Fellowships
Aldeburgh Music and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation are offering a rare opportunity for composers and their collaborators to receive tailor-made support for writing a new opera.
Four Fellowships will be awarded, with applications welcome from anyone with little or no experience of opera, including graduates of the recent Jerwood Opera Writing Foundation.
The deadline for receipt of applications is 16 January 2012, after which four projects will be selected for Fellowships beginning in March 2012 and lasting up to 18 months, through Benjamin Britten, our founder’s, centenary year.
The Fellowships will offer support to composers and their collaborators (writers, directors, designers) during the creation of a new work, providing advice, practical help (e.g. access to musicians) and a bursary of up to a maximum of £9,000 for each project. At the end of the Fellowship participants will expect to have either a complete work or a well-developed opera project with an advanced text and a substantial amount of music.
The Fellowships do not support the first performance, though Aldeburgh Music and other opera producers will be involved throughout.
For further information and details of how to apply please use the links on the right.
If you have any questions regarding the Fellowships, please contact Chelsea Lawrence, Opera Administrator at Aldeburgh Music by email, clawrence@aldeburgh.co.uk, or telephone 01728 687 154.
Past Fellowships
Aldeburgh Music and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation awarded five Fellowships in the autumn of 2009. Over the course of two years, we supported the composers and their collaborators in developing five new operas. The Fellowships provided bursaries for the creative teams and also mentoring and workshops, including a week for all the participants in Aldeburgh in August 2009, led by Giorgio Battistelli.
In the summer of 2011, two of the operas had their first performances: Seven Angels by composer Luke Bedford, writer Glyn Maxwell and director John Fulljames premiered at CSBO Centre in Birmingham before continuing on a UK tour, and Make No Noise by composer Miroslav Srnka, writer Tom Holloway and director Matthew Lutton premiered as part of the Munich Opera Festival in the Pavillon 21 Mini Opera Space of Bavarian State Opera.
The other three Fellowship projects have concluded and the operas are now ready for production:
The Commission by composer Elspeth Brooke, writer Jack Underwood and video artist Ellie Rees.
Star-shaped Biscuit by composer/writer David Toop.
Twelve Telephone Conversations with Frank O’Hara by Composer Larry Goves and writer Matthew Welton.
Below is a short video made during the final workshop for The Commission, here at Aldeburgh Music.
If you are interested in finding out more about any of the above operas, please contact Chelsea Lawrence, Opera Administrator at Aldeburgh Music on +44 (0)1728 687 100 or by email: clawrence@aldeburgh.co.uk
Click here to read notes from sessions with Giorgio Battistelli, compiled by Adele Bates during the Jerwood Opera Writing Fellowships week in August 2009 (PDF)
Read an article about the Fellowships from The Guardian, November 2009
Jerwood Opera Writing Programme
Chief Executive, Jonathan Reekie introduces the programme and foundation participant, Sasha Siem.
‘Every moment of those precious rehearsal hours was instructive. There is no substitute for actually writing and rehearsing an opera.’ – Marcy Kahan
‘It was a remarkable experience and I think every participant came to realise how unique, exciting and special the Jerwood Opera Writing Programme is. I will definitely write opera in the future.’ – Jack Underwood
Jerwood Opera Writing Programme Blog
Foundation participant, Aaron Holloway-Nahum, shares his thoughts of the first, second and third weeks in these fascinating blog posts.