The Belfast Operatic Company

	Orpheus At The Opera House! 25 March 2008 With just under a month to go until "Orpheus in the Underworld" comes to the Grand Opera House stage, Director Wilfie Pyper, Music Director John Mercer & Choreographer Laura Walker are busy fine tuning their work with Belfast Operatic principals and chorus. The story of Orpheus and his flighty wife Eurydice, which is very loosely based on Greek mythology, involves an hilarious plot ranging from Greek Gods to the firey world of Hades where Offenbach invented the Can-Can. Some of the colourful characters bringing this Olympian-sized comedy to life will be Barry McGonagle as Orpheus, Elizabeth Ross as Eurydice, Brian Trainor as Pluto, Billy Rea as Jupiter and Laura Kerr as Juno. They will be supported by a wide ranging cast of other Greek Gods and a chorus of nymphs, shepherds & high kicking can can girls! Don't miss the chance to see this unique show and enjoy Offenbach's sparkling music performed by the award-winning Belfast Operatic! Tickets are available from the Grand Opera House box office on (028) 9024 1919.
	Tickets for “Orpheus” Now On Sale! 19 November 2007 Tickets for Belfast Operatic’s new production of “Orpheus in the Underworld” are now on sale from the Grand Opera House box office (028) 9024 1919. The show runs or six performances from Tuesday 22nd April to Saturday 26th April 2008, each evening at 7.30pm plus a Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm. There will be a signed performance at the Saturday matinee. Tickets prices range from £10.75 to £23.00 and the cost includes a development donation to the Grand Opera House.
	Orpheus In The Underworld 4 June 2007 Belfast Operatic Company will be staging “Orpheus In The Underworld” at the Grand Opera House, Belfast in April 2008. Offenbach’s outrageous comic operetta is a “send up” of Greek mythology in a re-telling of the story of Orpheus & Eurydice, which includes the world famous “Can-Can”! Check out the “Forthcoming Events” section for further details.
	‘Titanic – The Musical’ Returning To Belfast 11 September 2006 The Broadway smash musical Titanic, staged by the Belfast Operatic Company to critical acclaim in May last year is set to return for a five night run (and Saturday matinee) in the Grand Opera House from 21-25 November 2006. The show was the biggest and most expensive production in the company’s history and now the original production team and much of the original Belfast cast is re-uniting in November to stage what is only the second run of the show in Ireland. Some 6,000 people attended the Irish premiere last May in Belfast’s Grand Opera House, and the show picked up five Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS) awards – Irish musical theatre’s equivalent of ‘the Oscars’. They included Best Overall Production, Best Director, Best Musical Director, Best Chorus and David Thompson, who played the part of Frederick Barrett won the award for the Best Male Voice. The musical is a faithful dramatisation of the ship’s only voyage and not to be confused with James Cameron’s 1998 film. It tells the tale of the liner’s journey from the Belfast shipyard to its sinking off the coast of Newfoundland in April 1912 through the real-life passengers and crew caught up in the greatest maritime disaster of the 20th century. Maury Yeston and Peter Stone’s show cost more than $10m to stage in New York in 1997 and was acclaimed by both critics and public alike, winning five Tony Awards that year and breaking all box office records at the historic Lunt-Fontanne Theatre along the way. Yeston travelled from the US to attend the opening of Belfast Operatic’s production of “Titanic” The Musical in May 2005. Thrilled with the quality of the production, he said: “The idea that Belfast Operatic Company premiered this show where the ship was built in Belfast means more to me than I can say. The fact that musically, Titanic finally came home, sung by the grandchildren of its builders, was enormously significant to me personally.” The sheer scale and scope of the production – it calls for more than 40 named roles to be filled – has discouraged most professional producers from staging it. Belfast Operatic rehearse in East Belfast only a mile from the loughside dock where the great liner’s hull was laid in 1911. The show has also presented the directors with an unusual headache. Show Director Wilfie Pyper said: “Apart from the fact that everyone knows the ending of this story before they set foot in the theatre, Belfast people know the history of Titanic inside out. And aside from grappling with a huge ensemble cast, we also have to convey the sinking of this massive liner on a conventional theatre stage. This is not a musical in the conventional sense as all 80 individuals on stage are each a character with their own story,” he added. Tickets ranging from £9.75 to £20.50 (which includes donation to Opera House Building Development) are available from the Grand Opera House Ticket Shop at (028) 9024 1919 or book online: www.goh.co.uk
	Belfast Operatic Perform “Titanic” at Harland & Wolff 4 May 2006 On the evening of Thursday 4 May 2006 Belfast Operatic Company had the privilege of performing extracts from “Titanic” The Musical in the very room where Thomas Andrews designed that famous ship. BOC performed at the invitation of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board at a special promotional event in the building that was previously Harland & Wolff’s headquarters and which housed the No.1 Drawing Room where the plans for Titanic were created. The NITB event was part of a special programme for international tour operators who were visiting Belfast.
