Rehearsals and preparations are getting into full swing behind the scenes of Aida!
The stage and sets are all ready at the staging company in Ashford and we have taken delivery of all the costumes from Ron Briggs Design, who has turned Music Director Mark Riches‘ wonderful designs into stunning reality.
Mark has commenced production rehearsals with the principal artists, chorus and dancers, with most of these rehearsals taking place at either the Danceworks or Pineapple Studios in central London. The following photos are from the production rehearsal at Danceworks on Sunday 20th September.
Here we can see Mark rehearsing with the principal artists: Adele Mason (Aida), Iwona Januszajtis (Amneris), Richard Rowe (Radames), Richard Woodall (Amonasro), and Mark Beesley (Ramfis). Find out more about the cast.
Mark is also having regular meetings with lighting designer Bruce Williams to ensure the best possible lighting of the set and costumes. John is looking after the admin side of things including ticket sales, organising transport for singers and getting all the technical aspects in place.
Needless to say everyone’s very busy and getting excited for opening night on Tuesday 13th October! A competition to win two tickets to the opening night is running on the South Downs Opera Facebook page and tickets for all performances can be purchased here.