Twin Spirits is a dramatised concert for actors and musicians. It tells the story, in words and music, of the love affair and marriage of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck.
The spoken material is largely drawn from Robert and Clara’s letters and diaries with a narrator filling in the gaps in the story. The music is drawn from Robert’s piano music, chamber music and songs, from Clara’s songs and piano concerto and from two complementary works by Chopin and Mozart.
Twin Spirits has been performed on six different occasions in various locations in England and the US – and always in aid of charities of one sort or another.
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 12 June 2005
Twin Spirits was written as a fund-raising gala event in support of the Royal Opera House Educational Programme.
The first performance took place on the forestage of the main house before an invited audience who sat on the stage with the empty auditorium serving as a backdrop behind the assembled players.
The Words and Music of | Robert & Clara Schumann |
Devised and Directed by | John Caird |
Narrator | Ian McKellen |
Robert Schumann in Words | Sting |
Robert Schumann in Song | Simon Keenlyside |
Violin | Vasko Vassilev |
Piano | Iain Burnside |
Clara Schumann in Words | Trudie Styler |
Clara Schumann in Song | Rebecca Evans |
Cello | Nina Kotova |
Piano | Pamela Nicholson |
Produced by | June Chichester |
Translations by | John Chichester / Dr Ray Ockenden |
Technical Department | Geoff Wheel |
Costume, Wigs and Performance Support | Corrine Jones-Lord |
General Manager of St. John's Smith Square | Paul Davies |
Head of Events | Caroline Dalziel |
Support | Gail Ronson |
Donation of wine for the dinner | Farr Vintners |
Donation of Champagne for the reception | Perrier Jouët |
Windsor Castle, 28th June 2006
The second performance of Twin Spirits was in the Waterloo Room at Windsor Castle in the presence of HRH, the Prince of Wales, in aid of the ROH Educational programme and the Soil Association.
The Words and Music of | Robert & Clara Schumann |
Devised and Directed by | John Caird |
Narrator | Ian McKellen |
Robert Schumann in Words | Sting |
Robert Schumann in Song | Simon Keenlyside |
Violin | Valeriy Sokolov |
Piano | Iain Burnside |
Clara Schumann in Words | Trudie Styler |
Clara Schumann in Song | Rebecca Evans |
Cello | Natalie Clein |
Piano | Natasha Paremski |
Produced by | June Chichester |
Translations by | John Chichester |
Technical Department | Geoff Wheel |
Costume, Wigs and Performance Support | Corrine Jones-Lord |
Thanks to | Christopher Warren-Green |
General Manager of St. John's Smith Square | Paul Davies |
Support and advice | Thomas Lynch |
Thanks to | Premier Mode / Fisher Lighting |
Royal Opera House Staff | Geoff Wheel / Claudia Stolze / Emma Syrus / Tony Rickard / Caroline Dalziel / Victoria Green |
Donation of wine | Bonterra Vineyards |
Donation of beef | Daylesford Organic |
New Victory Theatre, Broadway, 27th March 2006
This, the third performance of Twin Spirits, was in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids and Classical Action: Performing Arts Against Aids.
The Words and Music of | Robert & Clara Schumann |
Devised by | John Caird |
Directed by | John Caird |
Translations by | John Chichester |
Music Supervision | Charles Hamlen |
Set Designer | Ray Klausen |
Lighting Designer | Howell Binkley |
Musical Arrangements by | Martin Ward |
Production Stage Manager | Nathan Hurlin |
Assistant Set Designer | Randy Parsons |
Assistant Lighting Designer | Stephen Terry |
Narrator | Jonathan Pryce |
Robert Schumann in Words | Sting |
Robert Schumann in Song | Thomas Meglioranza |
Violin | Joshua Bell |
Piano | Jeremy Denk |
Clara Schumann in Words | Trudie Styler |
Clara Schumann in Song | Lisa Saffer |
Cello | Alisa Weilerstein |
Piano | Natasha Paremski |
Produced by | June Chichester & Ariadne Villarreal |
Production Supervisor | Nathan Hurlin |
Audio Engineer | David Gotwald |
Press Representatives | Alison Ames (21C Media Group, Inc.) |
Marketing Consultant | Bobby McGuire |
Event Photographers | Ken Blauvelt (Studio 66) / Jay Brady |
Event Archive Videographer | Bradshaw Smith (Applause Video) |
Security Provided by | Kevin Flanagan (Excel Security) |
Website | Roy Palijaro |
Ticketing | Skip Lawing |
Volunteer Coordinator | Scott T. Stevens |
Invitation, Poster and Programme Design by | Carol A. Ingram |
Print Manager / Hospitality Coordinator | Yvonne Ghareeb |
Event Flowers | Joseph Macchia (Joseph John Designs) |
Pianos donated by | Steinway & Sons |
Salisbury Cathedral, 18 November 2006
The fourth performance of Twin Spirits was in aid of the Salisbury Cathedral Choral Foundation.