	Critical Acclaim for “Fiddler On The Roof” 13 March 2006 Belfast Operatic’s recent production of “Fiddler On The Roof”, which played at the Grand Opera House from 7 – 11 March 2006, received rave reviews from the critics. The Belfast Telegraph claimed “Stunning Fiddler Raises The Roof”, which delivered “a musical treat of the highest order”. “Charming Fiddler Hits All The Right Notes” said News Letter, which went on to describe the production as “bulging with enthusiasm and talent” and it praised the company for the quality of its production. These reviews were a fitting tribute to the hard work and dedication of the production team headed by Wilfie Pyper, Declan Moore, Pat Grayden and Clare Donnelly, ably supported by the 80 strong cast and behind-the-scenes technical team.
	“Titanic” The Musical – Back By Popular Demand 27 February 2006 Belfast Operatic is delighted to announce that it will be performing its award-winning production of “Titanic” The Musical at the Grand Opera House, Belfast later this year. The company gave the show its Irish premiere in May 2005 and such was the public response that Belfast Operatic have been asked to restage “Titanic” in the newly refurbished Grand Opera House from 21 - 25 November 2006 Preparations are already well underway and tickets go on sale from 7 March 2006, available from the Grand Opera House box office, tel. 028 9024 1919.
	“Titanic” Wins Five AIMS Awards 20 June 2005 On Saturday 18 June 2005 Belfast Operatic Company’s production of “Titanic” The Musical won an astounding five AIMS awards (Association of Irish Musical Societies) in the Sullivan section of the AIMS competition The awards, presented at the annual AIMS Banquet and Awards ceremony in Killarney, were for: Best Show Best Chorus Best Director for Wilfie Pyper Best Musical Director for Pat Grayden Best Male Singer for David Thompson as Fred Barrett Congratulations to everyone involved!
	"Titanic" the Musical - Eight AIMS Nominations 28 May 2005 Belfast Operatic Company's Irish premiere of "Titanic" the musical has received an amazing eight nominations in the Sullivan section of the AIMS awards, which is an annual competition across Ireland organised by the Association of Irish Musical Societies. The nominations herald the end of the musical theatre season for 2004-05 and celebrate the best amateur talent from all over Ireland. Belfast Operatic's nominations are for - Best Show, Best Chorus, Best Director, Best Musical Director, Best Technical, Best Programme, Best Male Voice for David Thompson (as Fred Barrett) and Best Supporting Actress for Laura Kerr (as Alice Beane). The results will be announced on Saturday 18 June 2005 at the AIMS Awards Banquet in the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney.
	Phenomenal Response to "Titanic" The Musical 24 May 2005 Belfast Operatic Company's Irish premiere of "Titanic" the musical has been hailed as a huge success by critics and audiences alike. The show, which ran for six near-sell out performances from 17 to 21 May 2005, evoked moving responses from the critics for its portrayal of a story that is inextricably linked with Belfast, the home of Titanic. "Belfast Operatic Company set a new benchmark for amateur, or indeed musical theatre in general with their production of one of Belfast's greatest stories… This was a stunning experience" - Belfast Telegraph 18 May 2005. " The dignity and pride with which the cast played out one of the greatest sea tragedies in the city which spawned the doomed ship was both fitting and laudable… The standing ovation at the end was to be expected, given the outstanding quality of this Belfast Operatic Company production" - Newsletter 19 May 2005. As mentioned in the press reviews, the audience responses were self-evident in the standing ovations at every performance and tearful emotions displayed both on stage and in the auditorium as Belfast Operatic's talented cast and the hundreds watching the show remembered those who lost their lives on board that fateful journey. People travelled from as far a field as Germany to see the show and were not disappointed. A full photo archive of Titanic the musical will be available shortly on the Past Productions section of the website.
