Stanford - Shamus O'Brien

[giles.enders]

Retrospect Opera are to record Stanford's opera Shamus O'Brien during January 2023.  They are appealing for funds for this as they are several thousand pounds short for the completion of the project. 

[piano888]

Just to supplement that a bit:

This is a very significant premier recording of Stanford's most famous and popular opera, Shamus O'Brien. It will happen early next year with the orchestra of Scottish Opera, conducted by David Parry, with an all-Irish cast (except for the Captain, who is English, and is trying to capture Shamus...).

The opera is a comedy, but is set against the 1798 Rebellion, and has strong elements of drama and pathos. In fact, it was so successful that, paradoxically, Stanford withdrew it, fearing that it would foment anti-English sentiment, but it was brought back into the repertoire after his death in 1924.

The music is lively and extremely accessible; the ample dialogue drives the action forward, and there's an interesting scene requiring Uilleann pipes.

A minimum donation of £25 gets you the CD on release - which will be out in time for the centenary in 2024 - and £75 gets your name in the CD booklet. Higher donations bring more perks of course. Our releases always include at least two contextual essays, as well as the full libretto. Alas, postage is costly, though, so a little extra added on, to go towards postage costs, would be very much appreciated.

You can find more about the project, and also donate, at https://retrospectopera.org.uk/projects/shamus-obrien/ but please just note that though the website works, it is still under (re)development.

[piano888]

Stanford's opera Shamus O'Brien is being released on CD in early March, a premiere recording, and I gather Stanford is Composer of the Week in late March, the centenary month of his death. The recording's coming out on the Retrospect Opera label - they've got a sale on at the moment, https://retrospectopera.org.uk/shop/, to mark their 10th anniversary. It's an all-Irish cast (except for the English army officer, Captain Trevor), with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, and David Parry conducting.