- William Alwyn (1905 - 1985): Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1:
- 1Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: Orchestral Introduction. Allegro01:04
- 2Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: Miss Julie Is Crazy01:36
- 3Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: But the Count04:41
- 4Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: By God, I'm Thirsty!03:18
- 5Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: Kristin, Kristin, Kristin!02:28
- 6Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: Well, I've Travelled Around04:28
- 7Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: There's a New Dance Starting02:01
- 8Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: You Know Why I Came Here Tonight?01:48
- 9Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: Midsummer Night, O, Night of Magic03:38
- 10Miss Julie, Act I Scene 1: I'm Ready, Jean!00:34
- Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2:
- 11Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: Orchestral Introduction. Andante sostenuto02:32
- 12Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: Kristin, Kristin03:45
- 13Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: Now You Can Kiss My Hand02:33
- 14Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: That Wouldn't Do, Either03:51
- 15Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: I Have No Time for Dreams02:02
- 16Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: Would You Like Me to Dance00:52
- 17Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: Playing with Fire01:57
- 18Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: You Don't Know What It Is to Be Poor01:42
- 19Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: But You Can Rise, Jean01:55
- 20Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: A Lady Went a-Roaming03:00
- 21Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: She's the Queen of the Dance01:52
- 22Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: You Can Come Out Now01:51
- 23Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: I Know, I Know04:02
- 24Miss Julie, Act I Scene 2: I Can't, Not While We're Still in This House03:15
- Miss Julie, Act II:
- 25Miss Julie, Act II: Orchestral Introduction. Lento02:37
- 26Miss Julie, Act II: Never Again!03:32
- 27Miss Julie, Act II: Now Don't Lose Your Head03:34
- 28Miss Julie, Act II: Scum on the Surface of Water03:20
- 29Miss Julie, Act II: If You Want Me Again04:06
- 30Miss Julie, Act II: If I Only Had Enough Money02:35
- 31Miss Julie, Act II: You Sound So Cruel, Jean01:36
- 32Miss Julie, Act II: Orchestral Interlude. Allegro precipitoso00:59
- 33Miss Julie, Act II: Has She Gone?00:47
- 34Miss Julie, Act II: Whatever You Say, I Know You Were Here with the Mistress01:38
- 35Miss Julie, Act II: Class Is Class, and Don't You Forget It01:22
- 36Miss Julie, Act II: We'll Get Married01:02
- 37Miss Julie, Act II: A Pretty Domestic Scene!01:05
- 38Miss Julie, Act II: I Knew I Was Right!01:40
- 39Miss Julie, Act II: There's Someone Upstairs01:45
- 40Miss Julie, Act II: I'm Ready Now, Jean02:07
- 41Miss Julie, Act II: What the Devil Is That?01:51
- 42Miss Julie, Act II: He's Killed Her, Killed Her!02:33
- 43Miss Julie, Act II: You're Mad! You're Both Mad!04:55
- 44Miss Julie, Act II: Well, Well! So You're Going to Elope!01:15
- 45Miss Julie, Act II: The Count's Back!01:09
- 46Miss Julie, Act II: You Can Go, but I Can't03:56
- 47Miss Julie, Act II: I Must Be Dreaming02:30
- 48Miss Julie, Act II: Kiss Me. Before I Go!01:58
Info for Alwyn: Miss Julie
Why has this intense, brilliantly orchestrated, claustrophobically gripping masterpiece been so neglected since its 1977 premiere?’ asked Richard Morrison in The Times of the concert performance in the Barbican that preceded this recording.
Miss Julie is Alwyn’s last large-scale work, written in 197376. Alwyn set his own libretto, based on Strindberg’s 1888 play of that title. The naturalistic drama and lifelike characters of that play appealed to Alwyn from an early age – in fact, he previously attempted to compose an opera on Miss Julie in the 1950s. That attempt failed, because of differences with his then librettist, Christopher Hassall. Alwyn believed that in opera, the action should be self-explanatory, arias should serve a dramatic purpose (as opposed to sheer vocal display), characters should sing to each other and not to the audience, ensembles should be minimised and the text should be set to vocal lines that reflect natural speech patterns. These views were distilled over his extensive career as a film composer, which taught him that music could do more than establish characterisation, suggest mood, and heighten atmosphere: in some cases it could also communicate the unspoken thoughts of an onscreen character even when these were at odds with what he or she was presenting visually.
