July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond

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July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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                                                             What’s On
                                                   Arts & Culture in and around
                                                          the borough of
                                                     Richmond upon Thames

                                                            July 2020
                                                                     Orsi Cowell-Lehoczky from 9 to
                                                                     21 June Tuesday – Sunday
                                                                     11am – 5pm.
                                                                     fountaingallery.co.uk

                                                                     Landmark Arts Centre
                                                                     landmarkartscentre.org

                                                                     Molesey Art Society
We are in strange times and                                          moleseyartsociety.co.uk
cannot engage with the world
as we used to. However,                    Visual Arts                 WATCH AN ARTIST CREATE
technology is allowing us to                                                A PAINTING
interact in an unprecedented
way. We can use video links to                                        BBC4 is featuring an
talk to friends, family or                                            American artist, Bob Ross,
                                                                      who demonstrates how to
colleagues, sing with a virtual
                                                                      paint a dramatic landscape
choir, watch performances by                                          in 30 minutes. The series is
world-famous companies                                                called “The Joy of Painting”
online and send emails to keep                                        and it is available to view
in touch. Throughout the           Richmond Art Society Their         for over a year.
newsletter there are               Summer Exhibition goes
                                   online. Launching on the           Even if you are not a
suggestions for using links on
                                   Richmond Art Society website       painter, it is fascinating to
the Internet to engage with                                           see how he develops the
the outside world.                 on 4 July 2020, the online
                                                                      image – it looks so easy but
                                   exhibition will be available to    it probably isn’t!
We also have time at home to       browse throughout July. There
try out new things, such as a      will also be a PDF catalogue of        Go to BBC iPlayer and
new craft, or have a good          all the works available to             search for Bob Ross.
clear-out of unwanted items.       download. Visit the website
                                   and follow the links to the       Saturday Watercolour
And maybe it gives us time to
                                   show.                             Workshop Email
reflect on modern life and
                                   richmondartsociety.com            patkayharvey@talktalk.net or
allow us to plan for a different
                                                                     call 020 3643 6227.
and more fulfilling existence
                                   Fountain Gallery are excited to   patharvey.co.uk
after lockdown. Let’s go into      announce the re-opening of
the future with a more positive    the Fountain Gallery with an
                                                                     The People Hive Gallery
outlook.                           Exhibition by resident artist     rhlt.org.uk/the-people-hive
July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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                                 Orange Tree Theatre                          Film
The Bowman Gallery               orangetreetheatre.co.uk
bowmangallery.co.uk
                                 OSO Arts Centre
Roland Goslett Gallery           osoarts.org.uk
rolandgoslettgallery.co.uk
                                 Richmond Shakespeare
One Paved Court Gallery:         Society
onepavedcourt.co.uk              richmondshakespeare.org.uk

