Andrew Poppy

A selection of chamber opera/music theatre productions

IMPROVEMENTS ON NATURE: a double act

AVALANCHE THOUGHTS

OPHELIA/OPHELIA

BABY DOLL

THE URANIUM MINERS RADIO ORCHESTRA

PLAY SCENES FROM SALOME'S REVENGE

THE SONGS OF THE CLAYPEOPLE

 MUSIC THEATRE 1983-2009

As an extension of his concert music Andrew Poppy makes an experimental music

theatre somewhere between performance art and opera.

Since 1989 he has developed a collaborative partnership with visual and theatre
artist Julia Bardsley

Improvements on Nature (09)
This is a meditation on the double act. Bardsley and Poppy are semi-
scientists who take the image of the heroic, benignly beautiful horse
and in a derelict laboratory grow a new version of the animal both savage
and cannibal. The two performers are sandwiched between two sample
slides and through a series of acts, images, sounds, music and texts they
struggle with the mutations of a genetic code.
Commissioned by Sacred 2009 Produced by Bardsley Poppy Projects
Avalanche Thoughts (02)
A hybrid and heterogeneous work which sews together the experience of
the gallery, the theatre and the concert hall; balancing video projection,
live and recorded music, photographic and sculptural books, text as
object and sound.
Commissioned by GAle GAtes New York & New Moves Glasgow 2002
Ophelia/Ophelia (94)
A fragment of Hamlet. Or a version of Hamlet where all the characters
accept Ophelia are ghosts. Ophelia as a double with an absent twin.
A character expressed in fragments in the original text..
Baby Doll (93)
When business is bad; burn the competition Two males muster their stuff
and using all available techniques fight to the death and a prize. The
Charms of innocence: Baby Doll. Set up as a beguiling tale of revenge,
Tennessee Williams screen play, wades into the minefield of sexual
property and power, ruthless competition and bigotry
For his opera Andrew Poppy distils the structure, drama and poetry from a
detailed shooting script into a music theatre work for four characters. Music
articulates the drama of a kitchen sink terrorism presented in hyper-real
style.
Commissioned by National Theatre Studio and Leicester Haymarket
The Uranium Miners Radio Orchestra Plays Scenes from Salome's
Revenge (89)
The Salome Myth restaged and retold by a music theatre company of
uranium miners. John the Baptist is an anarchic radio presenter obsessed
with the (for-) telling of disaster. Broadcast from a mining disaster.
Commissioned as part of the Royal Opera House's Garden Venture
The Songs of the Clay People (83-87)
a work about fragments, and found objects and the creative process,.
.
Commissioned by ICA theatre London and Impact Theatre
 IMPROVEMENTS ON NATURE:
a double act
a performance by Julia Bardsley & Andrew Poppy
concept Andrew Poppy and Julia Bardsley
costume, objects, video, settings Julia Bardsley
text, music, electronics, toy piano, voice Andrew Poppy
IMPROVEMENTS ON NATURE is a report on what happens when
Mary takes Charles to her bed for true science and publishes the details
of their union as a series of boxed amputations. For true science. Or
what she thinks is the truth of science. And because it is for science
that makes it all right; because science is real and everything,
everything else is just the imagination. It’s the scientific enquiry of
Charles Darwin incubated by the traumatised imagination of Mary
Shelly.
Commissioned by Sacred 2009 Produced by Bardsley Poppy Projects
 AVALANCHE THOUGHTS

Concept by Andrew Poppy and Julia Bardsley

Video images, objects and settings by Julia Bardsley
Music, texts and electronics by Andrew Poppy
Piano in New York and Glasgow Tania Chen

Commissioned by GAle GAtes New York & New Moves Glasgow 2002

AVALANCHE THOUGHTS is a hybrid and heterogeneous work which

sews together the experience of the gallery, the theatre and the concert hall;
balancing video projection, live and recorded music, photographic and
sculptural books, text as object and sound.