Anna Patalong, soprano (Miss Julie)
Rosie Aldridge, mezzo-soprano (Kristin, the cook)
Samuel Sakker, tenor (Ulrik)
Benedict Nelson, bass-baritone (Jean, the Count’s valet)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Anna Patalong
Praised by Opera magazine for her “powerful and dark-hued soprano”, Anna Patalong has enjoyed debuts across Europe and appears regularly with leading orchestras and conductors around the world. She has received numerous awards including at the Francisco Vinas Competition, Liceu and the Moniuszko Competition, Warsaw. Anna was named the Royal Philharmonic Society Maggie Teyte Award winner and was recipient of the International Opera Awards Bursary.
Anna’s recent debut as Violetta was met with unanimous critical acclaim both for her captivating stage presence and vocal fluidity. This season Anna returns to this role in New Zealand, before making a string of debuts with leading orchestras including the BBC Symphony and Halle. This Autumn Anna will be engaged in her first recording for Chandos.
Notable recent highlights include her debut at Scottish Opera as Nedda in Pagliacci and Brigitta Iolanta at the Opera de Paris. She has performed Mimi to critical acclaim across Europe, most recently at the Opera de Rouen.
As Woglinde Das Rheingold, Anna has appeared under the baton of Teodor Currentzis at the Ruhrtriennale Festival in Germany. Anna made her debut at the Royal Opera as a Blumenmadchen in the Stephen Langridge production of Parsifal, conducted by Antonio Pappano and returned there to cover in The Ring and as Roxana in the much-celebrated Krol Roger.
Anna has performed the role of Liu in the Calixto Bieto production of Turandot for Northern Ireland Opera. After leaving the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Anna was immediately engaged by Opera Holland Park to sing the role of Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, a role she returned to in 2015 alongside performances of the title role of Suor Angelica when they mounted their critically acclaimed Il Trittico.
Following college, Anna was invited to sing at the world-famous Handel Festspiel at the Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe, in The Triumph of Truth and Time. Anna has performed Mozart with English Touring Opera (Pamina The Magic Flute) Buxton Festival (Serpetta La Finta Giardiniera) Mid Wales Opera (Zerlina Don Gioavnni). At Dorset she has performed the roles of Tatyana Eugene Onegin and Marguerite Faust.
Of Polish and Irish heritage, Anna was honoured to be invited to perform a solo recital as part of the distinguished La Folle Journee series at the Opera Naradowa in Warsaw with the Sinfonia Varsovia. She is in much demand as a recitalist and has performed in concert at many prestigious venues across Britain, including the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Opera Crush Room, the Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall.
Rosie Aldridge
was a member of the Ensemble at the Wiener Staatsoper (2016-2018); she is a graduate of the Benjamin Britten International Opera School at the Royal College of Music, and was a Jerwood Young Artist at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2010.
This season Rosie will make her debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu as the Kabanicha Katya Kabanova; she will return to the ROH as Angrboda in the World Premiere of A Monstrous Child which will reopen the Linbury Theatre; she will make her debut for the Opéra National de Lorraine as Nellie Dean Wuthering Heights; she will return to ENO as Gertrude Hänsel und Gretel and in future seasons she looks forward to returning to the ROH, Komische Oper, Berlin, Teatro Real Madrid and to her debut at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and La Monnaie, Brussels.
At the Wiener Staatsoper, Rosie’s appearances include: Annina Der Rosenkavalier; Aksinya Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk; Gertrude Roméo et Juliette; Teresa La Sonnambula; Madame Larina Eugene Onegin; Marthe Faust; Giovanna Rigoletto; Roßweiße Die Walküre and Annina La Traviata in a Gala Performance celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Placido Domingo.
Rosie made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Praskowja Osipovna, Bubliki, & Social Commentator The Nose directed by Barrie Kosky, returning as Aksinya Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano; for the Komische Oper, Berlin she made her debut as Praskowja Osipovna, Bubliki, and Social Commentator The Nose; she has appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival as the Lady in Waiting Macbeth; at the Teatro Real, Madrid as a Blumenmädchen Parsifal conducted by Semyon Bychkov; at English National Opera as Dritte Dame Die Zauberflöte and Aksinya Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and at Scottish Opera as Ruth The Pirates of Penzance.
