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{{Short description|Opera by Jonathan Dove}}

factoids

Boughton House, Northamptonshire}}}}Mansfield Park is a 2011 chamber opera in two acts by Jonathan Dove with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton based on the 1814 novel by Jane Austen. Initially composed for four handed piano, it has been set to music for 13 piece orchestral ensemble. It tells the story of poor relation Fanny Price, sent at age 10 to live with her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, at his family estate, Mansfield Park.WEB,weblink Mansfield Park, Arcola Theatre - review, standard.co.uk, 26 November 2019,weblink 14 September 2018, 16 August 2011,

Performance history

The opera was commissioned by the touring opera company Heritage Opera in 2008.WEB, Mansfield Park by Jonathan Dove – World Premiere Tour,weblink heritageopera.co.uk, 4 January 2020,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110821113318weblink">weblink 21 August 2011, dead, The vocal score was finished in December 2010, the world premiere performance, directed by Michael McCaffery, followed on July 30, 2011 at Boughton House in Northamptonshire.WEB, Chandler, David, Jonathan Dove's Mansfield Park,weblink operatoday.com, 4 January 2020, 30 May 2020,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130609194208weblink">weblink 9 June 2013, The opera premiered in its initial version scored for four handed piano. It was accompanied by Paul Greenhalgh and Jonathan Ellis, under the musical direction of Chris Gill. The world premiere tour comprised mainly heritage venues in the northwest of England, and one performance at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, East London, as part of the Grimeborn Festival. Royal Academy Opera gave two performances of the opera in May 2012,Morrison, Richard. "Mansfield Park", The Times, 20 May 2012 and Hampstead Garden Opera gave ten performances in a new production directed by Bruno Ravella in April 2013.In 2015 the opera received its American premiere in Baltimore, Maryland.WEB, Smith, Tim, Peabody Chamber Opera gives vibrant U.S. premiere of "Mansfield Park",weblink baltimoresun.com, 4 January 2020,weblink 4 January 2020, 14 February 2015, It was performed by the Peabody Chamber Opera of the Peabody Institute at the Baltimore Theatre Project. Eileen Cornett served as music director, with Mark Streshinsky as artistic director. Johanna Kvam and Hanna Shin performed the score for four hands piano.The opera was given its Australian premiere in April 2016 at the Independent Theatre in Sydney in a production by opera company Operantics.WEB, Rose, Gypsy, Mansfield Park Opera Performance 2016,weblink weekendnotes.com, 4 January 2020, 24 April 2016, WEB, Mansfield Park – Australian Premiere,weblink operantics.com.au, 24 March 2023, 2018, The director was Joseph Restubog, the pianists were Nathaniel Kong and Geena Cheung, and it was conducted by Keiren Brandt-Sawdy.WEB,weblink Mansfield Park, Lynne, Lancaster, ArtsHub.com, 12 February 2018, The operas composition for 13 piece orchestra was commissioned by The Grange Festival, and premiered on September 16, 2017.WEB, Reed, Peter, The Grange Festival 2017 – Jonathan Dove's Mansfield Park,weblink classicalsource.com, 4 January 2020, The Southern California premiere was made in June 2018 by Opera UCLA, directed by Peter Kazaras.In 2019 the opera was performed with piano by Opera South in February,WEB, Production History – Mansfield Park,weblink jonathandove.com, 4 January 2020, with orchestra at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in June 2019,WEB,weblink Mansfield Park, Birmingham City University, en-GB, 2020-01-02, WEB, Morley, Christopher, Mansfield Park Review – Students excel in RBC summer opera,weblink midlandsmusicreviews.com, 3 January 2020,weblink 3 January 2020, en-UK, 22 June 2019, and with piano by Waterperry Opera Festival in July, by Vanderbilt University in October, and by Paul Butler School of Music in December.The orchestral version had its American premiereWEB, Mansfield Park: January 11 & 12, 2020,weblink operamodesto.org, 4 January 2020, by Opera Modesto on January 11, 2020,WEB, Farrow, Deke, Modesto becomes Mansfield Park: The Jane Austen weekend takeover of downtown wraps up,weblink modestobee.com, 17 January 2020,weblink 17 January 2020, 12 January 2020, WEB, DeSchane, Hillari, Stage It, See It, Read It: Opera Modesto's Story into Song Literacy Initiative,weblink livingseriesmagazines.com, 4 January 2020, and saw its Canadian premiere by University of Toronto Opera on March 12, 2020.WEB,weblink Mansfield Park {{!, operaramblings|last=Gilks|first=John|website=operaramblings.blog|date=13 March 2020|language=en|access-date=2021-03-03}} The first Canadian production was cancelled after two performances due to Coronavirus disease 2019.WEB,weblink COVID-19 Update, March 14, 2020, University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Facebook, 2020-03-14,weblink 2021-03-03, 2021-03-03, live, The next Canadian production by the University of British Columbia in February 2021 presented the version for two pianos.AV MEDIA, Jonathan Dove, Nancy Hermiston, 2021-01-29, UBC Opera: An Interview with Jonathan Dove on Mansfield Park, video, 4:55, en,weblink 2021-03-03, UBC School of Music, Due to the still ongoing pandemic, the singers wore masks and the opera was shown as video stream from the Chan Shun Concert Hall without a live audience.WEB,weblink UBC Music {{!, Mansfield Park|author=|date=2021-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221142039weblink|archive-date=2021-02-21}}

