.
Including not just opera and G&S but jazz, blues and comedy, it should be a cracking little soiree! Tickets and more informations available here: http://stannes-soho.org.uk/coming-up/

Caroline is thrilled to say that she will be singing the role of Kate and covering the role of Ruth for Ormond Opera’s production of The Pirates of Penzance in March.

Performances will be 5th & 6th of March 2016, 7:30pm and 2:30 pm respectively.

All Hallows Church
Twickenham
TW1 1EW

Tickets are £20, £15 concessions and under 5s go free. More information is available here.

All are most welcome!

Caroline is delighted to be performing with the Charlton Kings Choral Society in their November concert. She will provide alto solos for Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit and Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël alongside counter tenor Sebastian Field, soprano Vicky Field and bass Tom Hunt.

Tickets are £15, £10 concessions (children and full time students under the age of 25) and are available via boxoffice@ckcsonline.org.uk, or they may be purchased at the door on the night.

The Pitville Pump Room
East Approach Drive
Cheltenham
GL52 3JE

Caroline is delighted to be joining forces with Opera Cantaremo alongside tenor Stephen Anthony Brown, soprano Eleanor Ross and John Cuthbert at the piano, performing for the passengers of the Minerva on Swan Hellenic’s Islands and Highlands cruise this summer.

More information about the cruise and its itinerary can be found here:

Caroline and her WIAV colleague, soprano Stephanie Edwards were delighted to join the graduation celebrations at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff this week. They performed a short recital with Catherine Roe-Williams at the piano for the benefit of the dignitaries once the ceremonies were complete.

It was a wonderful evening and we received some lovely feedback, with the president of the Students’ Union tweeting “Mind blowing rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone by @UWTSD WIAV students! #realtears #realtalent” – this was our final item of the evening, and we were thrilled to receive a standing ovation. Congratulations to all the graduates – it’ll be our turn soon!

Caroline and her fellow WIAV students are delighted to be returning to Tredegarville Baptist Church for an evening of operatic favourites, accompanied by Jane Samuel.

Tredegarville Baptist Church (right next door to the Academy)
The Parade
Roath
Cardiff
CF24 3AD

Tickets are available from WIAV box office by calling 02920 493139, and we would really appreciate anyone taking the time to come and hear us!

Caroline is thrilled to have been invited to perform at this year’s Radyr Festival, in which she, baritone Matthew Durkan and pianist Jane Samuel will present an hour-long recital.

More details to follow in due course!