         ART CHALLENGE           Teddington Theatre Club
                                 teddingtontheatreclub.org.uk   Richmond Film Society
Every week, we are issuing an
                                                                recommends the following
Art Challenge to stimulate
                                                                Films:
your creative juices. Rise to
                                                                A Royal Affair Directed by
the challenge and send us your
                                                                Nikolaj Arcel; The Hunt
artwork - use anything you
                                                                Directed by Thomas
have to hand. Encourage               Copy / Flyer              Vinterberg; Salt Of The Earth
children to have a go also and
                                       Deadlines                Directed by Wim Wenders &
email the work in to Arts
                                                                Juliano Ribeiro Salgado; The
Richmond.
                                                                Angels’ Share Directed by Ken
                                                                Loach; IDA Directed by Pawel
   NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE                                        Pawlikowski. They are
                                  At the moment we are
        STREAMING                 unable to send the            available via streaming
                                                                services and also for purchase
                                  What’s On newsletter
 The National Theatre is                                        as DVD/Blu-Ray discs.
 streaming one production
                                  by post, therefore we         Richmond Film Society For
 per week on YouTube. The         will not be accepting         information email
 programme changes every          any fliers. We will be        admin@richmondfilmsoc.org.uk
 Thursday at 7pm. See             sending out the               richmondfilmsoc.org.uk
 world class theatre from the     newsletter by email.
 comfort of your own home                                            RIVERSIDE STUDIOS
 – but you will have to           The deadline for items              VIRTUAL CINEMA
 provide the ice cream and        to be included in the
 the drinks yourself!             newsletter is                 It is sad that the newly opened
 https://www.nationaltheatr                                     Riverside Studios has had to
 e.org.uk/nt-at-home
                                  Wednesday 1 July 2020         close its doors. A great shame
                                                                as it is now an impressive
                                                                space with modern facilities
                                   Disclaimer: Whilst every
                                   care has been taken to       and a pleasant bar area for
             Drama                 ensure the accuracy of       tasty food and drink. Let’s
                                   the information in this      hope we can visit it in the not
                                   newsletter, we urge you      too distant future. However, it
                                   to check details with the    is offering people a chance to
                                   venues before attending
                                                                view for free some classic
                                   an event.
                                   If you need help with        films, which are:
                                   contact details, please
                                                                Some Like it Hot Billy
                                   contact our office
                                   info@artsrichmond.org.uk     Wilder’s iconic comedy
                                                                Charade by Stanley Donen
Hampton Hill Theatre                                            The Lunchbox starring Irrfan
hamptonhilltheatre.org.uk                                       Khan
July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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Water Lilies by French                                           The Middlesex Yeomanry
director Celine Sciamma           Hammond Theatre                Concert Band
Aimless Bullet a social realist   thehammondtheatre.co.uk        mycb.org.uk
drama set in South Korea
Scarlet Street directed by        Landmark Arts Centre           In Flagrante choir For further
Fritz Lang                        landmarkartscentre.org         details contact Cathy Jago on
All That Heaven Allows by
                                                                 Catherine@cjenenergy.co.uk
Douglas Sirk                      Langdon Down Museum of         inflagrantechoir.com
I Wish by Hirokazu Kore-eda       Learning Disability
The Lady Vanishes by Alfred       langdondownmuseum.org.uk
Hitchcock.                                                        Follow Us
Click on the following link:      Whitton Choral Society          What’s On
                                  whittonchoralsociety.net        in the thriving local arts
riversidestudios.co.uk/commu
nity/virtual-riverside                                            scene.
                                                                  Follow us on Facebook
                                      LONDON SYMPHONY
           Dance                     ORCHESTRA STREAMING
                                                                  @artsrichmonduk
                                                                  Instagram
                                                                  artsrichmonduk
                                   Each Sunday and Thursday       and Twitter
                                   they are streaming a           artsrichmond_uk
                                   concert from their archive
                                   on their YouTube channel.
                                                                  To become a regular
                                   Follow this link to see the
                                   programme of events:           recipient of this
                                                                  Newsletter, why not
                                                                  become a member?
Swing Patrol
swingpatrol.co.uk                  They provide digital
                                   programme notes and they
Rambert School of Ballet and       hope that you will be able
Contemporary Dance                 to sit down and watch at       To Contact Us or
rambertschool.org.uk               the same time as friends       Join Us
                                   and family, wherever they
Hammond Theatre                    are.                           ETNA Community Centre
thehammondtheatre.co.uk            lso.co.uk                      Room 21,
                                                                  13 Rosslyn Road
           Music                  Richmond Concert                Twickenham, TW1 2AR
                                  richmondconcerts.co.uk          020 8892 9446
                                                                  info@artsrichmond.org.uk
                                  singersandsongs.com
                                  singersandsongs.com            Thameside Harmony Chorus
                                                                 Email
                                  Barnes Music Society           thamesideharmony@gmail.com.
                                  barnesmusicsociety.org.uk      thamesideharmony.co.uk

                                  The Choral Foundation          Twickenham Chamber Choir
Richmond Orchestra                choral.foundation@hrp.org.uk   Enquiries:
richmondorchestra.org.uk                                         helenastrid@gmail.com or call
                                  Richmond Opera                 07710 245 904.
OSO Arts Centre                   richmondopera.org.uk
osoarts.org.uk
July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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Magna Carta Chorus Contact:
                                    Rock, Jazz & Folk                  Historic Houses
Dennis Counsel, Chorus
Secretary on 01344 843522
email
dennis@stillriver.plus.com
magnacartachorus@gmail.com

Chase Bridge Community For                                        Turner’s House
                                 TwickFolk                        turnershouse.org
more information contact
chasebridgecommunitychoir@       twickfolk.co.uk
gmail.com                                                             Walks, talks and
                                 Mark's Jazz Sessions phone
                                                                         courses
                                 07799 582337 for information

