Jonathan Dove

Jonathan Dove CBE
Born	(1959-07-18) 18 July 1959 (age 65) London, England
Genres	Opera, classical
Occupation	Composer

Jonathan Dove CBE (born 18 July 1959) is an English composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera (now Birmingham Opera Company), including in 1990 an 18-player two-evening adaptation of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen for CBTO. He was Artistic Director of the Spitalfields Festival from 2001 to 2006.

Dove was born in London; both his parents were architects. He studied music at the University of Cambridge, under Robin Holloway, and afterwards worked as a freelance arranger and accompanist until 1987, when he was employed by Glyndebourne Opera.[1]

In 1998 Dove was joint winner of the Christopher Whelen Award for his work in the fields of theatre music and opera. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to music.[2]

In 2024 Dove's opera Itch received an Ivor Novello Award nomination for Best Stage Work Composition at The Ivors Classical Awards.[3]

Productions

Productions of Dove's works include:

• Airport Scenes, an orchestral suite from the airport-comedy opera Flight, was premiered by the University of Warwick Symphony Orchestra on 7 March 2006.[4]
• The Australian premiere (the Glyndebourne Festival Opera production) of Flight in March 2006, at the Adelaide Festival under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy, won Australia's Best Opera award at the national Helpmann Awards.[5][6]
• The Enchanted Pig, libretto by Alasdair Middleton, was premièred at the Young Vic, London in December 2006 and toured parts of the UK in early 2006.[7][8]
• The Adventures of Pinocchio, libretto by Alasdair Middleton, was commissioned by Opera North and Sadler's Wells Theatre, and premièred at the Grand Theatre Leeds on 21 December 2007.[9] The US première was performed by the Minnesota Opera on 28 February 2009, in St. Paul, MN.[10]
• The London Premiere of Flight was performed by British Youth Opera in September 2008.[11]
• Swanhunter, a chamber opera based on the Lemminkäinen legend, was premiered by Opera North in late 2009.[12]
• Mansfield Park, a chamber opera based on the Jane Austen novel of the same name, was premiered by Heritage Opera in Summer 2011.[13]
• Life Is a Dream, a full-scale opera with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton based on the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, was premiered by Birmingham Opera Company in March 2012.[14]

Works

Dove's works include:

Operas

Flight (1998), backstage at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, February 2017

Swanhunter (2009), performed at the Linbury Studio Theatre (ROH) in London, April 2015

• Hastings Spring (community opera) (1990)
• Siren Song (1994)
• Flight (1998)
• Tobias and the Angel (church opera), to a libretto by David Lan (1999). Premiered at St Matthew's, Perry Beeches.[15]
• The Palace in the Sky (community opera) (2000)
• L'altra Euridice (2002)
• When She Died... (Death of a Princess) (television opera, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales) (2002)
• Man on the Moon (television opera, about Buzz Aldrin, second man to walk on the Moon, and the effects the experience had on him and his marriage) (2006)
• The Enchanted Pig (chamber opera) (2006)
• Hear Our Voice (community opera) in partnership with Matthew King (2006), libretto by Tertia Sefton-Green. http://www.hmdt.org.uk/inschool_hearourvoice_1.html
• The Adventures of Pinocchio (2007)
• Swanhunter (2009)
• Mansfield Park (2011)
• Life Is a Dream (2012)
• The Day After (2015)
• The Monster in the Maze (2015)[16]
• Marx in London (2018)
• Itch (2023)[17]

Other works

• Figures in the Garden (wind serenade) (1991)
• The Passing of the Year (song cycle for double chorus and piano) (2000) 20th-century
• The Magic Flute Dances (flute concerto) (2000)
• The Three Kings, written for the service of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge in 2000[18]
• Stargazer (a trombone concerto written for Ian Bousfield)
• Köthener Messe, for choir and chamber ensemble
• Out of Winter (song-cycle)
• "Seek Him that maketh the Seven Stars" (choral work; setting of Amos 5:8)
• His Dark Materials Part I & II (incidental music) (2003)
• On Spital Fields (community cantata) (2005)
• Hojoki – "An Account of my Hut" (Counter-Tenor and Orchestra)
• I am the day (Carol – SATB)
• Vadam et circuibo civitatem
• Missa Brevis
• Ecce Beatam Lucem (composed for Ralph Allwood and the 1997 Eton Choral Course[19])
• There Was a Child (oratorio for soprano, tenor, chorus, and children's choirs) (2009)
• In Damascus, a song-cycle for tenor and string quartet inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis, commissioned by the Sacconi Quartet and performed by the Sacconi Quartet and Mark Padmore.[20]
• Unknown Soldier. (Choral and Orchestral Music)
• Sappho Sings, written for Ralph Woodward and Fairhaven Singers (2019)
• Between Friends (2019) for 2 Pianos - commissioned for the London Piano Festival and written in memory of Dove's friend Graeme Mitchison[21]
• Gaspard's Foxtrot (2020) A Musical Tale for Narrator and Orchestra from the book by Zeb Soanes
• In Exile for baritone, cello and orchestra, libretto Alasdair Middleton (2020), written for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra[22]

References

1. Faber Music: Profile. Retrieved 23 March 2016
2. "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B8.
3. Taylor, Mark (15 October 2024). "Nominations for The Ivors Classical Awards 2024 announced". The Ivors Academy. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
4. "University of Warwick Symphony Orchestra: Flight". warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
5. "Spectacle and song take flight". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
6. "Past nominees and winners | Helpmann Awards". www.helpmannawards.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
7. "The Young Vic and The Opera Group | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
8. "Production of The Enchanted Pig | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
9. "Adventures of Pinocchio | Opera Scotland". operascotland.org. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
10. "Minnesota Opera's The Adventures of Pinocchio Program by Minnesota Opera - Issuu". issuu.com. 17 June 2014. p. 10. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
11. "British Youth Opera | Closed: 12 September 2008". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
12. Hall, George (6 April 2015). "Swanhunter review – moments of stratsopheric vocalism and charming animal puppets". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
13. "Heritage Opera | Opera Scotland". operascotland.org. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
14. Clements, Andrew (22 March 2012). "Life Is a Dream – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
15. Mynheer, Nicholas (7 October 2011). "Blog – Mynheer-art: the fine art site of painter and sculptor Nicholas Mynheer". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
16. "The Monster in the Maze review – Dove’s score is lively and direct", The Guardian, 6 July 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2016
17. "2023 Season". Opera Holland Park. September 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
18. "Nine Lessons and Carols 2000". Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge. 2000. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
19. "Programme notes for Ecce Beatam Lucem". Gerontius.net. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
20. "In Damascus". jonathandove.com. 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
21. London Piano Festival 2019 Programme Notes p 22
22. In Exile, Lyrita SRCD413 recording, reviewed at MusicWeb International

External links

• Jonathan Dove (website)
• Jonathan Dove at IMDb