AVALANCHE THOUGHTS are moments that teeter on the edge of

disaster. Wilful and erotic thoughts that tease and tempt us into the abyss.
Chaotic, statistical and overwhelming textures obliterate objects of security,
moments of clarity and identity. They may be situations of fate or beds of
our own making. Whatever, we lick the rim of a particular pleasure: the
cusp between rational knowledge and the instinctive destructive impulse
that put things into the danger zone and beyond control
 THE SONGS OF THE CLAYPEOPLE

First performed at Leeds University Theatre Studio 1st May 1984.

PART 1 THE AMUSEMENT
Directed by Pete Brookes. PART 2 GOODBYE MR G
Concept, music and texts by Andrew Poppy. PART 3 THE SEQUENCE
PART 4 45 IS
PART 6 MORE AMUSEMENT
Performers: Heather Ackroyd, Niki Johnson
PART 7 THE PASSAGE
Steve Shill Richard Hawley PART 8 THE OUTRAGE OF THE FISHERMAN IS WIDELY SHARED

Fairlight Mk music computer, keyboards and piano AP
Voice Elise Lorraine
Production made in collaboration with Impact Theatre Co.
Some sections were later recorded in new versions for the CD Alphabed.
Musicians for these were as follows.
Voices: Annette Peacock, Sheila Smith, Joie Favier, Dee Lewis,
Udo Scheuerpflug, Ashley Slater.
Saxophone: Jo Pretzel.
Trombone: Ashley Slater.
Percussion: Maritz Oswald, Leroy Williams.
Piano, synths and programming: Andrew Poppy
 THE URANIUM MINERS RADIO ORCHESTRA
PLAY SCENES FROM SALOME'S REVENGE

Presenter/Mr Baptist: Andrew Bailey

First performed at The Donmar Warehouse London May 17th 1989.
Herod/Minister of Education/Joe the miner : Peter Sidhom
Herodius/Wife of Minister : Susannah Self
Concept, music and text : Andrew Poppy Salome/Joelle, daughter of Minister : Tamsin Dives
Conductor : David Syrus
Designer : Simon Vincenzi
Director : Julia Bardsley Oboe : Joseph Saunders
Saxophone : Edward Pillinger
Trumpet : Julian Poore
Trombone : Siggi Thorberggson
A radio presenter and reincarnation of the prophet John the Baptist presents his radio
Violin : Elisabeth Wexler
show. A disaster-athone. Real distaster as voyeuristic pleasure. He invited sponcers to
Bass : Sarah Haynes
save Joe the Miner. Mr Baptists world is The Salome myth in a contemporary variation in
Harp : Isobel Frayling-Cork
which Herod’s court is the The minister of Education's incestuious and ruined family. A
Percussion 1 : Simon Limbrick
fictional strand also encloses the orchestra .
Percussion 2 : Martin Allen
Piano : Mark Daver
 BABY DOLL

First performed at the R.N.T. Cottesloe Theatre 5th May 1993.

