Dear fellow Proprietors and Opera lovers. Friday June the 18th marks a momentous occasion, the staging of the second Sir David Maddison Opera Prize ! This eagerly awaited and twice postponed keynote event in the Athenaeum calendar at long last seems set to go ahead. Tickets for the event are in very limited supply due to the need for continuing Covid social distancing considerations, and are virtually sold out already, however anyone really keen to attend the contest performance I would urge to register their interest without further delay, as there is always a few unavoidable cancellations to then be filled from the waiting list.
Full details of the programme for the night of the Opera Prize, social distancing measures in place for your continued health and safety, covering seating, dining, and ordering of bar drinks during the evening, together with biographies of the RNCM student contestants are to be found on the club website Events calendar section.
Regular supporters of Opera at the Athenaeum events will have been aware of a concert that sadly was not able to go ahead due to Government Covid restrictions, namely the April 16th eagerly anticipated concert showcase featuring a club favourite and winner of the inaugural Sir David Maddison Opera Prize Mezzo Soprano Molly Barker. Molly, now signed by Opera North and Welsh National Opera was really looking forward to returning to sing at the venue she now regards as her ‘Home in the North West’ and was so disappointed that the concert wasn’t able to go ahead. However Molly will return just as soon as we are able to fix a mutually agreeable date. So please watch this space. And in the meantime by kind permission of Molly is an excerpt from a new opera project that was recorded last year by Welsh National Opera with Molly in a leading role. WNO | A Song for the Future – YouTube
Finally for this update, news of the return of Opera at the Athenaeum on October 15th this year, and by kind permission of the next Club President The Revd Canon Dr Crispin Pailing. The evening will see a selection of the most loved arias from the world of Opera performed by Internationally acclaimed Singers. Please watch for forthcoming updates that will confirm the programme for the concert.
With our warmest wishes, David and Tanya Cox.