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Conservation of the Archive
We’re delighted and excited to announce that, thanks to a major grant
by the National Manuscripts Conservation trust, we have now completed the
first phase of conservation of the archive:
those manuscripts with most damage have now been cleaned and re-boxed. Future phases will see development of a full
catalogue, and parts of the archive digitised.
The manuscripts conserved in the first phase include orchestral
parts from the first performances of several operas by Michael Balfe,
including The Maid of Artois, The Puritan’s Daughter, and
The Rose of Castile; Alexander Mackenzie's TheTroubadour,
and Goring Thomas’ Esmeralda. These are all unique materials,
of enormous significance in the history of British opera.
The Carl Rosa in Liverpool
The Carl Rosa Company played a significant rôle in Liverpool life and
the story is told here.
Sponsored Walk across Dartmoor for the Carl Rosa Trust and MMUK
On Sunday 7th October 2018, one of our Trustees, Steven Martin,
joined hundreds of others
walking the Abbot’s Way walk, a 23 mile hike across Dartmoor. The walk celebrated the
700th anniversary of Tavistock Church and the 1000th anniversary of Buckfast Abbey (both founded
by Benedictines).
Fr Steven
was walking to raise money for two charities: the Melanesian Mission UK (an
Anglican organisation currently supporting the victims of the volcano a few
months ago, in Ambae, Solomon
Islands) and the Carl Rosa Trust. We are delighted to say that he raised several
hundred pounds for both charities.
The Exhibition at the Central Library, Liverpool...
The story of the Company was given on a series of display boards, and some of the manuscripts (including some orchestral parts
dating from 1826), production plans, programmes, photographs,
and biographies of some of the major personalities, were also on
display.
One of our Trustees, Dr Valerie Langfield, was interviewed about it, by
Liverpool’s TV station Made
in Liverpool.
The Symposium at the Central Library
The first Carl Rosa
Trust Symposium was held on Saturday 19
November 2016, at the Hornby
Library.
About a dozen delegates attended - all specialists in their fields -
and after short presentations from the Trustees, various items from the
Archive were brought out for examination. A great deal of discussion
ensued, which was exactly what we wanted. We were keen to show
something of the nature of the archive, with a view to permitting its
use as a research resource, or as a subject for research in its own
right.
In the afternoon, students
from Liverpool Hope University gave
a
short recital, the programme drawn from items regularly performed by
the Carl Rosa Company. They were superbly accompanied by David Walters,
senior lecturer and principal accompanist at the University.
Some of the visitors mentioned the ‘new’
Carl Rosa
company that is currently staging productions; this has no connection
with the Carl Rosa Trust and archive.
Do contact valerie.langfield@carlrosatrust.org.uk
for more information, or if you would like to be kept informed by email
of future events and news.
We’re also still
keen to receive feedback from anyone
who went to the exhibition - please email Valerie Langfield
with your comments.