Baby Doll : Fiona O'Neill or Margaret Cameron
Archie Lee : Simon Masterton-Smith
from a screen play by TENNESSEE WILLIAMS Silva : John Upperton
Libretto in 9 Scenes adapted by ANDREW POPPY Aunt Rose : Diana Payne-Myers
Director : Julia Bardsley Banjo/electric guitar : Ben grove
Designer : Simon Vincenzi Violin : Anna Hemery
Conductor : Bernard Lafontaine Clarinet/bass clarinet : Sarah Homer
Trombone : Bob Price
When Business is bad, burn the competition.Two males muster their stuff and using all Piano : Dominic Saunders
available techniques fight to the death for survival and a prize: the charms of the innocent
Baby Doll. Meanwhile this young woman has her own agenda and ways of getting what
she wants. Set up as a beguiling tale of revenge, Tennessee Williams screen play, treads
the minefield of sexual property and power, ruthless competition and bigotry.
 OPHELIA/OPHELIA
an opera for one voice against itself
and for an unspecified number of mute performers
based on the text of a character of Shakespeare's
Mezzo soprano:: Margaret Cameron
Bass clarinet/clarinet: Roger Heaton
Keyboards and processing: Andrew Poppy
The score of Ophelia/Ophelia was selected by the international jury of
the ISCM for performances in Copenhagen 1996
Theatrical Options
1. Ophelia/Ophelia is Hamlet played as Ophelia's memory at the
moment of her death. Or as a premonition of her end. The weight of the
present or past tense shifting from moment to moment and this shift
expressed visually. The whole story told in shadowy dream images or a
bald 'real- time' reality. All characters from the original play represented
by non- speaking physical performers and/or dancers.
2. Ophelia/Ophelia is a moment of cultural memory, drowning in an
abundance of almost unreadable images. A moment where everything is
suggestion. Ophelia is the only performer in a designed environment over
laid with projected images. An endless metaphoric and metonymic
refraction attempting to make a meaning of Ophelia.
3. Ophelia as virtue and vice; the singer alternating with a choreographic
double. The audience's desire revealed through the presentation of two
paths: 'the steep and thorny way to heaven' and 'the primrose path of
dalliance'.
Combine and adapt options as necessary.
 Biography
ANDREW POPPY (1954) is a composer and musician. His early musical life
included playing bass guitar in an improvising rock band, playing Bartok and
Debussy on the piano and making music concrete with his father’s tape
recorder. He went to study music at Kingsway’s College and Goldsmiths
College, London University, graduating in 1979 BMus.
During the 1970s he developed a strong interest in contemporary American
composers Cage, Feldman, Riley, Glass and Reich. He attended a summer
school with John Cage and Merc Cunningham and played in an ensemble
with Christian Wolff.
In the early 1980’s he was an accompanist at the Laban Centre for Dance
and pianist and composer with The Lost Jockey, a large ensemble playing
pulse based music that became known as Minimalism.
Particularly interested in the creative part recording plays in the music of
today Poppy moves between conventionally notated scores and studio work
influenced by pop production. He was signed as a contemporary composer
and recording artist to Trevor Horn and Paul Morley’s Zang Tumb Tuum
Records in 1984. His first CD The Beating of Wings includes performances of
32 Frames for Orchestra and Cadenza for piano and electric piano and was
released in 1985. This was followed in 1987 by Alphabed which featured the
Firelight music computer, the first Akai samplers and vocal performances
from Annette Peacock.
After ZTT Poppy continued to record for independent labels: Recordings,
includes 14 Poems and Toccatas for violin and piano performed by Elisabeth
Perry and Andrew Ball and premiered by them at the Huddersfield Festival.
Ophelia/Ophelia, a chamber opera was selected by ISCM for the world music
days in Denmark. Rude Bloom contains two contemporary dance scores (for
Siobhan Davies/ Linda Gaudreau). Time at Rest Devouring its Secret an
electro acoustic installation premiered at NRLA and Tramway. Recently ZTT
Records have released a 3 CD box set containing all Poppy’s recordings for
the label during the 80’s and including an unreleased album Under The Son
An experimental music theatre, often based on the composer’s own texts
has been part of his creative initiative. Songs of the Clay People was a
collaboration with Impact Theatre in 1983. There are also three chamber
operas The Uranium Miners (ROH Garden Venture) Baby Doll
(NTS/Cottesloe) Ophelia Ophelia (ISCM). An oratorio Something In The Air
(Levitation And Fall) was commissioned by the Estonian National Male Choir
conducted by Kaspars Putnins premiered in Tallinn in January 2006.
Since 1989 he has developed a collaborative partnership with visual and
theatre artist Julia Bardsley Projects include Avalanche Thoughts a
multimedia work premiered in New York .in 2002 and more recently
Improvements on Nature was commissioned by the Sacred Festival at
Chelsea Theatre London.
Concert works include Horn Horn, a double saxophone concerto for John
Harle and Simon Haram commissioned by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra, Last Light recorded by The Smith Quartet, Revolution No 8:
Airport for Joseph Beuys for orchestra and electronic delays. More Matter
Less premiered by Noszferatu at the Cheltenham Festival 2003
His unusual body of work constantly explores different musical contexts
There are scores for theatre, film & video, contemporary dance and art
installation; writing collaborations and arrangement for industrial rock and
synth pop artist including Psych TV, Erasure, Claudia Brucken and Bernardo
Devlin
Recent concert commissions include for Darwin’s Sin Draw a violin concerto
for Darragh Morgan and The Crash Ensemble, Hatch for The Smith String
Quartet, Playing the Pulse for CoMA ensemble, Periscope for prepared piano
for pianist Mary Dullea, Hoarding Flap for harpsichordist Jane Chapman and
Definitely Disco commissioned by The London International String Quartet
Festival as a competition test piece. BBC Concert Orchestra recently played
32 Frames for orchestra at the QEH in London.
Poppy also performs: solo, with electronics and with his own ensemble of
various combinations. Its most recent form, The Sustaining Ensemble has
just completed UK tour dates with music from the CD ‘…and the Shuffle of
Things
Full works list available on request
 Discography
All recordings produced by Andrew Poppy. All ensembles directed by AP