Roles

{| class="wikitable"!RoleWEB,weblink Dove: Mansfield Park, Dove, Jonathan, 4 January 2020, issuu.com, Peters Edition Ltd., 4 January 2020, !Voice type!Premiere cast,30 July 2011(Conductor: Chris Gill)!Orchestral versionPremiere cast,September 16, 2017(Conductor: David Parry)|Fanny Price |mezzo-soprano|Serenna Wagner|Martha Jones|Lady Bertram|contralto|Nuala Willis|Sarah Pring|Sir Thomas Bertram|baritone|John Rawnsley|Grant Doyle|Maria Bertram|soprano|Eloise Rutledge|Emily Vine|Julia Bertram|mezzo-soprano|Paloma Bruce|Angharad Lyddon|Edmund Bertram |baritone|Thomas Eaglen|Henry Neill|Aunt Norris |soprano|Birgit Rohowska|Jeni Bern|Mary Crawford |coloratura soprano|Sarah Helsby Hughes|Shelley Jackson|Henry Crawford |tenor|Nicholas Sales|Nick Pritchard|Mr. Rushworth|tenor|Darren Clarke|Oliver Johnston

Instrumentation

The initial version from 2011 was written for two players on one piano. The orchestral version from 2017 is written for 13 instrumentalists playing: flute (doubling piccolo), oboe (doubling cor Anglais), clarinet in Bâ™­, bassoon, 2 horns in F, percussion, piano, 2 violins, viola, violoncello and double bass.

Synopsis

The chapters and their titles are sung by the ensemble.

Act 1

Scene 1: Mansfield Park, Chapter One. The Bertrams Observed.In which we meet the inhabitants of Mansfield Park.Scene 2: Chapter Two. First Impressions.In which we discover that Miss Mary Crawford has twenty thousand pounds and that Mr Henry Crawford is not handsome.Scene 3: Chapter Three. Sir Thomas Bertram's FarewellIn which Sir Thomas Bertram leaves for Antigua.Scene 4: Chapter Four. Landscape GardeningIn which Mr Rushworth proposes a trip to Sotherton, his estate.Scene 5: Chapter Five. In the WildernessIn which the estate is explored.Scene 6: Chapter Six. Music and AstronomyIn which songs are sung and stars observed.Scene 7: Chapter Seven. Lovers' VowsIn which Amateur Theatricals are undertaken.Scene 8: Chapter Eight. PersuasionIn which Edmund's resolution is tested.Scene 9: Chapter Nine. The Rehearsal InterruptedIn which Sir Thomas returns.Scene 10: Chapter Ten. Independence and Splendour, Or Twelve Thousand a YearIn which happiness is defined.Scene 11: Chapter Eleven. A View of a Wedding, seen from the Shrubbery at Mansfield ParkIn which a wedding is celebrated, a honeymoon begun, a revelation made and plot hatched.

Act 2

Scene 1: Volume Two, Chapter One. Preparations for a BallIn which Miss Fanny Price accepts a present from Miss Mary Crawford.Scene 2: Chapter Two. A BallIn which partners are chosen.Scene 3: Chapter Three. A ProposalIn which the Bertram family are variously surprised, delighted, disappointed, confused and outraged.Scene 4: Chapter Four. Some CorrespondenceIn which much ink is spilt.Scene 5: Chapter Five. Follies and GrottoesIn which the Rushworths meet an old acquaintance.Scene 6: Chapter Six. A Newspaper ParagraphIn which occurs a matrimonial fracas.Scene 7: Chapter The LastIn which Mr Edmund Bertram declares his feelings to his future bride.

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

• Mansfield Park on Jonathan Dove's website
• "Music: The New Comic Opera at the Savoy" Highlights from Heritage Opera performance

{{Jonathan Dove|state=expanded}}{{Mansfield Park}}{{Authority control}}