The Words and Music of | Robert & Clara Schumann |
Devised and Directed by | John Caird |
Narrator | Charles Dance |
Robert Schumann in Words | Sting |
Robert Schumann in Song | Simon Keenlyside |
Violin | Valeriy Sokolov |
Piano | Garry Matthewman |
Clara Schumann in Words | Trudie Styler |
Clara Schumann in Song | Rebecca Evans |
Cello | Natalie Clein |
Piano | Natasha Paremski |
Produced by | June Chichester |
Translations by | John Chichester |
Tralation of the poem by Franz Grillparzer | Dr Ray Ockenden |
Hair and Makeup | Claudia Stolze |
Royal Opera House Staff | Geoff Wheel / Claudia Stolze / Emma Syrus / Tony Rickard / Caroline Dalziel / Victoria Green |
Steinway Piano provided by | Trustees of the Edward Heath Charitable Foundation |
Donation of gift packs to the artists | Tom Mettyear and Mark Sparrow of Neals Yard Remedies |
Sound System provided by | Chris Marsh and Lars Brogard of Major Tom |
Thanks to | The Chapter and Staff of Salisbury Cathedral / Milburns / Stagecraft Limited / Debbie Ring / Geraldine Fairfax-Cholmeley / Jayne Rowe / Salisbury Printing Company Limited / Elliott Tunnard |
Royal Opera House, 19th & 20th December 2007
For these, the fifth and sixth performances of Twin Spirits, one of the ROH’s main rehearsal rooms was converted into a studio and the live performances were recorded for DVD in front of an invited audience.
The Words and Music of | Robert & Clara Schumann |
Devised by | John Caird |
Directed by | John Caird |
Translations by | John Chichester |
Lighting Designer | Peter Mumford |
Assistant Director | Gema Barnetson |
Narrator | Derek Jacobi |
Robert Schumann in Words | Sting |
Robert Schumann in Song | Simon Keenlyside |
Violin | Sergey Krilov |
Piano | Iain Burnside |
Clara Schumann in Words | Trudie Styler |
Clara Schumann in Song | Rebecca Evans |
Cello | Natalie Clein |
Piano | Natasha Paremski |
Producers | June Chichester / Ferenc van Damme |
Line Producer | Lucy Billingham |
Production Assistant | Ben Caird |
Photographer | Catherine Ashmore |
Technical Director | Geoff Wheel |
Broadcast / Sound Manager | Peter Byram |
Sound Producer | James Whitbourn |
Sound Engineer | Andy Rose |
Camera Supervisor | Philip Chavannes |
Camera Operator | Phil Taylor / Mark Senn / Den Pollitt / Graham Minassian |
Grip | Alan Tanner / Colin Brown |
Lincoln Center, New York, 30th June, 2010
The seventh performance of Twin Spirits was produced by Culture Project at the Allen Room, part of the Rose Theatre, Lincoln Centre complex in Manhattan. The performance was attended by Mayor Bloomberg who spoke at the end of the show. The proceeds were in aid of the charity Music Unites.
The Words and Music of | Robert & Clara Schumann |
Devised by | John Caird |
Creative / Production Staff
Directed by | John Caird |
Translations by | John Chichester |
Executive Producer | June Chichester |
Artistic Director | Allan Buchmann |
Director of Productions | Jayashri Wyatt |
Narrator | David Strathairn |
Robert Schumann in Words | Sting |
Robert Schumann in Song | Nathan Gunn |
Violin | Joshua Bell |
Piano | Jeremy Denk |
Clara Schumann in Words | Trudie Styler |
Clara Schumann in Song | Camille Zamora |
Cello | Nina Kotova |
Piano | Natasha Paremski |
The Music Center, Los Angeles, 15th February, 2011
The Words and Music of | Robert & Clara Schumann |
Devised by | John Caird |
Narrator | John Lithgow |
Robert Schumann in Words | Sting |
Robert Schumann in Song | Scott Hendricks |
Violin | Joshua Bell |
Piano | Jonathan Kelly |
Clara Schumann in Words | Trudie Styler |
Clara Schumann in Song | Camille Zamora |
Cello | Sara Sant'Ambrogio |
Piano | Natasha Paremski |
Producer | June Chichester |
Master Carpenter | Howard Dolan |
Master of Properties | Robert Ruby |
Master Electrician | William Morner |
Master Audio | Bones Malone |
Wardrobe | Lee Smilek |
Booking Manager | Sharon F. Steward |
Production Manager | Mark F. O'Donnell |
House Manager | Linda Walker |