On Sunday, 26th June at 7.30 p.m., Handel’s Acis & Galatea, will be performed at Victoria Hall as a pay-what-you-think-it’s-worth opera, to keep it affordable for all and encourage local people to try something new.
Directed by Neil Kirkman (recent NODA award winner for Bath Opera’s Peter Grimes), with professional soloists, this is a unique updated version of the 18th century entertainment in which the classic love triangle – a pretty girl with two suitors, one a sheep farmer and the other the local bully – plays out in a pub somewhere nearby.
Local singers, Midsomer Choral, are providing the chorus for the opera, conducted by Neil Moore and accompanied by a Baroque orchestra. There is a pre-
concert talk at 6.45 p.m. for those who would like to learn more about the music and background.
On Saturday 25th from 4–6 p.m., also at Victoria Hall, there will be a singers’ masterclass, with Saffron van Zwanenberg, Artistic Director of Jackdaws, which is free to observe and open to singers of all abilities. Singers who would like to take part, please tel: 07595 671116, as there is one place available. Seats for Acis & Galatea can be reserved at www.ticketsource.co.uk/msw and booking is strongly advised. The opera is promoted by Musicians South West and www.musicianssouthwest.com and supported by grants from Radstock Town Council and the Big Local Radstock and Westfield.