Madhouse Orchestra, conducted by Fergus McAlpine with soprano Katherine Weber McAlpine, play Elgar's 'Enigma Variations' and the UK première of Willem Jeths' monodrama opera 'The Tell-tale Heart'.
Madhouse Orchestra are at Wesley Chapel on Saturday 21 November, and the night is a bit of a double. The main event is the UK premiere of The Tell-tale Heart, a monodrama opera by Willem Jeths that sets Edgar Allan Poe's macabre short story to music. It's a one-person show with soprano Katherine Weber McAlpine taking the lead.
Before that, the evening opens with Elgar's Enigma Variations. Both pieces have been re-orchestrated by the orchestra's conductor, Fergus McAlpine, who scaled The Tell-tale Heart down for 14 musicians to make it a more intimate, immersive experience suited to a smaller venue. He did the same with the Enigma Variations, and there's a nice local connection there: Elgar was closely tied to Harrogate, so hearing his work performed here feels right.
The ensemble itself is an international gathering of professional musicians who play in orchestras across the UK and Europe, with names who've sat in the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra. It's also a family affair: the night is the first full opera performed together by husband and wife Fergus and Katherine, who moved to Harrogate from Amsterdam last year with their two children.
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So, you've got the UK premiere of a Poe-inspired opera and a scaled-down Elgar classic in one sitting. It starts at 7.30pm at Wesley Chapel, 28 Oxford Street, HG1 1PP.
