cast and crew - vanda-production-assets.s3.amazonaws.com · morgan szymanski lspecial guest...

Cast and Crew

Emily Blacksell—Producer, Director and Writer

Emily’s 18-year career in the entertainment sector has seen her assist, support, and represent some of the

legendary figures of their respective fields both in the UK and internationally, namely the late John Barton

CBE, the late Sir Peter Hall, Sir Paul McCartney and Sally Greene OBE. She has worked for world-renowned

organisations and venues including the RSC, MPL Communications Ltd., the Old Vic Theatre, Old Vic

Productions (now Greene Light Stage), Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, and Bristol Old Vic Theatre, granting her

extraordinary access to, and the experience of working with, globally recognised creative teams and artists

on diverse projects and creative ventures. These include Tantalus (USA and Europe), Billy Elliot the Musical

(worldwide), five world tours, four album releases, and six book publications during her five years as

Assistant to Sir Paul McCartney, and eight seasons at the Old Vic Theatre – a period that included the

groundbreaking three-year BAM/Old Vic/Sam Mendes Bridge Project collaboration. Emily received her

creative and academic training from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Junior department where she

studied violin and voice, and the University of Birmingham where she read English and Drama. Her passion

for music specifically, and performance in general, has informed her own practice and enabled her to work

creatively as a director, assistant director, and producer across theatre, opera, digital platforms, and film.

As Producer: WillShake Henry V (Short Form Film Company) featuring Tom Hiddleston; Theatre Lives (Digital

Theatre+) featuring Dame Julie Walters, Imelda Staunton, Juliet Stevenson, Adrian Lester, and Michael

Grandage; Producer & Project Manager Peter O’Toole Memorial (Old Vic Theatre, London); Producer &

Co-Curator - with Tom Morris and John Caird - Bristol Old Vic 250th Anniversary Gala. As Assistant Director A

Midsummer Night’s Dream/Le songe d'une nuit d'été (Théâtre Gérard-Philipe, Paris); La Fanciulla del West

(Opera Holland Park); The Rape of Lucretia (Benjamin Britten International Opera School, Royal College of

Music); as Production Assistant The Shakespeare Sessions – John Barton on Shakespeare (PBS); as Associate

Producer Desert Dancer (dir. Richard Raymond – feature); as Executive Producer Double Take (dir. Sam Hodg-

es for Channel 4/Big Shorts in association with BAFTA – award-winning short film) and Mary Nighy’s award-

winning debut short film, Player, starring the late Pete Postlethwaite.

In Association with Classical Kicks Productions and EB Productions

Lizzie Ball—Lead Artist Violin, Vocals, Composer, Co-creator of Corrido, Co-producer of Corrido

“she lit the place on fire with one of her solos” San Francisco Chronicle

Lizzie Ball is an internationally recognised violinist, vocalist, and concert producer known for her ability to

perform in a multitude of musical styles. Her creation of Classical Kicks, a

unique brand of energetic reinvigorated classical music shows has been a stand out addition to the classical

performance scene in London. It began its residency in Soho’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, and then toured to

international festivals, created its own flagship UK festival, a record label, a children’s education show, and

collaborations with world class musicians including DJ/Bestival Founder Rob da Bank.

Lizzie’s further solo violin/vocal collaborations are numerous. The most notable include countless

international tours in the world’s finest venues with Nigel Kennedy (as a soloist with him and leader of his

Orchestra of Life for 8 years), as a featured band member as both solo violinist and vocalist on numerous

occasions with Jeff Beck and Brian Wilson, Judith Owen with Bryan Ferry, New York Polyphony, accordion

superstar Martynas Levickis , James Pearson Trio, and more recently leading an all female orchestra for

Grammy award winning MD Steve Sidwell for US pop sensation Ariana Grande, in a BBC film special to air

later in 2018/19. Performance highlights include headlining at Madison Square Garden NY for Eric Clapton’s

Crossroads Guitar Festival, several critically acclaimed US-wide tours, and directing the historical Palestine

Prom for BBC Proms 2013 in the Royal Albert Hall. Lizzie has an MA in Music from St. Johns College, Cambridge

University and postgraduate performance diplomas from Royal College of Music/Guildhall School of Music.

She plays a Joseph Kantuscher violin (1967), and electric violins custom made by Bridge. She is currently

endorsed by Strymon pedals, AER amplifiers, Thomastik strings, and Eastman Music of Los Angeles. She is a

proud ambassador of PRISMA Mexico, a charity set up by Morgan Szymanski to provide arts

workshops for children in need in Mexico.