                                 Eel Pie Club
        SCRUB HUBS               eelpieclub.com

                                 Landmark Arts Centre
 Many voluntary groups           landmarkartscentre.org
 have formed to provide the
 NHS and care workers with                                        Richmond Jewish
                                 OSO Arts Centre
 scrubs (the standard                                             Community Hub
                                 osoarts.org.uk
 uniform when on duty).
                                                                  rjch.org.uk
 Across the country,
 volunteers are making           JKL-Jazz See
 scrubs, laundry bags (to put                                     Borough of Twickenham
                                 Facebook.com/JKL-Jazz to
 contaminated clothing in                                         Local History Society
                                 confirm dates and also for
 and then put all into the                                        botlhs.co.uk
                                 other appearances in the area.   The Arts Society Richmond
 washing machine), masks,
 headbands etc and                                                theartssocietyrichmond.org
                                 Mood Indigo Events
 distributing them to those      moodindigoevents.co.uk
 who can use them.                                                Richmond Scientific Society
                                                                  www.rss.btck.co.uk
 I have been making laundry
                                          Museums
 bags and sending them to                                         Richmond Local History
 my local distribution hub. It                                    Society
 has been very satisfying to
                                                                  richmondhistory.org.uk
 be creative but, at the same
 time, be helping in the
 national crisis. I encourage                                     Richmond and Twickenham
 you to join in with this                                         Historical Association
 admirable initiative. If you                                     history.org.uk
 can’t sew you can still help
 by helping with distribution                                     Kingston and District Branch
 or just by donating money                                        of the Embroiderers' Guild
                                 The Twickenham Museum
 to buy fabric. Check out the                                     kingstonanddistrictbranch.co.uk
 website below for details.      twickenham-museum.org.uk
 Linda White
 Volunteer editor                Musical Museum                   Richmond Society
                                 musicalmuseum.co.uk              richmondsociety.org.uk

