Waltz Into the New Year in Style with Opera North As Conductor Comes Home

Press Release

17 November 2015

WALTZ INTO THE NEW YEAR IN STYLE WITH OPERA NORTH AS CONDUCTOR COMES HOME

University of Huddersfield alumnus John Rigby returns to the town to conduct the Orchestra of Opera North’s New Year Viennese Whirl concert at HuddersfieldTown Hall on Wednesday 30 December. The same programme will then be performed at LeedsTown Hall the following day, Thursday 31 December.

John will lead the Orchestra in an afternoon of Viennese classics including selections from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and Lehár’s Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow). The celebrated annual concert in the Strauss dynasty’s home of Vienna has made their music synonymous with the New Year, and the Orchestra of Opera North’s own homage to this tradition has become an annual highlight of the company’s Kirklees Concert Season, with tickets regularly selling out. Classic FM’s John Suchet returns to Huddersfield to present the programme.

The Merry Widowby Strauss’s fellow Austrian Lehár had strong seasonal credentials from the start, having first been performed at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 30 December 1905. Completing the bill,"Meine Lippen" from his comic opera Giuditta is another testament to the composer’s light touch and sparkling talent.Kathleen Ferrier Award-winning soprano Jennifer France, who sang Lauretta in Opera North’s staging ofPuccini’s Gianni Schicchi earlier this year, is the soloist.

John Rigby began his globetrotting career at the University of Huddersfield, followed by the Royal Northern College of Music. He has conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Hallé among others, and is currently Musical Supervisor for The Phantom of the Opera US tour, for Les Misérables in Korea and London and Co-Musical Supervisor for the London revival of Miss Saigon.

John Rigby, Conductor, comments:

“It’s amazing to be returning to Huddersfield. The town is responsible for so much of my musical education, not only because I went to the University there, but because it is so steeped in a rich musical tradition that you cannot help but be affected by it.

“To be able to conduct this wonderful music with a first class orchestra in a venue like HuddersfieldTown Hall - I don’t think I could ask for more than that. An additional bonus, though, is that my parents live in the town - it’s wonderful that they’ll be able to come along and I’ll get to spend some time with them over New Year.”

The Orchestra of Opera North’s Viennese Whirl takes place at HuddersfieldTown Hall on Wednesday 30 December at 3.00pm. Tickets are priced at £15 for all areas (13 or under £1 each*, 14 – 26 year-olds £4.00 each). To book, call Kirklees Box Offices on 01484 223200 / 01924 324501 / 01484 222444 or visit

The same programme will be performed at LeedsTown Hallat 3.00pm on Thursday 31 December. Tickets are priced from £10 - £30 + selected concessions, and can be booked by calling Box Office on 0113 2243801 or visiting

*must be accompanied by an adult

LISTING

MUSIC: The Orchestra of Opera North: Viennese Whirl
Wednesday 30 December 2015, 3.00pm

HuddersfieldTown Hall, Ramsden St, HuddersfieldHD1 2TA

Be swept off your feet and into the New Year by this afternoon of Viennese classics.Do book early as this ever-popular concert regularly sells out. This year's programme includes excerpts from Johann Strauss II Die Fledermaus and Lehar's Die lustige Witwe.

Tickets: £15 / 13 and under £1 / 14 – 26 year-olds £4

Box Office: 01484 223200 / 01924 324501 / 01484 222444

Online:

MUSIC: The Orchestra of Opera North: Viennese Whirl
Thursday 31 December 2015, 3.00pm

LeedsTown Hall, The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AD

Tickets: £10 - £30 + selected concessions

Box Office: 0113 2243801

Online:

For further information and images, please contact:

Rowland Thomas, Press Officer

0113 223 3528 | 07929 268 124

Julia O’Sullivan, Head of Communications

julia.o’ 0113 223 3526 | 07956 647 573

Notes to Editors

Kirklees Concert Season

The Orchestra of Opera North’s groundbreaking series of concerts at Huddersfield and DewsburyTown Hallsin partnership with Kirklees Council began in 2003. As the programme has developed, efforts have been made to broaden its appeal to younger audiences with afternoon family concerts, education projects and a £13 or under scheme that gives children the chance to experience the extraordinary power of a symphony orchestra for just £1.

ENDS