Start 2023 with the best of Royal Opera House Stream

THIS New Year, the Royal Opera House will add 6 new performances to Royal Opera House Stream for audiences around the world to enjoy:- The Cellist, Romeo and Juliet and Sylvia from The Royal Ballet; and La traviata, Fidelio and Madama Butterfly from The Royal Opera.

The new titles join a library of over 50 beloved productions and over 100 behind the scenes videos, giving audiences an opportunity to discover more by the artists they love, and watch world class art wherever they are.

The year kicks off with a recording of Cathy Marston’s extraordinary 1 act ballet The Cellist (2020). The production; the choreographer's first work for the Royal Opera House’s Main Stage; is a lyrical memoir of the momentous life of the cellist Jacqueline du Pré, whose brilliant career was cut short by the onset of multiple sclerosis at the age of 28. Composer Philip Feeney incorporates music by:- Elgar, Beethoven, Fauré, Mendelssohn, Piatti, Rachmaninoff and Schubert into an exquisite score that is itself an homage to the cello. This multi award winning production stars Royal Ballet Principals:- Lauren Cuthbertson, Marcelino Sambé and Matthew Ball.

On Thursday, 19 January 2023, the latest revival of Verdi's ever popular La traviata arrives on Royal Opera House Stream. Richard Eyre’s production, with sumptuous belle époque inspired designs by Bob Crowley, has long been a Royal Opera favourite, winning critical acclaim for its exquisite sets, lavish costumes, and unforgettably dramatic staging. The performance (recorded in 2022) is sung by a truly international cast that includes:- Pretty Yende as Violetta Valéry, Stephen Costello as Alfredo Germont, and Dimitri Platanias as Giorgio Germont.

February 2023 begins with the release of Tobias Kratzer’s production of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio (2020), with Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano conducting a spectacular cast led by:- Lise Davidsen and David Butt Philip. Then, on Valentine's Day 2023, Romeo and Juliet will be made available. Kenneth MacMillan’s classic adaptation of Shakespeare’s play; set to Prokofiev’s iconic score and featuring evocative designs by:- Nicholas Georgiadis; has remained a firm favourite of The Royal Ballet’s repertory since its premiere in 1965, which was danced by:- Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. The production offers dancers in the lead roles a wealth of opportunity for differing interpretations of the star crossed lovers.

2 further new productions will be available from March 2023:- Frederick Ashon’s ballet Sylvia (2005), starring former Royal Ballet Principal Darcey Bussell and Guest Artist Roberto Bolle; and Puccini’s devastating opera Madama Butterfly (2022), conducted by Nicola Luisotti and sung by a stunning cast that includes:- acclaimed Italian soprano Maria Agresta as Cio-Cio-San, American tenor Joshua Guerrero as Lieutenant B.F Pinkerton, Spanish Baritone Carlos Álvarez as Sharpless, and English mezzo-soprano Christine Rice as Suzuki.

All Royal Opera House Stream productions come complete with extra wraparound material; interviews, masterclasses, rehearsal footage and more; giving audiences a unique behind the scenes insight into one of the world’s leading theatres.

Royal Opera House Stream currently hosts over 50 stunning works from The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera, with highlights including Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project, Katie Mitchell’s production of Handel’s Theodora, Frederick Ashton’s La fille mal gardée, Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale and Puccini’s Tosca. In addition to the 100+ pieces of behind the scenes content already online, further features; ranging from rehearsal footage to interviews and masterclasses; will be made available across 2023 for subscribers to enjoy.

Join today to watch the world’s greatest performers, emerging talent, leading choreographers and trailblazing creative teams from the comfort of your own home. From family favourites and modern masterpieces to heartbreaking arias and passionate pas-de-deux, Royal Opera House Stream offers it all:- truly transformative experiences for only £9.99 a month or £99 annually. Whatever your interest; whether classical or contemporary; there’s a breadth of content for you.

New productions from March 2023 will be announced over the coming months.
 

Re-gift unsuitable Christmas presents to Barnardo’s - and help support children

DONATE your unsuitable Christmas gifts and help vulnerable children at the same time is the message from the UK’s leading children’s charity Barnardo’s. Barnardo’s North is appealing for unsuitable gifts from the festive season to be donated to their shops in our area so they can be sold to raise vital funds.

All money raised in Barnardo’s shops is used to fund the charity’s hundreds of projects across the Region that support children and young people who are affected by today’s most urgent issues, including those who are living in poverty, who have suffered abuse or who are disabled.

This year’s appeal for quality donations is even more urgent as families struggle to cope with the rising costs of living as energy and food prices soar, making bills even harder to pay. Many families are having to make tough choices between paying their heating bills or buying food.

Sharon Goswami, head of retail operations at Barnardo’s, said:- "I think we can all safely say we’ve received a gift at Christmas that’s not suitable or we quite simply don’t want. We can turn that into a positive. By donating any unsuitable Christmas presents to our shops you will not only be repurposing an item you may not have used, but also helping the North’s most vulnerable children. All purchases made in our Barnardo’s stores and through our online shop help us to support some of the most vulnerable children in society. The money we raise allows us to provide food parcels or supermarket vouchers to those who desperately need them as well as energy vouchers to heat families’ homes over the winter months. Every year Barnardo’s works to turn around the lives of more than 382,000 children, young people and their families through 791 projects across the UK. Every penny raised plays a vital part in ensuring we continue to support these children."

Shoppers can buy quality clothes, household goods, books, toys as well as accessories and collectibles at Barnardo’s shops.
 

Cleaners strike for fair pay and decent conditions

CONTRACTED cleaners on the rail network will take strike action at the end of 2022. ISS cleaners on Docklands Light Railway (DLR) are taking strike action on the 30 December and 31 December 2022 over pay, imposed rosters and attacks on working conditions. And across the national railway, over 1,000 contracted out cleaners will take strike action on 31 December 2022 in the 1st national strike of its kind. Cleaners working for the likes of Atalian Servest, Churchill and Mitie are demanding £15 an hour, company sick pay, decent holidays and good pensions from contractors who are raking in profits worth millions of pounds. Rail companies who use contracted out cleaning providers such as Avanti West Coast, GWR, LNER and TransPennine Express will be affected by the action.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said:- "This is the 1st time cleaners have been taken out on strike across the rail network. It is a testament to our members fearlessness and determination to see justice done on pay and working conditions. These multimillion pound companies who super exploit workers who were rightly hailed as heroes during the Pandemic, should be removed from operating in Britain, if they do not come to a negotiated settlement on our members' modest demands. It is a national disgrace that many languish on the minimum wage, with no company sick or holiday pay while doing such an important job of keeping our stations and trains clean. These cleaners' strikes are just the beginning of our industrial campaign for the most exploited workers on our railways."