ALPHABED
THE BEATING OF WINGS
(8/87) ZTT Records CD 4509-94752-2 Dist. Warner UK
(7/85) ZTT Records CD 4509-94751-2
45 is, Goodbye Mr G, The Amusement
Distribution Warner UK
32 Frames for Orchestra,
The Object is a Hungry Wolf for large ensemble
Cadenza
Listening In

RECORDINGS
(9/92) Bitter+Twisted Records CD SPIN992 Dist.
32 FRAMES FOR ORCHESTRA
Impetus
Poems and Toccatas piano Andrew Balll violin Elisabeth
12 INCH ZTT
Perry Ember: String Quartet performed by Balanescu
32 Frames for Orchestra, The Impossible Net
Quartet\ Movie Momento performed by Andrew Poppy

OPHELIA/OPHELIA
THE AMUSEMENT
(95) Impetus Records CD19426
mezzo Margaret Cameron, b.cl Roger Heaton Keybds
7&12 INCH ZTT
AP
The Amusement ,/ Listening In
 RUDE BLOOM
ANOTHER LANGUAGE (05)
(95) Art Gallery Records CD07.Dist. Wotre Music There Music Dist. Mute Records
France 1)Lipstick Vogue 2) White Noise Maker 3) Drive in Saturday
Eight Movements for Piano Trio 4) Broken English 5) Nice Dream 6) Running Up That Hill 7)
Melody Versus the Brittle Funk Amsterdam 1897 8) Breakfast 9) Die Nebensonnen 10)
Libertango 11) You Do 12) Wooden Heart
voice Claudia Brucken piano/guitar Andrew Poppy
arrangements by AP

TIME AT REST DEVOURING ITS SECRET

ANDREW POPPY ON ZANG TUUM TUMB
(00) Source Research Recordings Dist. World Serpent
(05) ZTT Records

Disc one: THE BEATING OF WINGS

The Object is a Hungry Wolf /32 Frames for Amplified
Orchestra /Listening In
Cadenza for Piano and Electric Piano /Inside the
Wolf/The Impossible Net
Listening In (re-modelled)

BLOOD SUGAR Disc two: ALPHABED (A MYSTERY DANCE)

(Bitter + Twisted Records, 2003) The Amusement/45 Is/Goodbye Mr G/The Amusement (12 inch) /King Kong
Last Light for string orchestra, Snowdronia for Presto/East Fragment/King Kong Adagio
chamber ensemble, Revolution Number Eight: airport
Disc three: UNDER THE SON
for joseph beuys orchestra and electronics, TARDIS The Sequence/The Passage (Parts 1, 2, 3)/Sometimes It Rains
electronics
…AND THE SHUFFLE OF THINGS

(08) Field Radio Records Dist. Rough Trade/Mute

Bank

Something Secret/Wet Fold/My Stress Mistress

RUNNING NAKED Balcony Scene/ Wave Machine part 2 and 3
THROUGH THE GARMENT DISTRICT The Head of Orpheus Football/ What Else: What
then Now My Fathers Submarines/Almost the
Same Shame,
(Bitter + Twisted Records, 2003)
Perfprmed by Andrew Poppy Sustaining
Drum machining/Double Stitch/Lining for a Desirable
Ensemble Latvian Radio Choir Kaspars Putnis
Suit
text and this document © high bridge projects and andrew poppy

all photographs © the photographers

Henrik Knudsen
Anton Corbyn
Julia Bardsley
Manuel Vason
Richard Smith
A.J. Barret
Ana Borralho

SOUNDS and IMAGES on the web

andrewpoppy@orpheusmail.co.uk