A Celebration of Ivor Novello

A Celebration of Ivor Novello

There will be an interval of 10 minutes

IanMcMillan-Davidson conductor
Jessica Robinson soprano
Trystan Llŷr Griffiths tenor
Claire Barnett-Jones mezzo-soprano

BBC Hoddinott Hall is certified by EcoAudio and we’re proud to be supporting the BBC in becoming a more sustainable organisation. For more information on the BBC’s net-zero transition plan and sustainability strategy please visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/documents/bbc-net-zero-transition-plan-2024.pdf

This concert is being broadcast live on BBC Radio 3’s Friday Night Is Music Night; it will be available for 30 days after broadcast via BBC Sounds, where you can also find podcasts and music mixes.

Composer, matinee idol, dramatist: Ivor Novello was one of the great names of British entertainment in the first half of the 20th century. He was was born in Cardiff in 1893, and his mother was a famous vocal coach whose clients included the opera stars Adelina Patti and Clara Butt. He showed early promise as a musician, winning a choral scholarship to Magdalen College School, Oxford, and started to write songs as a teenager. Moving to London with his mother in 1913, he took up lifelong residence in a flat above the Strand Theatre (now the Novello Theatre).

Novello’s early immersion in classical works clearly influenced his own music, which came to epitomise the British operetta tradition and typically mixes the elegant with the poignant. His fame initially rested on his patriotic anthem of the First World War, ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’, an immediate success in 1914. He then broke into musicals in 1916 with the West End hit Theodore & Co, for which he co-wrote the score with Jerome Kern.

After the war Novello collaborated with other distinguished figures, including P. G. Wodehouse, in both musical comedy and revue. He then branched out into acting, appearing in a range of British, American and European silent movies, including Hitchcock’s The Lodger (1927), as well as in numerous West End plays. He worked several times with his close friend Noël Coward, while his partners included Siegfried Sassoon. Much admired for his handsome profile, Novello became one of Britain’s biggest stars of the 1920s.

Yet the work for which he is best remembered today is his series of scores for musicals in the years leading up to and through the Second World War. Usually, he starred as well as wrote the music, working with regular lyricist Christopher Hassall. Glamorous Night (1935) established the model of his mature work, with its expensive staging and Ruritanian mood recalling his favourite operetta, Lehár’s The Merry Widow. Other productions such as Careless Rapture (1936) and The Dancing Years (1939) confirmed his importance.

During the war, Novello was briefly imprisoned for misusing petrol coupons, and Arc de Triomphe (1943) failed to catch on with the public, but his career was revived with further hits such as Perchance to Dream (1945) and King’s Rhapsody (1949). At a time when the West End was dominated by the vitality of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! and Carousel, Novello helped to sustain the popularity of British musicals from a different stylistic tradition.

^{Programme note © Dominic Broomfield-McHugh}

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If you’ve enjoyed the concert today, bring friends and family and come along to this forthcoming concert. As an existing audience member, you can buy tickets for it for £7 using promotion code NOWYOU when buying online.

Love & Transformation

Thursday 12/3/26, 7.30pm
BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff

Britten An American Overture
Joan Tower Love Returns UK premiere
Weber Symphony No. 2
Hindemith Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber

Tomas Djupsjöbacka conductor
Steven Banks saxophone

MAGNIFICENT | GRACEFUL | TRANSFORMATORY

Join BBC NOW for an evening that celebrates love, energy and musical transformation. Britten’s thrilling American Overture sets a lively tone, followed by the UK premiere of Joan Tower’s heartfelt Love Returns, performed by outstanding saxophonist Steven Banks. We then journey into Weber’s world, first through the charm and wit of his Second Symphony, before Hindemith’s colourful reimagining of Weber’s melodies in his Symphonic Metamorphosis. It’s a night of bold sounds, touching stories and music that continually reinvents itself.

Book tickets for just £7 using promotion code NOWYOU https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/evr6gw

Biographies

IanMcMillan-Davidson conductor

Ian McMillan-Davidson is Music Director and Principal Conductor of the London Pops Orchestra and Singers, London Operetta Company and British Light Music Orchestra, specialising in conducting and presenting music from stage and screen.

His commitment to championing the music of Ivor Novello began 40 years ago when he was Music Director for Welsh National Opera’s 1984 national tour of Dear Ivor, going on to conduct productions of King’s Rhapsody and The Dancing Years in London and Ipswich.

He has guest conducted and introduced concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Royal Choral Society, Morriston Male Voice Choir, BBC Concert Orchestra, Maida Vale Singers, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Ambrosian Opera Chorus.

He also created and conducted several Pops seasons for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

As Music Director for the revival of the Carl Rosa Opera, he conducted over 1,000 operetta performances nationally, having previously guest conducted the D’Oyly Carte Opera.

