The first professional staging of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s opera Dream Lovers since its premiere in 1898 will be performed on February 14 and 15 at Stanley Halls in South Norwood.
Long lost manuscript: Dream Lovers has not been performed for more than a century
It will be performed by a cast of singers from the English National Opera and the Royal Opera House’s young artists programmes.
The cast includes April Koyejo-Audiger, a former Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House – a “glorious full-bodied soprano” (The Grauniad) – in the leading role of Katherine. Benson Wilson plays Prince Torado. Wilson won the Kathleen Ferrier Award and was an ENO Harewood Young Artist. He has recently performed at Glyndebourne, Opera Holland Park and ENO.
Also in the cast are rising stars, tenor James Beddoe and Hannah Morley. Beddoe plays the camp cupid, Manuel. Mezzo-soprano Morley plays Martin.
The performances will be under the musical direction of young British pianist, Michael Rose, who will also accompany and play some of Coleridge-Taylor’s piano works.
‘Full-blooded soprano’: April Koyejo-Audige sings the role of Katherine
The creative team includes William Byram, an American choreographer and director based in Croydon.
The opera tells the story of Katherine, a maid, who describes her “dream lover” to her friend, Manuel, a friend of Torado, an aristocratic man from Madagascar, who is also searching for his “dream lover”.
Laura Migliorino, an Italian-American photographer, uncovered one of the few remaining scores of Dream Lovers in the archives of The British Library during research for the US-UK Fulbright Commission in 2022. Her photos of the score will be featured in the projections for the performances.
Dream Lovers premiered in Croydon in 1898 with music written by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and a libretto by Paul Laurence-Dunbar. The contemporary production includes some updated dialogue and other Coleridge-Taylor songs with librettos by Kathleen Easmon, Christina Rossetti and Henry W Longfellow.
According to Stanley Halls, “Told through a witty classical camp staging with a queer subtext”, the show will include other songs from cycles by Coleridge-Taylor, including Five Fairy Ballads (1909), Six Sorrow Songs (1906), Seven African Romances (1897), Southern Love Songs (1896) and a piano solo, Valse Suite, Three-Fours (1909).
Coleridge-Taylor was a composer, born 1875, who grew up and lived in South Norwood. He rose to acclaim during the 20th Century, his most famous work being Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast. The past decade has seen a revival of interest and performances of his work. Coleridge-Taylor is considered a pioneer in classical music and black British history.
Eminent composer: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Laurence-Dunbar, the son of former enslaved people, became one of the first influential black poets in American literature, and his work is regarded as an impressive representation of black American life during the Reconstruction following the Civil War. He wrote the line, “I know why the caged bird sings”, that would inspire Maya Angelou’s 1969 book.
Director and co-producer William Byram said, “I am thrilled to be presenting this work. But I’m most excited about presenting this work in Croydon and South Norwood, where Samuel Coleridge-Taylor lived and was a very active member of the community. I want everyone to feel welcome and to enjoy their experience with opera.”
Performances are at 7pm on Friday February 14, and 2pm and 5pm on Saturday February 15. The 2pm show will be a relaxed show with a BSL interpreter.
The running time is approximately one hour. Tickets are £15, £10 concessions.
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