Opera Gala Evening of the Haslemere Festival
Duration: 120 mins
Date: Friday 21st May, 2027
The Jervaulx Singers
Eleanor Sanderson-Nash - Soprano
Jenny Bianco - Soprano
Sarah Anne Champion - Mezzo Soprano
Gareth Edmunds - Tenor
Rob Jenkins - Tenor
Jack Lawrence-Jones - Bass
Alison Frances Gill - Piano
Emma Black - Director
Programme:
Smetana - Bartered Bride Act 1 Scene 1
The opera opens with a vibrant portrait of village life, where festive choruses and dancing rhythms mask the tensions of love and arranged marriage.
Mozart - Cosi Act 1 Scene 1
Mozart’s sparkling ensemble-writing launches a witty exploration of fidelity, disguise, and romantic manipulation.
Britten - Albert Herring Act 1
Albert Herring, from Britten’s opera of the same name, is happy keeping himself to himself working in his mother’s shop. Best friend Sid interrupts him one morning, and tries to convince him to spread his wings just once
Mozart - Don Giovanni - Là ci darem la mano
One of Mozart’s most seductive duets, this scene captures Don Giovanni’s effortless charm as he lures Zerlina toward temptation.
Prokofiev - The Gambler Closing Scene
Prokofiev drives the opera to a feverish conclusion in music of obsessive energy and psychological intensity.
Strauss - Champagne Chorus
Strauss’s effervescent chorus overflows with Viennese elegance and exuberant celebration in this sparkling waltz.
INTERVAL
Barber - A Hand of Bridge
Barber compresses an entire world of private longing and marital dissatisfaction into a brilliantly concise comic opera.
Loesser - Guys and Dolls - Marry the Man Today
Loesser’s quick-fire duet is a hilarious and affectionate lesson in accepting the flaws of the men we love.
Previn - A Streetcar Named Desire Act 1 Scene 1
Previn blends lush lyricism with simmering tension as Blanche’s fragile illusions collide with Stanley’s brutal realism.
Rodgers & Hammerstein - South Pacific - Some enchanted evening
Gilbert & Sullivan - Gondoliers - Then one of us will be a queen
Gilbert and Sullivan combine buoyant melodies and comic confusion in this delightfully playful ensemble.
Rodgers & Hammerstein - Carousel - You’ll never walk alone
With its message of resilience and hope, this beloved anthem remains one of musical theatre’s most moving finales.
About the Jervaulx Singers
We are based in North Yorkshire and perform across the UK and abroad. The group comprises some of the country's finest professional voices, all passionate about giving expressive, beautiful performances.
We present a wide range of repertoire, putting sacred and secular choral music alongside opera extracts and solo songs to create programmes that convey narrative whilst giving display to the group’s individual voices. We also host an annual opera gala, semi-staging repertoire both familiar and new from across the centuries.
The ensemble have thrilled audiences since their start in 2021, and have performed at the Grassington Festival and Swaledale Festival, and for the Peak Music Concert Society, University of Leeds Concert Series, and York Concerts. Our 2025-6 season will see us perform London, Reading, Cardiff, Swansea and across Yorkshire.
Jervaulx Singers take their name from Jervaulx Abbey. Once a great Cistercian abbey, the ruin is a much-loved local landmark.