He began his career as Music Director for several West End musicals and was the youngest music director in London’s West End with Singin’ in the Rain at the London Palladium, followed by Charlie Girl at the Victoria Palace. He worked closely with Lionel Bart in Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s Millennium London Palladium production of Oliver!

Ian McMillan-Davidson is creator and screen writer for IVOR!, which charts the last seven years of Ivor Novello as King of British Musical Theatre.

 Jessica Robinsonsoprano

Welsh soprano Jessica Robinson graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama with a first-class honours degree and a distinction in MA Opera Performance. While there, she was awarded the Aneurin Davies memorial award, the Mansel Thomas prize, the Margaret Tann Award, the Elias Soprano award and was the 2016 Prince of Wales Scholar. Other competition successes include winning the Welsh Singers Competition in 2022.

As an oratorio and concert soloist, she regularly performs across the UK; highlights include Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music for BBC Radio 3 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; appearing as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall for the 1,000 Male Voice Choir Gala; and as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the Wales Millennium Centre. Internationally, she has sung in New York, China, Switzerland and Italy.

Jessica Robinson’s operatic roles include Rose (Lakmé), Rosina (The Barber of Seville) and Despina (Così fan tutte) for Swansea City Opera; Heavenly Voice (Don Carlo) and Tetska (Jenůfa) for Grange Park Opera; Spell for Reality (Spell Book) and Siren (La liberazione di Ruggiero) for Longborough Opera; and Worker/Semi Chorus (Gair ar Gnawd) for Welsh National Opera/S4C.

Trystan Llŷr Griffithstenor

This season Welsh tenor Trystan Llŷr Griffiths makes his house and role debut as Steuermann (The Flying Dutchman)for Monte-Carlo Opera, a role he reprises for Welsh National Opera before making his debut at La Monnaie as Spoletta (Tosca).

Highlights of last season included his Opera North debut as Tamino (The Magic Flute), Alfred (Die Fledermaus)for the Grange Festival and a return to WNO as Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi) and Young Lover (Il tabarro).

He enjoys a particularly close relationship with WNO, where his roles have included Tamino (The Magic Flute), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni)and Beppe (Pagliacci). Highlights elsewhere include appearances at Opéra National du Rhin, Opéra National de Lorraine, Scottish Opera, Garsington Opera and West Green House Opera.

Concert highlights include an evening of Leonard Bernstein with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Alexander Shelley at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw; Mozart’s Requiemwith the Orchestre Prométhée at Lacoste Festival; Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall; and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his BBC Proms debut singing in Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music withSakari Oramo.

His self-titled debut album was released in 2015. He has also featured as tenor soloist in a recording of O Holy Night with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and took the role of Carlos in Donizetti’s Le Duc d’Albe with the Hallé conducted by Sir Mark Elder.

Trystan Llŷr Griffiths is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and National Opera Studio and was a member of the International Opera Studio at Zurich Opera.

Claire Barnett-Jones mezzo-soprano

British mezzo-soprano Claire Barnett-Jones is fast becoming one of the most sought-after voices on the operatic stage and concert platform, recently being named one of Operawire’s Top 10 Rising Stars since becoming a finalist and winner of the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021.

This season she makes company debuts at Calgary Opera as the Witch/Gertrude (Hansel and Gretel)conducted by Jonathan Brandani, at the Bregenz Festival as Annina (La traviata)conducted by Kirill Karabits and with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome as Waltraute (Die Walküre)conducted by Daniel Harding. She also sings Mrs Grose (The Turn of the Screw)at the Royal Ballet & Opera’s Linbury Theatre.

Concert highlights this season include Mahler’s Das klagende Lied with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Ryan Bancroft; Mozart’s Requiem at the Barbican Centre with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo; Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius at King’s College, Cambridge, with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Daniel Hyde; Berg’s Altenberg Lieder and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder in Espoo with the Tapiola Sinfonietta conducted by Ryan Bancroft; and Messiah with the Glyndebourne Sinfonia and Chorus conducted by Aidan Oliver both at Glyndebourne and at London’s Royal Albert Hall. She also appears in recital at London’s Wigmore Hall with pianist Rebecca Cohen.

Plans include a return to the Royal Opera & Ballet, Covent Garden, and her debut at Garsington Opera.

Claire Barnett-Jones studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Academy Opera and Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and is a recipient of the Sir John Tomlinson Fellowship as well as being an Independent Opera Fellow and a Samling Artist.

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

For over 90 years, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the only professional symphony orchestra in Wales, has played an integral part in the cultural landscape of the country, occupying a distinctive role as both a broadcast and national orchestra, and serving as an ambassador of Welsh culture, regularly performing music created in Wales and championing Welsh composers and artists.