       ScrubHub.org.uk                                            Richmond & Twickenham
                                 The Museum of Richmond
                                 museumofrichmond.com             Photographic Society
                                                                  rtps.org.uk
July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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Richmond U3A                         Poetry Performance                 have read it. It is a long read
u3asites.org.uk/richmond-on-         For information email:             over some 750 plus pages but
thames/home                          warringa@blueyonder.co.uk          each time one wanted to read
                                                                        the footnotes at the foot of
Richmond Association for the         Richmond WEA: contact Carol        most pages.
National Trust For information       Veitch on 020 8979 5929.
contact the Programme                wealondon.org/Richmond
                                                                             WATCH INTERESTING
Manager on tel: 020 8979                                                     DOCUMENTARIES ON
3834, email:                         RHACC (Richmond and
                                                                                CATCH-UP
wendyasim@btinternet.com             Hillcroft Adult and
nationaltrust.org.uk/features/rich   Community College): provides
                                                                         We cannot go travelling at
mond-association                     a wide range of Further             the moment. However, we
                                     Education courses                   can visit faraway places on
                                     rhacc.ac.uk                         the TV using the “catch-up”
  A POEM A DAY KEEPS THE
       BLUES AT BAY                                                      services on the various
                                                                         channels. Here are just a
                                                                         few programmes available
                                     THE HOWARD GREENWOOD                for some months:
 Each day, a new poem is                                                 Rick Stein’s cookery
 uploaded to the Arts                MUSICAL CORNER.
                                                                         travelogues
 Richmond website. Each is
                                     It has been said that the music     • Rick Stein’s Far East
 insightful and engaging so
                                     of the Polish composer                    Odyssey
 well worth a read. Log
                                                                         • Rick Stein’s Seafood
 onto:                               Fryderyk Chopin is either
                                                                               Odyssey
 www.artsrichmond.org.uk             played or listened to every         -------------------------------------
 and then click on “Reviews”         hour of every day throughout        • Storyville. Hard-hitting
 and you will find the poems         the world. His music takes us             documentaries on
 listed, along with other
                                     into another world of beautiful           serious topics
 reviews.
                                     sound, a world where our            -------------------------------------
                                     hearts and minds are                Simon Reeve’s travelogues
 The BBC has an initiative
                                                                         • Australia with Simon
 called BBC Upload. They             cherished. So in this short
                                                                               Reeve
 say “Whatever you create –          article I would like to guide
 comedy, fiction, blogs,                                                 • Indian Ocean with
                                     you into this world and                   Simon Reeve
 vlogs, podcasts, videos,
 poetry, reviews, diaries,
                                     recommend certain items that        • Greece with Simon
 anything – we’d love you to         will enhance your enjoyment               Reeve
 upload it.” Go to                   of his music.
 bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07                                                Go to iPlayer, All Four or
 xtgyr                               So I would like to start by         My5 and browse what is
 and upload your creative                                                available
                                     suggesting a book which has
 items.                              recently been published by
                                                                        A recent criticism concludes by
                                     Faber and Faber called
                                                                        saying “It is unusual to feel
                                     Fryderyk Chopin, a Life and
                                                                        bereft on finishing a book and
                                     Times by Alan Walker. It is an
Barnes Literary Society                                                 one would wish it could be
barnesliterarysociety.org.uk.        amazing book, which has
                                                                        twice as long. It is the most
                                     attracted a lot of praise all
                                                                        important biography of Chopin
Richmond Heritage Guides             over the musical world and
richmondwalks.co.uk                                                     in many years and will be
                                     rightly so. Rarely have I read a
                                                                        treasured by musicians and
                                     book which I found difficult to
Richmond Art                                                            music lovers as the definitive
richmondartsociety.com               put down and this has been
                                                                        life for many years”.
                                     the experience of friends who
July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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                                     fact, over 16 CDs, embrace the      Council to purchase the house
Readers of 'ArtsRichmond' are        complete works, including           for conversion to a town hall.
able to get hold of this brilliant   everything Chopin wrote             Since then we have been
                                                                         involved in many local issues,
book by contacting a Patron of       including the rarely heard
                                                                         including developing Orleans
Arts Richmond, Helena Caletta        songs, the small amount of          House Gallery, the Mary
at the Open Book in Richmond.        chamber music and the piano         Wallace Theatre, the tennis
Now we are living at a time          and orchestra works.                courts beside the house and
when there are so many                                                   Twickenham Riverside.
brilliant pianists who were           AIR POLLUTION IN LONDON            In normal times we meet
performing before the                                                    regularly throughout the year
                                      Air pollution in London has        for a programme of talks, and
lockdown but we do have their
                                      fallen so dramatically since       we have a special dinner in
CD's to listen to the way they        the capital's Covid-19             January and a summer
view the music of this great          lockdown, monitors used to         reception in June. We take
composer. In my opinion some          measure toxicity are               part in London Open Days in
of their Chopin interpretations       alerting the data collectors       September. We have regular
are first rate, others less so but    to possible faults with the        garden walks, and we work
that is the way, as they say,         readings. It is down by            with the council on matters