Morgan Szymanski—Special Guest Guitarist

Described as ‘a player destined for future glories’ (Classical Guitar Magazine) Morgan Szymanski has been

highlighted as ‘One to Watch’ by both Gramophone Magazine and the BBC Music Magazine. In 2016 he was

selected as one of Mexico´s most influential international artists by the Mexican Government.

Born in Mexico City in 1979, Morgan started playing the guitar at the age of six. Early studies at the National

Music School (Mexico) and the Edinburgh Music School led to a scholarship to study at the Royal College of

Music (RCM) in London where he was awarded all guitar prizes as well as scholarships from the Tillett Trust,

Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Leverhulme Trust, Wall Trust, FONCA and a scholarship to study at the

Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He immediately went on to become the first solo guitarist to be selected

by the Young Classical Artist Trust and was the first guitarist to be awarded a Junior Fellowship at the RCM.

A top prize-winner at international competitions, Morgan won first prize at the National Guitar Competition

in Mexico. Performances as a soloist and with orchestras have taken him to concert halls and festivals

worldwide.

Morgan enjoys a varied career as s soloist and chamber musician. His many recordings on Sarabande

Records have been described as ‘top class in every respect’ (Classical Guitar Magazine), and as ‘a jewel’ by

Gramophone Magazine. On Szymanski´s Sketches of Mexico, Gramophone Magazine called it ‘a gorgeous

and original tribute to Szymanski’s homeland, its artists and its music’ with Morgan’s playing ‘of the

highest order.’ Numerous composers have written works for him and he is frequently broadcast on BBC

Radio 3.

Morgan Szymanski plays on a guitar by the Chinese master guitar Luthier Yulong Guo.

He is a Live Music Now! Alumni - the scheme started by Lord Yehudi Menuhin to reach audiences that would

otherwise have no access to live music. ´ In 2016 he started PRISMA, an artistic outreach programme aimed

at disadvantaged and remote areas in Mexico.


Eve Best—Narrator

Eve Best is an internationally award-winning, critically acclaimed actress and director.

Her stage debut was opposite Jude Law in ’Tis pity She’s a Whore at the Young Vic for which she won

London’s coveted Evening Standard Award for Best Newcomer as well as the Critic’s Circle Award for

Outstanding Newcomer, and she went on to star at the National Theatre, the Old Vic and Shakespeare’s

Globe (The Cherry Orchard, The Heiress, Three Sisters, Mourning Becomes Electra, Macbeth, Much Ado About

Nothing, The Coast of Utopia, The Duchess of Malfi and Antony and Cleopatra). She garnered several more

awards along the way, including the Olivier Award for Best Actress, for her performance as Hedda Gabler in

London’s West End.

On Broadway she has twice been nominated for a Best Actress Tony, starring in Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon

For the Misbegotten, and in Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming; she starred as Dr O’Hara in Showtime’s hit

black comedy Nurse Jackie, and played Wallis Simpson in the Oscar winning film The King’s Speech.

Eve made her directorial debut with Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.

In 2012 she held The Shakespeare Sessions, a three-month pop-up underground theatre in SoHo New York,

which hosted poetry, play readings and several productions including Othello (starring Anna Deveare

Smith), As You Like It, and Twelfth Night.

She has conducted masterclasses and led workshops all over the world, including The Actor’s Studio in

New York, Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, and in rural Mozambique as part of the country’s AIDS

rehabilitation programme.

Eve is a member of council for RADA, and is the Founder and Artistic Director of

Sunlight, a not-for-profit company that takes theatre to deprived or damaged

regions of the world.


Bartosz Glowacki—Accordion

Bartosz Glowacki is one of the leading lights of a new generation of accordionists. His artistic goal is to con-

tinue to improve awareness of the accordion in classical music, as well as to develop a new repertoire for

his instrument. In 2016 he graduated from The Royal Academy of Music with distinction and DipRAM.

Bartosz won the Polish Young Musician of the Year in 2009, following which he represented Poland in the

Eurovision Young Musicians Competition in Vienna. He is a winner of many National, as well as Interna-

tional Music Competitions. Bartosz is one of the 2015 Artists of the City Music Foundation. He won the Sir

John Manduell Prize at The Bromsgrove International Musicians’ Competition 2018.