On the concert platform her engagements have included Vaughan-Williams Five Tudor Portraits with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and John Wilson; a concert of Baroque arias with the Academia Montis Regalis at the Innsbruck Early Music Festival; Elgar Dream of Gerontius with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall; Verdi Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and David Parry at the Norwich Festival. Further appearances include Elgar Sea Pictures with Martin Andre; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Sir Thomas Allen; Mozart Requiem at the Royal Festival Hall with the English Chamber Orchestra; Dvořák Stabat Mater at the Cadogan Hall, and the Christmas Oratorio at St John’s Smith Square.
Samuel Sakker
London based, Australian tenor, Samuel Sakker, studied Music at the Queensland Conservatorium, and later, Commerce at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Sakker opens the 2019/20 season in Australia in a much anticipated role debut as Pollione Norma (Melbourne Opera); further engagements include his role debut as Des Grieux Manon Lescaut (The Grange Festival); Florestan Fidelio (Lyric Opera Ireland); Ulrik in William Alwyn’s Miss Julie (BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chandos); Beethoven Missa Solemnis under the baton of Donald Runnicles (Sydney Symphony Orchestra & New Zealand Philharmonic Orchestra); and a series of Italian Opera Galas (Sydney Symphony Orchestra). Further ahead he returns to Opera Holland Park as Sergeant Thibault Margot la Rouge, and makes his debut at Opéra de Montréal.
A former Royal Opera House company principal, his career highlights include: Alfredo La traviata (The Royal Opera, Covent Garden); Erik Der Fliegende Holländer (Opéra du Rennes & Opéra Angers-Nantes; Nederlandse Reisopera; Cape Town Opera); Don Josè Carmen (Danish National Opera); Federico L'arlesiana (Opera Holland Park); Laertes in the Australian premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet (Adelaide Festival); Tikhon & Boris Katya Kabanova (Scottish Opera); David Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (State Opera of South Australia); Cavaradossi Tosca (English Touring Opera); and roles for Opera Australia, West Australian Opera and Opera Queensland.
On the concert platform he has appeared as tenor soloist Mozart’s Requiem on The Royal Opera Japan Tour under Sir Antonio Pappano; title role in Lili Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène (Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & BBC Symphony Orchestra); Das lied von der Erde (Stadttheater Klagenfurt, The Royal Ballet & English National Ballet); tenor soloist A Child of Our Time (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra); Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra); Verdi’s Messa da Requiem (Anghiari Festival, Italy); title role in Liszt's unfinished opera Sardanapalo (Souni dal Golfo Festival, Italy); James Nolan in the Grammy nominated recording of Doctor Atomic (BBC Symphony Orchestra) and in concert at the Barbican under the baton of John Adams; Bottesini’s Messa da Requiem (Brisbane Festival); tenor soloist (Last Night of the BBC Proms in Hyde Park); Nessun Dorma at the British Summer Time Festival in London’s Hyde Park; and Opera Gala Concerts at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, the Bridgwater Hall, Manchester, and Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.
Winner of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra prize at the inaugural Grange Festival International Singing Competition, he has also received awards from the Ian Potter Cultural Foundation, and the International Opera Awards. From 2014-16 he was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House.
Benedict Nelson
made his Royal Opera debut in 2013 as Algernon (The Importance of Being Earnest) in the Linbury Studio Theatre, a role he reprised in 2016 in the Barbican Theatre.
Nelson studied with Thomas Allen and was a Samling Foundation scholar. He was an inaugural Harewood Artist with English National Opera, where his roles have included Billy Budd, Valentin (Faust), Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Belcore (The Elixir of Love), Figaro (The Barber of Seville), Ping (Turandot) and Evangelist/Watchful/First Shepherd (The Pilgrim’s Progress). Engagements elsewhere include Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas) for the Verbier Festival, Count Almaviva and Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) and Silvano (Un ballo in maschera) for Opera Holland Park, Don Giovanni for Silent Opera, Marcello (La bohème), Sid (Albert Herring) and Tarquinius (The Rape of Lucretia) for Angers Nantes Opera, Stranger (The Lady from the Sea) for Scottish Opera and Edinburgh International Festival, Ned Keene (Peter Grimes) for Opéra de Lyon and Opera North and Melot and Steersman (Tristan und Isolde) in concert with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Nelson has performed in concert with orchestras including BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Basel Chamber Orchestra, RTÉ Orchestra, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Aurora Orchestra. His recordings include Britten’s Songs and Proverbs of William Blake with Malcolm Martineau, recorded live at the Cheltenham Festival for Onyx.