                                      about 60%.                         relating to the house and the
the cookie crumbles.
                                      As a result of the                 grounds. We are also
Of the older recordings the           coronavirus restrictions on        concerned with local planning.
way Artur Rubinstein plays            movement, average air              We welcome new members
most of the solo piano music is       pollution levels have fallen       and guests to the meetings, for
wonderful and I can fully             to their lowest since              a small charge. For
recommend any of his                  recordings began in 2000,          membership information,
                                      according to the London Air        contact Andrew Stanley, the
recordings, making possible
                                      Quality Network. The               Hon Treasurer, at
allowances for the quality of                                            andrew.stanley1@outlook.com or
                                      monitors record levels of
recordings all those years ago.       nitrogen dioxide, sulphur          29 Schoolhouse Lane,
Of more recent performances           dioxide, particulates and          Teddington, TW11
on CD I have been impressed           ozone levels.                      9DP. Website:
with the Chopin performances                                             theyorkhousesociety.org.uk
on the Warner Classics label of      YORK HOUSE SOCIETY
                                     York House in Richmond Road,        THE LANDMARK ARTS CENTRE
the young Eric Liu especially
                                     Twickenham, is owned by             The Landmark Arts Centre in
his reading of the Second
                                     Richmond Council. The house         Teddington is a vibrant hub for
Chopin Sonata which I found
                                     dates back to Tudor times, and      a whole range of vibrant
spellbinding.
                                     it has a fascinating history with   cultural activities. They put on
Emanuel Ax is also another           many colourful owners. The          a wide range of music
rather special Chopin player.        formal rooms – the Salon, the
                                                                         performances from classical to
Then there are a number of           Terrace Room, the Mayor’s
                                     Parlour and the Council             jazz and folk, run art classes
pianists who have committed
                                     chamber – are beautiful.            and host exhibitions of
to disc the complete “Chopin”
                                     The house stands in nearly 10       photography, art and craft. It is
but beware as this is not
                                     acres of grounds beside the         a wonderful space
always the case!! For a              River Thames, with a sunken         architecturally with its soaring
complete set of Chopin a             garden, a beautiful stone
                                                                         church roof and stained glass
recording which has received         bridge, a walkway along the
                                                                         windows.
rave notices in the USA is that      river, and the Naked Ladies
                                     statues.                            Due to lockdown, they are
by the English pianist Ian
                                     The York House Society was          unable to open their doors to
Hobson, who won the Leeds
                                     formed in 1924, from the            us but are doing fund-raising
Piano Competition years ago.
                                     group who gathered to               events to keep themselves
Hobson’s recording does in           persuade the Urban District         afloat. They recently hosted a
July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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virtual live music event, with     exhibition/. Sally’s portrait of   Gillian Thorpe
many local performers              her mother is featured on          Anne Warrington
appearing. They are                page 7. You can see latest         Linda White
celebrating their 25th             updates on her work on
anniversary and are asking us      instagram (@sallywardart) and      CO-OPTED MEMBERS
to support them by doing the       more information on her            Heather Morgan (Showcoach)
#Landmark25Challenge. Here         website www.sallyward-             Sue Ribbans (Visual Arts)
are some ways you can              art.com.                           Clive Bradley (Literature)
participate:                                                          Laurie Coombs (Drama)
                                   MANY THANKS TO ALL OUR
Choose any arts challenge – it     TREMENDOUS SUPPORTERS              PRESIDENTS 2019-2020
could be singing, dancing,                                            Mr John Stapleton and the late
                                   Arts Richmond is blessed to
playing an instrument,                                                Ms Lynn Faulds Wood
                                   have some wonderful people
comedy, yoga, Pilates, crafting,
                                   who work very hard to put on
wellbeing, painting, drawing.
                                   many cultural events,              PATRONS
Whether you’re an expert or
                                   encourage self-expression and      Ms Diana Armfield
want to learn a new skill, it
                                   creativity in Richmond             Ms Marcia Ashton
doesn’t matter, just have a go!
                                   borough and beyond.                Sir David Attenborough OM,
Challenge yourself to do an        Foremost of these are the          CH,KBE
activity over 25 days or for 25    Committee and the Patrons,         Ms Claire Ireland
minutes or 2.5 minutes,            amongst others. We thank           Mr Gyles Brandreth
perhaps create 25 of               them for such valued support.      Mrs Sara Burn Edwards
something and ask friends and      Here is the current list of the    The Right Honourable Sir Vince
family to sponsor you, or make     Committee and the Patrons.         Cable and Lady Rachel Cable
a donation yourself. Do please                                        Ms Liz Crowther
help this marvellous arts          EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:               Mr Clive Francis
centre to survive by donating       VICE PRESIDENTS                   Mr Michael Frayn & Ms Claire
or raising money for their          John Coombs                       Tomalin
appeal. For further                 Pam Frazer                        Mr Bamber Gascoigne
information go to their             Sandra Green                      Mr Julian Glover & Ms Isla Blair
website:                            Edie Purdue                       Mr Howard Greenwood
www.landmarkartscentre.org                                            Sir Jeremy Hanley KCMG
                                   CHAIR                              Ms Lee Langley
SALLY WARD                         Hilary Dodman                      His Honour Bernard Marder
Work by local artist and KAOS                                         Sir Trevor McDonald
member, Sally Ward, has been       TREASURER                          Mr Roger McGough CBE
selected from almost 2,500         Simon Bartlett                     Mr James Naughtie
entries to appear alongside        Jean Wit (Assistant Treasurer)     Lady Camilla Panufnik
paintings by some of Britain’s                                        Mr Alan Price
leading portrait artists. The      COMMITTEE MEMBERS                  Ms Helena Richardson
Royal Society of Portrait          Cllr Geoff Acton                   Ms Anne M. Sebba
Painters annual exhibition is      Lesley Alabaf                      Mr Colin Squire
held in central London each        Sue Bell                           Mr John Stapleton
year. Due to the pandemic this     Peter Cregeen                      Mr Colin Starkey
wonderful exhibition is now        Benedict Dias                      Mr Sam Walters MBE & Ms
online and can be viewed at        Pam Frazer                         Auriol Smith
https://therp.co.uk/portrait-      Janet Langhorne                    Mrs Kay Williams
exhibitions/annual-portrait-       Heather Montford
July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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‘Bohème on a budget!’ – A year in the life of Instant Opera