As a soloist he has performed in many prestigious concert halls, for example The Wigmore Hall, The Royal

Festival Hall, The Purcell Room, Salle Cortot, The Colston Hall, Studio SI of The Polish National Radio, and

many others.

As well as being a soloist, Bartosz is extremely active chamber musician. He is a founding member of The

Deco Ensemble. During his career he collaborated with many great musicians of wide variety of music such

as Nigel Kennedy, Trevor Pinnock, Atom String Quartet, Meccorre String Quartet, Tanita Tikaram, and many

others. Bartosz has worked with musical institutions like The Royal Opera House, The Royal Ballet, National

Theatre, London Symphony Orchestra, The Chroma Ensemble, London Sinfonietta and many others.

Jorge Bravo—Guitar

Born in Santiago de Chile in 1973 and based in the UK since 2005, he works actively as a concert guitarist,

composer, producer and teacher. He has a style of virtuoso performance which demonstrates a wide range

of influences from classical and flamenco to gypsy jazz and Latin American styles. Jorge has performed in

numerous prestigious UK venues and events including the Royal Albert Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and

Womad festival; and in some of the most renowned theatres and festivals throughout Europe. In June

2006 his talents were internationally recognised when he won first prize at the ‘Nino Ricardo International

Guitar Competition’ held in Murcia, Spain.

He has recorded 5 independent albums and has played with some of the most important artists in the

World Music scene, including Kai Eckhardt, Tomatito, Mor Karbasi, Noam Vazana and Alec Dankworth.

Jorge is currently performing in the UK with Nova Trio, joining forces with renowned double bass player

Alec Dankworth and percussionist Demi Garcia, and touring around Europe with World Music artist Noam

Vazana.

Coline Brun-Naujalis—Animator and Art Director

Paris-born Coline Brun-Naujalis is a painter, photographer, illustrator, and animator. She studied Visual

Communication in Digital Media at the Ecole Superieure des Arts et Industries Graphiques Estienne in Paris

before moving to London in 2009 where she achieved her MA in Communication Design at Central Saint

Martins. Since graduating she has worked for a range of clients including the BBC, Tate, Le Monde and

Lumos whilst developing her practice and aesthetic. Her prize-winning animations have been broadcast in

a number of countries and her photographic work has been widely published.

Coline returned to France in 2016 to set up her studio in the Pyrenees and now splits her time between the

office in London and her base in the mountains.


John Leonard—Sound Designer

John started work in theatre sound over 40 years ago and during that time he has provided soundtracks for

theatres all over the world. Author of an acclaimed guide to theatre sound, he is the recipient of various

awards, a Fellow of The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, an Honorary Fellow of The Hong Kong Academy

of Performing Arts and a Companion of The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

Recent sound designs include: Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Bristol Old Vic, West End, New York & Los

Angeles), My Name Is Lucy Barton (The Bridge Theatre), Lady Windermere’s Fan (West End), Consent

(National Theatre & West End), Mood Music (Old Vic), Into the Woods (Manchester Royal Exchange), Little

Eyolf (Almeida), Waste (National Theatre); Mr. Foote’s Other Leg (Hampstead Theatre & West End); Just Jim

Dale (West End); McQueen (St. James Theatre & West-End); Pig Farm (St. James Theatre); Ghosts (Almeida/

West End/New York); Prism, Luna Gale, Firebird, Matchbox Theatre, Stevie, Farewell To The Theatre

(Hampstead); Red Dragon, White Dragon (Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park); The BFG (Birmingham

Rep); 84 Charing Cross Road, Separate Tables, and Bedroom Farce (Salisbury Playhouse); A View From the

Bridge (Liverpool Playhouse & UK Tour); Moon Tiger (Theatre Royal Bath/UK tour); The Duck House (West

End/tour); A Little Hotel on the Side (Theatre Royal Bath), and Quartermaine’s Terms (West End).

Rod Maclachlan—Video and Lighting Designer

Roderick Maclachlan (b. 1974) works as a lighting and projection designer and artist. Studying Sculpture in

the mid 1990s still informs his approach to lighting and moving image.

Recent work as a projection designer includes Sleepdogs’ Dark Land Light House (2016) and Bristol Old Vic’s

productions of Messiah (2017) and Dido and Aeneas (2014). Additionally, Rod provided projection for the

Bristol Old Vic Proms (in association with Classic FM and Universal Music) and the Bristol Old Vic 250th An-

niversary GaLA. This year Maclachlan contributed visual material for Noel Gallagher’s tour and worked on

The Pretenders UK tour. Maclachlan has created live video for composers Hauschka, Murcof, Roly Porter

and Alex Under at festivals such as Sonic Acts (Amsterdam), Electronica En Abril (Madrid), Athens Video Art

Festival and Semibreve (Braga). He has VJed extensively at clubs and festivals for a diverse range of acts

from The Matthew Herbert Big Band to Manuel Göttsching.

