Cincinnati Opera presented the world premiere staging of Paul McCartney’s 1991 “Liverpool Oratorio” over four performances in July 2024 (on July 18, 20, 21 and 27).
Directed by Caroline Clegg and conducted by Joseph Young, the production featured the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Ballet, and Cincinnati Boychoir.
While Paul himself didn’t attend, he sent a special video message to audiences before each performance.
A fundraising event following the opening night celebrated the legendary musician and supported the production’s design and realization.
Hello, Cincinnati! Good evening. I’m so excited to hear that the Cincinnati Opera is putting on my Liverpool Oratorio.
This work is really special for me because it was the first large scale thing like this that I’d done, and it’s largely based on a lot of events from my childhood. The school I went to… the teacher, Miss Inkley, who was the only female teacher in a school of a thousand boys. So it’s really true, as it says in the opera, where she says, ‘Hello, boys. You can call me, ‘Sir.’ Well, as 11-year-olds, it’s a little difficult to make sense of that.
But anyway, I love the piece, and I love that you’re doing it there in Cincinnati. So I hope you have a great evening. Thank you very much for putting it on. I wish I was there with you, but I can’t be there. So I’m here. So have a great one. Thank you.
The music and the libretto of the “Liverpool Oratorio” are entirely McCartney’s work. But because McCartney doesn’t read or write music, he needed a partner – Davis – to orchestrate the parts, set the texts and make a full vocal and orchestral score, said Evans Mirageas, Cincinnati Opera artistic director.
“I knew it existed, it sold millions of copies, and that it had been performed over 100 times as a concert work, like Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah,’” Mirageas said. “So I bought a score and listened to it, and thought, they’ve actually created an opera. There’s just no staging.”
The oratorio had everything necessary for opera: drama, character development, glorious choruses, arias and intimate duets. Mirageas contacted McCartney’s publisher, who said others have had the same idea, but an opera never came to fruition.
The publisher contacted McCartney, who asked for more details. His answer came back quickly. “We had his blessing,” Mirageas said.
McCartney wrote in a letter to the company, “I am writing to express my wholehearted support for this project. I believe that Cincinnati Opera is uniquely positioned to bring this work to life in a new way, and I have no doubt that your production will be an inspiring experience for all who see it … I look forward to its premiere next summer.”
In terms of staging, Mirageas felt the work needed a designer and director who had a connection to North England, especially the industrial cities. Caroline Clegg will direct. Sets and costumes will be designed by Leslie Travers. Lighting will be overseen by Thomas C. Hase.
Mirageas also thought that the musical interludes in the work were “crying out for dance.” There will be choreography by Michael Pappalardo.
The opera-to-be calls for operatic voices. The oratorio was premiered by the legendary soprano Kiri Te Kanawa and tenor Jerry Hadley.
“I think it’s important to understand that this piece is genuine opera. It is not pop songs,” Mirageas said. “He found a vein of creativity in this work that is genuinely operatic.”
Mirageas spent “a magical afternoon” going through the score with Davis, who also conducted the oratorio’s world premiere in Liverpool Cathedral. Unfortunately, Davis died unexpectedly in August. […]
Will McCartney come to the premiere? His manager believes he will unless he is occupied on a tour. […]
This summer, Cincinnati Opera presents the world stage premiere of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio. It’s a powerful story, full of heartfelt lyrics and soaring melodies, written by Paul McCartney and Carl Davis in 1991 for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society. While it has been performed around the world, it has never been presented with full scenery, costumes, lighting, and choreography—until now.
Everyone is invited to come together to #GetPaulToMusicHall, show the world how special the Greater Cincinnati region is—and why Sir Paul said “Yes!” to this historic production happening right here.
#GETPAULTOMUSICHALL
Greater Cincinnati comes together to #GetPaulToMusicHall for the world stage premiere of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio happening right here at Music Hall this summer!
Make your shareable digital video tribute to Sir Paul letting him know how special he is to you and why he should visit Cincinnati this summer. Post your video on your favorite social media channel tagged with #GetPaulToMusicHall and #CincyOpera. […]
JULY 18 & 20, 2024 | 7:30 PM JULY 21 & 27, 2024 | 3:00 PM MUSIC HALL • SPRINGER AUDITORIUM
Music and libretto by Paul McCartney and Carl Davis
Sung in English with projected lyrics
FOR THE WHOLE WERE WE BORN.
Memories from Paul McCartney’s life in Liverpool England inspire chapters on growing up and finding our way. Beginning with Latin which means, “not for ourselves, but for the whole were we born,” the piece explores formative moments, relationships, and the responsibilities we face. See the world premiere opera adaptation of McCartney’s acclaimed work for orchestra and voices, a powerful story full of heartfelt lyrics and effortless melodies.