Have you ever wondered what it is like to stage an opera?
Every October we present a fully-staged opera at Teddington’s historic
Normansfield Theatre - most recently, in 2019, with Puccini’s La
bohème which sold out its run weeks in advance. A ‘fully-staged’ opera
demands a large orchestra, chorus, costumes, lighting and scenery as
one would expect to see at a major opera house like The Royal Opera
House. The challenges are many - even for the ROH with its sizable
budget. In our case, it involves a huge planning and team effort
managing 77 skilled artists of 18 different nationalities - but with a vastly
reduced budget... Here’s how we did it!

December 2018
Recruiting a large orchestra and chorus, including kids, is quite a challenge. By Christmas invitations are sent to
regular members and others who may be interested. Fortunately, with such a popular piece, ‘take-up’ is strong.
We are lucky Richmond and its environs are well served by orchestras and choirs of incredible quality.

January/February 2019
The start of the year signals a period of intense planning and decision making.
The production concept is finalized and ‘storyboarded’ similar to a film in pre-production. Our production of La
bohème is set in 1970’s Amsterdam, not 1830’s Paris - this requires considerable research and leaps of
imagination.
We discuss scenery and costume design. For scenery we work with Kew artist Lyn Keay, who paints in an obliging
neighbour’s conservatory, usually working from back-of-envelope sketches and photos. An incredible task in its
own right, producing stunning results. For costumes, we make numerous visits to costume hire departments
until we find the right look for everyone on-stage. We source an orchestral arrangement and hire the band parts
and chorus music - our preferred arrangement came from a festival in France. We place audition notices for the
principal singers and reply to over one hundred responses. Time to book the audition venue! Lighting, technical
and stage crew are recruited – we simply could not make it happen without these brilliant people.

March
The month of auditions and casting. We were astounded by the quantity and quality of the applicants that
auditioned – everyone, it seems, wants to be in La bohème! The result was two dream casts of principals
representing UK, Germany, India, USA, Brazil, Italy and Turkey – music truly brings people together. Having
completed casting, things now move rapidly and simultaneously. Firstly costume fittings for our casts and
chorus. Then delivering orchestra and chorus music in advance of the rehearsals. Last but not least, we develop
a detailed rehearsal schedule based around the availability of 77 people over six months – a complex task – 30
iterative versions of this document are not unusual!

April
In April we rehearse and host our fund-raising Spring Opera Gala at The Exchange, Twickenham. A major event
planned in parallel to La bohème. Galas are essential and help us cover costs for fully staging opera in a small
theatre, where the ticket sales alone are insufficient. The evening was a resounding success, but afterwards it’s
straight ‘back to Bohème’ with tickets going on sale, marketing and writing the programme, etc.
July 2020 What's On Arts & Culture in and around the borough of Richmond upon Thames - Arts Richmond
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May/June/July
The first rehearsal phase. Our multi-national cast have made extensive arrangements to stay in and around
Richmond every weekend – some billeted with family or friends, some staying at budget hotels. Others with
shorter journeys will hop back and forth on budget airlines – it’s all part of the logistical matrix of rehearsing
opera over the months ahead. It takes 150 hours to rehearse a two-hour opera. Every scene is taken apart and
                                               rehearsed. First musically and linguistically with coaching in
                                               Italian provided. Then we move to a rehearsal stage and
                                               simulate the dimensions of Normansfield to block out all the
                                               stage movements. Act 2 is challenging with its Café Momus
                                               scene during which chorus and principals mingle and interact.
                                               Contrary to the popular showbiz maxim of “never work with
                                               children..” our kids were wonderfully behaved and have the
                                               time of their lives!

August
Summer holidays – time off ‘for good behaviour’ for our hard working casts! Well not quite for all, for this is the
time when dozens of props are either found or built from scratch including; working fireplaces, enough tables
and stools to seat a crowd and a full-sized football World Cup.