Lighting design projects include In Between Time’s Night Songs (touring, 2015), Rusty Squid’s Book Hive

(2014) and Harminder Judge’s works Do What Thou Wilt, Spill Festival, The Barbican (2011), and The

Modes of Al-Ikseer (touring, 2010-11).

Maclachlan’s art installations have been experienced at Tate Britain, Battersea Arts Centre, Arnolfini

(Bristol), Enclave (London) and Bluecoat (Liverpool).


Production Team

Chris Ekers Chief Live Sound Engineer

Phillip Berryman LX Programmer/Operator

Donna Marie Howard Assistant Producer

Gemma Wilks DSM/Show Caller

Sharon Calcutt Cheadle Stage Management

Joanne Croxford Lizzie Ball Management

Lia Loewenthal Lizzie Ball Management

Zoe Rogers Runner

Salina Thind Hair and Make-Up Artist

Lara Amos Videographer

Cesare De Giglio Photographer

Thanks

The Corrido Production Team wishes to thank and acknowledge the generous support of Short Form Film

Company, and especially our show sponsors Broadoak Sand & Gravel Ltd., Louise Potter of No.6 The Square

Tearooms, Buxton, Autograph Sound Ltd., Mestizo Mexican Market, Mestizo Mexican Restaurant & Tequila

Bar, and Penelope Nash-Leibrandt.

Grateful thanks also to Andrew Shelford, Damien O’Doherty, Marco Carini, Lucy Hayward-Blairs, Gregory

Brown, Joe Jefford, Susie Rose, Jackie Saville, Nathalie Cooper, Meg Hogg and Stefanie Agar and also Joanne

Croxford and Lia Loewenthal, Will Hodgson, Sam Talbot, Joe Talbot, James Pearson, Mila Brooks and Nemia

Maclachlan.


Beginnings (2018) - by Lizzie Ball

Lizzie Ball, Electric ‘Octave’ Violin, Recorded at Wolf Studios UK, produced by Ed Harcourt Oct 15 2018.

Tenochtitlán (2001) - by Julio César Oliva

This short piece is part of 20 Sketches of Mexico for guitar, recorded by Morgan Szymanski and written in

2001. The music describes the atmosphere and magic of the origins of the ancient Aztec capital,

Tenochtitlán, which, after the Spanish conquest became what is Mexico City today. Divided in two

sections, the atmospheric introduction symbolises pre-Hispanic times followed by a lilting jazzy waltz

which dances through the city we live in today.

La Llorona (Mexican Traditional) - arr. Szymanski for violin, vocals, guitar and accordion

This famous and legendary song of anonymous origins is believed to have originated in Oaxaca. It is linked

to the legend of La Llorona, a weeping woman who at night can be heard mourning the loss of her children.

It is also often related to the story of La Malinche, mother of the Mestizo culture who gave birth to the first

son of the conquistador Hernán Cortés.

Pièce en forme de habanera (1907) - by Maurice Ravel for violin & guitar

Written in 1907, the year of Frida Kahlo’s birth, this piece, originally composed as a vocal étude and later

transcribed, was partly inspired by the folk songs that Ravel’s mother used to sing to him as a young

child - songs that drew upon her own Basque-Spanish heritage.

Estrellita (1912) - by Manuel Ponce, arr. Szymanski for violin and guitar

This arrangement, made for the Sketches of Mexico album, was taken from two original sketches (Estrellita

and Ciuden su Vida) found in Manuel M. Ponce´s house in Zacatecas. Ponce´s original intention was to

arrange his two songs for solo guitar, presumably to be played by Andrés Segovia. Szymanski completed

Ponce’s unfinished arrangement. Tonight we hear them as a duet version for guitar and violin.