In preparing to stage Liverpool Oratorio, I immediately recalled its haunting refrain “… and I will always love you. I’ll welcome you into this world …” sung by a mother to her baby amidst the trauma of war. It struck me how relevant this piece is today with the immediacy of the music and libretto. When I first heard Liverpool Oratorio in 1991, I remember how this refreshingly honest contemporary work exploded layers of classical hierarchical norms. It reached the top of the classical charts, and you would hear people singing short refrains from it or catch it on the radio. It spoke directly to people, becoming a cultural touchstone that echoed shared hopes and dreams. Now three decades on, the libretto resonates even more sharply, communicating that we all still cherish “a family life” (whatever shape that family takes) in a community that we are proud of, because whatever happens “… we must save the child.”
Being from the north of England, I felt it was vital that this staging be embedded with the grit, authenticity, and humor of its birthplace. I visited Liverpool, just a few miles from my home, to listen to the music in its home setting. Sitting and listening to the piece through headphones in the open-air space of the bombed-out church of St. Luke’s (bombed in 1941), I was reminded quite viscerally of how voices of the past are ever-present in all our lives, whether as a direct result of war or as our worries and insecurities of a family crisis. The statue of two First World War soldiers, one British and one German, shaking hands outside the church, seemed to echo the oftused phrase that WWI was supposed to be “the war to end all wars.” The gravestones of the hundreds of child orphans lining the cemetery walls served as a heartfelt prompt to give voice to them and the voice – less orphans of today.
The oratorio’s impassioned beginning looks back to Liverpool in 1942, amidst the horror of the Second World War (which Paul McCartney was born into), where death is ever-present. But war is never resigned to history, and in 2024 the mother’s words “the world you’re coming into is no easy place to enter; every day is haunted by the echoes of the past”—are a stark reminder of our present global challenges. Musically, the piece plunges you directly into the heartbeat of birth and death. Dramatically, I have echoed this and tried to portray life’s journey and the hope for a better future. To enrich the narrative’s authenticity, each ensemble member has a backstory of a real person from Liverpool. I have also introduced dancers to represent the inner voices of Shanty and Mary and personify “hope,” which rises phoenix-like from the wreckage of the bombed city.
Through Shanty’s story, we see the post-war community rebuilding. We see societal shifts and nuances of male hierarchy, and we smile at the antics of the schoolboys and the awkwardness of being at a church dance with the grown-ups. We feel the shock and aloneness of a bereaved teenager and the stressful work-life balance of newlywed Baby Boomers of the 1960s. This gives way to the final peaceful understanding that it is in our own hands to change and “… be fair to each other.
Designer Leslie Travers and I have worked together to realize settings that allow for both the epic depiction of war and the intimate reflections of daily life. We found poignant inspiration from the Liverpool Blitz Memorial, depicting a mother holding a baby and a boy with a plane on the spiral staircase of an air-raid shelter. Our set sits alongside the River Mersey, where the ebb and flow metaphorically parallel life’s journey, and we can share its universality here alongside the Ohio River. Sir Paul’s school motto is heard throughout, reminding us of our desire for peace in our global family today: “Non nobis solum, Sed Toti mundo, nati. Toti mundo nat.” “Not for ourselves, but for the whole world, were we born.” Perhaps the Liverpool Oratorio is a timeless testament to the power of music to move hearts and minds and effect change.
Thursday, July 18, 2024 9:15 P.M. Music Hall Ballroom
1241 Elm Street | Cincinnati, OH 45202
An exclusive fundraising event honoring Sir Paul McCartney in support of Cincinnati Opera’s world stage premiere of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio.
Cincinnati Opera stands proud as the second-oldest opera company in the country, second only to the Metropolitan Opera, and is known for presenting exploratory and innovative new art, and Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio is a prime example. In 1991, Paul McCartney was commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic to create a large-scale piece for opera singers, choruses, and orchestra to commemorate their 150th Anniversary. The concert and album were highly successful, but the piece has never been staged—until now!
We want to pay homage to Sir Paul McCartney for his incredible impact in the music industry with the presentation of this work. This fundraiser allows us to underwrite some of the costs associated with the design and realization of this production, acting as a way to thank McCartney for inspiring and expanding the minds of music lovers everywhere.
In essence, it’s our love letter.
Cincinnati Music Hall, Springer Auditorium
This was the 1st concert played at Cincinnati Music Hall, Springer Auditorium.
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