HGO Trust (HGO) (formerly Hampstead Garden Opera) was founded in 1990 by Roy Budden as an evening class at the Hampstead Garden Institute, London. Its objectives are to advance public education in the art and science of music with emphasis on operatic music.[1]
HGO Trust | |
 HGO Logo | |
| Established | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Roy Budden |
| Founded at | London, United Kingdom |
| Registration no. | 1168484 |
| Legal status | charity |
| Purpose | music education |
| Website | http://www.hgo.org.uk |
Formerly called | Hampstead Garden Opera |
Objectives
editHGO brings live opera, fully staged with orchestra, and offers performance opportunity and training to young singers. It performs two fully staged operas each year, usually in original language. Upstairs at The Gatehouse, Highgate Village, in the London Borough of Camden, was HGO's home from March 2001 until May 2016 when it relocated to the Jacksons Lane Theatre in Highgate. HGO is affiliated to the National Operatic and Dramatic Association.[2]
Productions
editThe original intention was to concentrate on the major operas of Mozart, but the repertoire has expanded to encompass works by others as well.[3]
The HGO production of Mozart's Così fan tutte won Best Opera Production 2012 at the Off West End Awards.[4]
HGO's productions for 2018 were Verdi's La traviata and Domenico Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto. In May 2019 it produced George Frideric Handel's Partenope which was a finalist in the Off West End Awards in 2020.[5] Its 2019 production of La bohème won a NODA London Opera Award in 2020.[6]
In August 2020 HGO was the first company to stage a live opera performance in North London after the COVID-19 epidemic when it produced Gustav Holst's opera Sāvitri at Lauderdale House.[7]
Board
editThe Directors of the Company and Trustees of the Charity, as of April 2020,[8] are:
- David Conway – Chairman
- Alastair Macgeorge – Chairman Emeritus
- Roger Sainsbury
- Martin Musgrave – Deputy Chairman
- Patricia Cabredo Hofherr
HGO's Co-Presidents are Dame Emma Kirkby and Howard Williams.[8]
Productions 2009 – date
edit- April 2009 - Carlisle Floyd: Susannah .[9][10]
- November 2009 - Henry Purcell: Dido and Æneas, and John Blow: Venus and Adonis.
- April 2010 - Mozart: The Clemency of Titus.[11]
- November 2010 - Mozart: The Magic Flute. This was the first time an English opera company used the Stephen Fry translation of the libretto, as seen in Kenneth Branagh's 2006 film version.[12]
- April 2011 - George Frederic Handel: Semele.
- November 2011 - Ralph Vaughan Williams: Hugh the Drover.[13]
- April 2012 - Mozart: Così fan tutte.[14]
- November 2012 - Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo.[15]
- April 2013 - Jonathan Dove: Mansfield Park.[16]
- November 2013 - Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro.[17]
- April 2014 - Francesco Cavalli: La Calisto.[18]
- November 2014 - Benjamin Britten: Albert Herring.
- April 2015 - Handel: Xerxes
- November 2015 - Mozart: Don Giovanni
- May 2016 - Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggiero Leoncavallo:I Pagliacci.
- November 2016 - Mozart: The Magic Flute.
- May 2017 - Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione di Poppea.
- November 2017 - Jonathan Dove: The Enchanted Pig.[19]
- May 2018 - Giuseppe Verdi: La traviata.[20]
- November 2018 - Domenico Cimarosa: The Secret Marriage.[21]
- May 2019 - Handel: Partenope.[22]
- November 2019 - Giacomo Puccini: La bohème[23]
- November 2021 - Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro[24]
Recent productions
editIn August 2020, the company staged Gustav Holst's opera Sāvitri at Lauderdale House.[25] [26]
The company produced a new edition of Francesco Cavalli's 1643 opera L'Egisto at The Cockpit Theatre, London, in June 2021.[27][28]
In March 2022, the company gave the British premiere of the 1774 Hebrew-language oratorio Ester by the Austrian composer Cristiano Lidarti with libretto by Jacob Raphael Saraval. The performance at the Free Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb raised £1,200 for the Red Cross Ukraine Emergency Appeal.[29][30]
References
edit- ^ "1168484 - HGO TRUST LTD". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ NODA website, accessed 25 October 2020
- ^ "Previous Productions" Archived 1 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine. HGO website, accessed 25 October 2019
- ^ "Full list of the winners of the Offies 2013". OffWestEnd.com website. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Offies website Archived 23 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 20 April 2020
- ^ "NODA London District Winners list 2020". NODA website. NODA. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ HGO’s open-air Sāvitri marks opera’s return to London. Seen and Heard International. Retrieved 16 August 2020
- ^ a b "Hampstead Garden Opera - People". Hampstead Garden Opera website. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ Karlin, David (1 May 2009). "Carlisle Floyd's Susannah at Hampstead Garden Opera". Bachtrack. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ White, Michael. "Punchy Opera - and all on a pub stage" (PDF). HGO. Hampstead and Highgate Express. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Karlin, David (24 April 2010). "In praise of Mozart in small spaces". Bachtrack. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Karlin, David (5 November 2010). "Mozart's Magic Flute at Hampstead Garden Opera". Bachtrack. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Chandler, David (22 November 2011). "Hugh the Drover Over the Pub". Opera Today. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Chandler, David (9 May 2012). "My Big Fat American Moustache: A Wartime Così Fan Tutte". Opera Today. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Karlin, David (12 November 2012). "Monteverdi's L'Orfeo at Hampstead Garden Opera". Bachtrack. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Church, Michael (22 April 2013). "Classical review: Mansfield Park, Hampstead Garden Opera, Gatehouse Theatre, London". The Independent. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Karlin, David (12 November 2013). "Hampstead Garden Opera entertain thoroughly with Figaro". Bachtrack. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Coghlan, Alexandra (28 April 2014). "La Calisto, Hampstead Garden Opera: Cavalli's gods and goddesses take up residence in North London". Theartsdesk.com. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Kjerntrup, Inge (13 November 2017). "The Enchanted Pig review at Jacksons Lane, London – 'hugely enjoyable'". The Stage. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Shapiro, Yehuda (22 May 2018). "La Traviata review at Jackson's Lane, London – 'youthful energy'". The Stage. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Winskill, David (21 November 2018). "Opera review: The Secret Marriage, Hampstead Garden Opera, Jacksons Lane Theatre". Etcetera. Hampstead and Highgate Express. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ Winskill, David (20 May 2019). "Hampstead Garden Opera perform Partenope at Jackson's Lane". Etcetera. Hampstead and Highgate Express. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ Karlin, David (10 November 2019). "HGO serve up a treat with La bohème redux". Opera Reviews. Bachtrack. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Berry, Mark (November 2021). "Le nozze di Figaro: Hampstead Garden Opera". Opera Today. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ Galton, Bridget (10 July 2020). "Lauderdale House to stage comedy, opera and cabaret on the lawn". etcetera. Hampstead and Highgate Express. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ Fisher, Neil (21 August 2020). "Savitri review — the unsettling folkishness casts a spell". The Times. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Hugill, Robert (14 June 2021). "17th century revival: HGO makes modern drama of Cavalli's early masterpiece, L'Egisto". www.planethugill.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Shapiro, Yehuda (9 June 2021). "L'Egisto". The Stage.
- ^ Galton, Bridget (16 March 2022). "Opera premiere raises £1200 for Ukraine appeal". Hampstead and Highgate Gazette. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ White, Michael (March 2022). "A Hebrew Tale". BBC Music Magazine. Vol. 30, no. 6. pp. 52–53.