September/October
Second phase of rehearsals commence in earnest now meeting several times a week. This is when we introduce
the orchestra to rehearsals – a thrilling moment for everyone to hear and watch Puccini’s masterpiece finally
come together! Show week finally arrives. Lighting, technical and stage teams are now at full pace with their
own complicated rehearsals. English surtitles are added. Two full dress rehearsals later we are ready to roll,
with three sold-out houses to perform to. All we can do now is pray that no-one loses their voice.. Which of
course happens. It’s opening night, autumn has struck! One of our Mimis can barely speak, let alone sing - a
bitter blow for all. Luckily for us the Mimi from the other cast proves up to singing three memorable
performances back-to-back and three delighted audiences leave Teddington - until next year!

Support us
Our productions would not be possible without the unstinting
time and generosity of many talented people. We think the
results are worth it. 2020 was to be our most ambitious year to
date with a Spring Gala, revival of La bohème and a sensational
new production for October. All three events are now postponed
because of this cruel Coronavirus epidemic. Please check our
website for updates:
www.instantopera.co.uk
If you would like to get involved please do contact us via our
website. We would love to hear from chorus singers, orchestral musicians, technicians, potential financial
sponsors, performance venues and people with accommodation for visiting artists. In fact anyone who is
interested to support us in any way!

At the time of writing Instant Opera plan to re-schedule their La bohème revival for 18th, 19th & 20th December
2020 – please check their website for updates.

All photographs courtesy of jonlophotography.co.uk
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                                                                   Arts Richmond (est. 1966) is an independent charity

     Join Us                                                       (251359) supporting 100+ Arts and Cultural
                                                                   Organisations in and around the borough of Richmond
                                                                   upon Thames

               Complete and return for                           Arts Richmond is an independent charity with 100+
               Individual Membership                             affiliated societies based in and around the borough
                       Fee £20                                   of Richmond upon Thames. As well as representing
 Name:                                                           the voluntary arts sector on the Richmond upon
                                                                 Thames Borough Council’s Arts Advisory Forum, we
 Address:
                                                                 provide a wide variety of services and events aimed
                                                                 at promoting local arts and cultural activity
                                                                 including:
 Phone:                                                          Regular Information about What’s On and How to
                                                                 Get involved in the thriving local arts & cultural
 Email:
                                                                 scene through our website, and monthly What’s On
                                                                 Newsletter.
                                                                 Showcoach: Excursions to plays, musicals, operas,
 Date:                                                           concerts and places of interest – some with coaches
                                                                 from pick-up points across the borough. We know
 N.B. To ensure privacy under the new General Data               how important safe transport and companionship is
 Protection Regulations (GDPR) which came into                   for our members and we make every effort to
 force in May 2018 we are required to gain your                  ensure ease of access for all.
 consent to hold your personal details on our                    Literature: We run literary events throughout the
 database. In order to continue to receive our                   year including our annual Book Picnic on Richmond
 newsletter please tick the box ͏                                Green, and Young Writers’ Festival, as well as events
                                                                 in the Richmond upon Thames Literature Festival.
 A lack of response will NOT be accepted as your
                                                                 Drama: We promote the performances of local
 agreement.
                                                                 professional and amateur theatre companies and
I am paying £20 electronically for my membership.                run the Swan Drama Awards – our local version of
Bank details: Arts Richmond Co-operative Bank, Sort              the Oscars – rewarding amateur talent in the
Code 08-92-99 Account No. 65130096. Please include               borough – as well as a New Plays Festival.
‘mmship’ in reference                                            Music: We promote the extensive programme of
                                                                 concerts organised by concert societies, choral and
In the future I would like to pay £20 by standing order          other music groups throughout the borough and run
for a yearly subscription                                        an annual Choral Workshop with eminent local
                                                                 conductors.
Gift Aid. I would like my payments to be treated as
                                                                 Visual Arts and Photography: We promote the work
being Gift Aid donations                                         of local artists and run exhibitions and competitions
                                                                 offering the opportunity to buy paintings, prints and
Please return this form to:                                      photographs at affordable prices.
Room 21, ETNA 13 Rosslyn Rd, Twickenham TW1 2AR                  Heritage and Museums: We promote the events
                                                                 and exhibitions taking place at the large number of
                                                                 historic places in the local area.
                                                                 www.artsrichmond.org.uk

                     @artsrichmonduk                      artsrichmonduk                    @ArtsRichmond_UK
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