Part of BBC Cymru Wales and supported by the Arts Council of Wales, BBC NOW performs a busy schedule of concerts and broadcasts, working with acclaimed conductors and soloists from across the world, including its Principal Conductor, the award-winning Ryan Bancroft.

The orchestra is committed to working in partnership with community groups and charities, taking music out of the concert hall and into settings such as schools and hospitals to enable others to experience and be empowered by music. It undertakes workshops, concerts and side-by-side performances to inspire and encourage the next generation of performers, composers and arts leaders, and welcomes thousands of young people and community members annually through its outreach and education projects.

BBC NOW performs annually at the BBC Proms and biennially at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and its concerts can be heard regularly across the BBC – on Radio 3, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru. On screen, music performed by BBC NOW can be heard widely across the BBC and other global channels, including the soundtrack and theme tune for Doctor Who, Planet Earth III, Prehistoric Planet, The Pact and Children in Need.

Based at BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff Bay, BBC NOW utilises a state-of-the-art recording studio with a camera system for livestreams and TV broadcasts to bring BBC NOW’s music to a broader audience across Wales and the world. For more information about BBC NOW please visit bbc.co.uk/now

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Patron
HM King Charles III ^{KG KT PC GCB}
Principal Conductor
Ryan Bancroft
PrincipalGuest Conductor
Jaime Martín
Composer-in-Association
Gavin Higgins

First Violins
Lesley Hatfield leader
Mira Marton
Gwenllian Hâf MacDonald
Terry Porteus
Suzanne Casey
Carmel Barber
Ruth Heney **
Anna Cleworth
Emilie Godden
Kerry Gordon-Smith
Žanete Uškāne
Alejandro Trigo
Gary George-Veale
Rebecca Totterdell

Second Violins
Anna Smith *
Kirsty Lovie #
Ros Butler
Sheila Smith
Vickie Ringguth
Joseph Williams
Michael Topping
Katherine Miller
Beverley Wescott
Roussanka Karatchivieva
Lydia Caines **
Laurence Kempton

Violas
Francis Kefford ‡
Peter Taylor
Lydia Abell
Catherine Palmer
Robert Gibbons
Anna Growns
Nancy Johnson
Charlotte Limb
Lucy Theo

Cellos
Pedro Silva
Jessica Feaver
Sandy Bartai
Keith Hewitt
Carolyn Hewitt
Alistair Howes
Rachel Ford
Kathryn Graham

Double Basses
Alexander Jones #
James Manson
Christopher Wescott
Emma Prince
Georgina McGrath
Thea Sayer

Flutes
Matthew Featherstone *
Lindsey Ellis

Alto Flute
Lindsey Ellis †

Piccolo
Lindsey Ellis †

Oboes
Steve Hudson *
Amy McKean †

Cor anglais
Amy McKean †

Clarinets
Nicholas Carpenter *
Lenny Sayers **+

Bass Clarinet
Lenny Sayers †**+

Bassoons
Jarosław Augustyniak *
Llinos Owen

Horns
Tim Thorpe *
Meilyr Hughes
Edward Griffiths
Flora Bain
John Davy

Trumpets
Corey Morris †
Robert Samuel
Louis Barclay

Trombones
Donal Bannister*
Dafydd Thomas †

Bass Trombone
Darren Smith †

Tuba
Richard Evans

Timpani
Steve Barnard *

Percussion
Rebecca Celebuski
Phil Girling
Rhydian Griffiths

Harp
Sally Pryce

 Piano/Celesta
Jâms Coleman

* Section Principal
† Principal
‡ Guest Principal
# Assistant String Principal

The list of players was correct at the time of publication

Director Lisa Tregale
Orchestra Manager Liz Williams
Assistant Orchestra Manager Nick Olsen **
Orchestra Personnel ManagerKevin Myers
Orchestra and Operations CoordinatorEleanor Hall
Business Coordinator Georgia Dandy **
Head of Artistic Planning and ProductionGeorge Lee
Artists and Projects Manager Victoria Massocchi **
Orchestra Librarian Naomi Roberts **
Producer Mike Sims
Broadcast Assistant Emily Preston
Head of Marketing and Audiences Sassy Hicks
Marketing Coordinator Angharad Muir–Davies (maternity cover)
Digital Producer Angus Race
Social Media Coordinator Harriet Baugh
Marketing Apprentice Mya Clayden
Education Producer Beatrice Carey
Education Producer/Chorus Manager Rhonwen Jones
SeniorAudio Supervisors Simon Smith, Andrew Smillie
Production Business Manager Lisa Blofeld
Stage and Technical Manager Josh Mead +
Assistant Stage and Technical Manager Richie Basham

+ Green Team member
** Diversity & Inclusion Forum