Professional recording of Signor Kelly's Soufflé

Recently I was diagnosed with a gradual onset of aphasia. As a result, expressing my thoughts in my speech has become increasingly complex, although my mind is as active as ever. During the Covid lockdowns I engaged in serious composing, arranging songs for friends and orchestrating them, including writing a Concertino for Trumpet for Anthony Thompson. I reckoned it would be an excellent exercise to keep my mind occupied during what has been a challenging time for all of us.

A while back I asked Simon Butteriss about writing a libretto for me to set to music, and as we weren’t at all busy during the lockdown, it seemed a good time to collaborate. Fortunately, Simon agreed and came up with a synopsis that I liked enormously. He wrote the libretto in just a month, and I set to work on my first opera in November 2020.

The first act took around three months to complete. The second act was more of a challenge, but I eventually finished it almost a year later, including full orchestration of the whole opera.

It’s entitled ‘Signor Kelly’s Soufflé’ and is scored for four principal characters –

Nancy Storace (who played Susanna in the premiere of The Marriage of Figaro at the Hofburgtheater in Vienna),

Michael Kelly (who played Don Curzio/Basilio in the same production),

Stephen Storace ( Nancy’s brother and a composer who was tutored by Mozart) and

Lorenzo da Ponte (Mozart’s celebrated librettist),

accompanied by a chamber orchestra of fifteen players.

I’ve since discovered that most mid-sized opera companies are trying to rebuild their audiences again post-pandemic and so won’t contemplate new works by a totally unknown composer! Consequently, Simon and I have decided that the best way to promote the opera is by recording it and then sending it to potential companies to see if there is any interest in producing it.

I already have several singers and players who have expressed an interest in the recording, so if the fundraising reaches its target, I will press the go button.

A quality, professional recording will cost £22,000 (including GoFundMe fees), but fortunately I already have support to the tune of £7,000. So if I can persuade many friends to add a little to the kitty, it becomes achievable.

I would be forever grateful to each one of you who does.

I'll keep you updated on progress. I'll organise an event at a location (to be agreed upon) if the fundraising target is reached and the recording is achieved so that all donors can hear the end product.

Thank you for considering this.