	Titanic Composer pays tribute to Belfast 6 April 2005 In a recent feature article in the Belfast Telegraph (5 April), Maury Yeston, the composer of the 1997 Broadway hit "Titanic" the musical, paid a moving tribute to the city that built the "ship of dreams" and to the company who plans to bring the Titanic show back to Belfast. Yeston said - "The idea that, in May, the Belfast Operatic Company will premiere this show where the ship was built in Belfast means more to me than I can say. I am touched that, musically, Titanic will finally be coming home, sung by the grandchildren of its builders - touched, and forever grateful."
	"Titanic" the Musical in the News 31 January 2005 The recent official press launch for "Titanic" the musical has created a lot of interest in the show, with coverage in a wide range of newspapers and on radio. For example: *Titanic coming home for musical* One of Belfast's most famous exports will come home this May, when Titanic the Musical arrives in the city. The 1997 Tony award winning show about the Belfast-built liner's only voyage has already taken Broadway by storm. Belfast Operatic Company has secured the rights to the musical, which it says will be its biggest and most expensive production yet. The show, with a cast and crew of more than 100 people, is at the Grand Opera House, Belfast from 17-21 May 2005. Belfast Operatic's chairman, Karen Glass, said the company "absolutely had to bring it to Belfast" the city where the Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard. Irish Premiere The musical has been staged in the UK, but May will be its Irish premiere. Ms Glass said she did not think it was in bad taste to perform a musical about a disaster in which 1,500 people lost their lives. "This is a wonderful tribute to the people of Belfast who built that ship," she said. "At its time it was the largest, most expensive and most extravagant vessel on the waters and I think it's a tribute to those people and also those who perished and those who survived." Among those who died on the 1912 voyage was Titanic designer Thomas Andrews, who will be played by Belfast actor John Hinchey said to bear a striking resemblance to the Harland and Wolff man. The £80,000 production will feature 13 scenes and a crow's nest, which has to be flown in from England. (Article courtesy of BBC N Ireland) Graham Harvey (centre) who is playing the part of Captain Smith in Belfast Operatic Company’s production of “Titanic” the musical, accompanied by Jill Edgar (right) and her daughter, Jasmine, in period costume. Both Jill and Jasmine are members of the Belfast Titanic Society.
	“Titanic” Launch Night 20 September 2004 Belfast Titanic Society members joined with Belfast Operatic Company on the evening of 20th September 2004 to help BOC launch the Irish premiere of the 1997 Broadway hit Titanic The Musical. Titanic Society Chairman Brian Patterson revealed himself as the only person in the room who had seen the spectacular show in New York and was expecting big things from Belfast Operatic. No pressure then! Brian and fellow BTS members, Una Riley and Jill Edgar - complete with a model of the Titanic and with Una in full period costume - gave the Company members a fascinating insight into the story of the Belfast-built liner and the clothing, mannerisms and rigid class structure of the period. The Titanic production team of Wilfie Pyper, Declan Moore and Pat Grayden completed the launch at the George Moore Centre by outlining the story of the Maury Yeston and Peter Stone musical and their approach to its staging. Further information about the Belfast Titanic Society is available on their website www.belfast-titanic.com. (Left to Right) Una Riley from Belfast Titanic Society together with Pat Grayden, Wiflie Pyper and Declan Moore at the Belfast Operatic Company's launch night for Titanic the Musical.
	Critical Acclaim for Annie Get Your Gun 24 May 2004 Belfast Operatic's "Annie Get Your Gun", which played at the Grand Opera House Belfast from 18 - 22 May 2004, has been hailed a huge success by the critics. "The Belfast Operatic Company production gives many a professional show a run for its money and this slick, glossy and entertaining production has been rehearsed to perfection" - The Newsletter. "Operatic delight as Annie shoots her way to show success… There's no business like show business, especially when it's given the Belfast Operatic Company treatment. Everything about this production was appealing from a superb Annie through to the unsung heroes of a very efficient stage crew… Another winner from a local company" - Belfast Telegraph. Congratulations to everyone involved!
	HMS Pinafore wins "Best Chorus"! 6 October 2003 Belfast Operatic Company were delighted to be awarded "Best Chorus" at this year's Waterford International Festival of Light Opera (20th September - 5th October) for their performance of Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. BOC had the honour of performing at the opening night of this year's festival and thoroughly enjoyed themselves!