Valentina (1915) - arr. Manuel Ponce for solo guitar

A traditional Corrido from the height of the Mexican Revolution. Corridos were popular folk ballads that

formed a key part of Mexican oral tradition and culture for over a century. They were both an

entertainment - often romantic in style - depicting pain and happiness, triumphs and defeats, as well a

way of sharing important news during the Mexican Revolution, when sheet music would be handed out in

the streets - a task Frida Kahlo enthusiastically undertook in her youth. Ponce had studied in Paris under

Paul Dukas, and was heavily influenced by the Impressionist movement and musical fashion of the time,

hence, these songs, although Mexican in melodic material, are ´dressed´ in French harmonies and colours.

Oboe Concerto No. 3 in D Minor SD935: II. Adagio (1717) - by Alessandro Marcello, arr. Glowacki for solo

accordion.

Cometh the hour, cometh the woman (2018) - by Lizzie Ball

Lizzie Ball, Electric and Acoustic Violins, Cello, Colin Eliot, Double Bass, Recorded at Yellow Arch Studios,

Sheffield UK, produced by Colin Eliot.

Music


The Man I Love (1927) - music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin arr. Ball & Bravo for vocals and

guitar.

George Gershwin dedicated the 1932 publication of his acclaimed Song-Book, in which The Man I love

appeared, to his girlfriend Kay Swift - a woman who carried a peerless knowledge of both the man and his

music in her heart and fingertips until her death in 1993. She was the first woman to write the complete

score to a Broadway musical Fine and Dandy in 1930.

El Salón México (1936) - by Aaron Copland, arr. Pearson for violin and accordion

Copland’s symphonic work received its premiere in 1937 with the Mexico Symphony Orchestra under the

direction of his great friend Carlos Chávez. Inspired by his visit to Mexico some years before, Copland wanted

his work to depict the vibrancy and social diversity of a Mexican dance hall.

Corrido de Carlos Chávez y Diego, lyrics by Frida Kahlo, music by Marcela Rodrìguez from her Opera Las Cartas

de Frida (2011) - arr. Szymanski for violin, guitar and voice

By kind permission of Marcela Rodrìguez – UK Premiere.

Tristis est anima mea by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (1590 – 1664) - Motet for four voices, with improvised

violin by Lizzie Ball.

Spanish composer Padilla, moved to Mexico in 1620 to compose music in the New World and was appointed

maestro de capilla of Puebla Cathedral in 1628. He wrote breathtaking choral music:

“my soul is sorrowful even unto death…

Ye shall run away, and I will go to be sacrificed for you…”

Firebird Suite, Finale, (1910) - Ballet and Orchestral work by Igor Stravinsky (arr. by Ball & Glowacki for

violin and accordion)

Stravinksy’s groundbreaking work was written for the Paris season of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1910 - a

year that also heralded the start of the Mexican Revolution and that Frida Kahlo would later decree her

official birthdate. The Firebird in Russian folklore is seen as a Phoenix who can rise from the ashes, evoking

strong comparisons with the great Aztec serpent-bird God, Quetzalcoatl.

Nuages (1940) - by Django Reinhardt, arr. by Ball & Szymanski for violin and two guitars

It is possible that Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera would have heard the Hot Club duo of Stéphane Grappelli and

Django Reinhardt during their travels in the US and Paris.

Pastorale Inca (1929) - by Germaine Tailleferre, arr. Glowacki for solo accordion

Tailleferre was the only female member of Les Six, the avant-garde group devoted to music. She was

introduced to the group by Maurice Ravel and was part of a wider social crowd of artists and musicians

possibly to have crossed paths with the Riveras. This piece was written to accompany a short film about the

Inca civilisation.

Ciuden Su Vida (1914) - Manuel Ponce, arr. Oliva & Szymanski for guitar and violin

The lyrics of this poignant Mexican folk song remind us of Frida’s own words: “I drank to drown my sorrows

but the damned things learned to swim.”


La Zandunga (Mexican Traditional) - arr. Oliva

This famous and traditional Mexican waltz song from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca is representa-

tive of the traditions and culture of one of the most unique parts of Mexico.

A Ballad For The Brave (2018) - by Lizzie Ball

Lizzie Ball Lead Electric and Acoustic Violins, Gita Harcourt, Violin, Ed Harcourt, Guittarron. Recorded at Yel-

low Arch Studios, Sheffield UK, produced by Colin Eliot and at Wolf Studios UK, produced by Ed Harcourt.

Aztec Dance (2018) - Audience exit music

Live Sound of Aztec/Mayan ritual dance recorded live in Coyocan Square, Mexico City by Lizzie Ball. Lizzie

Ball, Electric Violins. Recorded at Impression Recording Studios, Berlin, produced by Robbie Moore


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