A message in the form of a letter from the Chairman of Opera South, Anthony Ramsden, published in the show programme for The Bohemian Girl (February 2008)
It has long been a policy of this company to perform operas which are infrequently heard in the major opera houses. I was previously only aware of Balfe as a composer of Victorian ballads. Finding that 2008 is the bi-centenary of Balfe’s birth, we decided to present one of his most successful and popular operas, The Bohemian Girl, which (aside from Gilbert & Sullivan operetta) is also our first full production of a British opera.
This opera, together with The Lily of Killarney by Julius Benedict and Maritana by Vincent Wallace, became known as the "English Ring", a title that was adopted until the 1930s as a counter to Wagner’s Ring Cycle. As we in the chorus came to know Balfe’s charming and cheerful music in The Bohemian Girl, I could not help but muse on the contrast with Wagner’s Ring Cycle. This romantic story with its tuneful music (set in the 1900s Ireland in this production) is worlds away from Wagner and his Ring Cycle.
There is much company news to mention briefly. I take this further opportunity to thank Moyra Finlay, who stood down last October as a trustee and also as Chairman of Development — an all-embracing role responsible for marketing, publicity, fund-raising, sponsorship and much else. In future, these administrative tasks will be shared individually by the team she helped to create, now known as the Operations Committee, which is chaired by Dennis Drysdale. We all wish Moyra well in her long delayed retirement.
Putting on opera is an expensive undertaking and, with these changes, the company faces fresh challenges. Happily, we now have a dedicated office. We are grateful to Wispers School for providing a room to house the new office. We are also indebted to Michael Barnes and his team of helpers for their work in setting up the office and to Ian Hudson for his important technical input. We are delighted that the Mayor of Waverley was able to join us for the official opening of the office on 13th December. With the benefit of the office facility, we can better support all the excellent music (under the direction of Tom Higgins) and artistic work (under the aegis of John Braithwaite) produced by the company.
In my letter last year, I acknowledged the hard work previously done by honorary life members. I am sorry to report that our most senior life member, Geoffrey Ramsden, died in June last year. He was, for five years, the company’s Treasurer and was then appointed Chairman for a further five years. More recently, he had served as the company’s President. He was either on stage or saw every production since he helped to found the company in 1984. As was said at our last AGM, perhaps his most important role was to manage the early development of the company, with an emphasis on recruiting singers on merit from as wide a field as possible. This in itself inspired wider support, and the company has never looked back.
The company gives talented emerging singers of many and varied nationalities an opportunity to participate in a fully staged opera with a professional orchestra, but the company is itself still run and managed by volunteers, with many others helping. Altogether some 70 volunteers are involved. Our enthusiastic chorus members now come from a wide area, including Guildford, Horsham and Portsmouth. On the back of the local and regional volunteer support, which the company enjoys, Awards for All gave us a grant to fund the setting up of our new office. The company has an increasingly high reputation. More volunteers to take part in this stimulating and rewarding charitable work are always welcome!
Anthony Ramsden, SSCJ