The Team & Premiere
The musical event Adelina the Jester premiered in Austin, Texas in June of 2024 as a chamber oratorio. Soloists sang the roles of Adelina, Earl Roger, King William II, and Fitzhugh, the earl’s agent, in concert format, with a medieval ensemble of lute, harp, Baroque guitar, recorder, organ, and percussion providing accompaniment and musical interludes. Each of the soloists was paired with a contemporary dancer, who, as something like an avatar, expressed each soloist’s emotions and helped propel the narrative. A chorus filled the roles of peasants, courtiers, and other English folk.
Producer
Lissa was in London in 1986 and happened upon an exhibit at the Public Records Office that marked the 900th anniversary of the Domesday Book’s completion. Having graduated from UT Austin with a degree in world history, and with fond memories of her medieval English history class, she was fascinated especially by a display that listed many of the occupations that appear in the work; at the bottom of the list was “female jester 1”. Ever since then, Lissa has wondered who this person was, how she got the job, what her jokes were like, and what happened to her. She finally decided to do something about these questions and, thanks to some happy accidents, was able to recruit the super-talented Andrew and Katie to develop some answers in musical and theatrical form.
Composer
Andrew Grainger is an English composer, pianist, organist and teacher now living in Austin, Texas. He holds degrees in Piano Performance from Surrey University, UK and a Masters degree in Composition from Kingston University, UK. Andrew has been involved in many genres of music over his career, ranging from classical to jazz and pop and includes writing, producing and engineering. As a multimedia composer he has written music for television and film, but now focuses on purely classical composition including orchestral, chamber and solo works, many of which have been performed in the central texas region. He also performs with his wife, cellist Annette Eicker. Andrew is excited to be working with Katie and Lissa to make this brand new chamber oratorio into a wonderful and compelling production. Find more information here: Andrew Grainger
Story and Libretto
Katie Bender (she/her/hers) is a playwright, performer, and theater maker. Her plays include Judith, SHE WOLF, The Survivors/Los Sobrevivientes and Instructions for a Séance, to name a few. Her work has been developed and produced all over the country, including at Hyde Park Theater, ZACH, The Alley, Shrewds, EST, Kitchen Dog, The Playwrights’ Center, LAUNCH PAD, and Fusebox Festival. She is the co-creator of Underbelly, with whom she made ecstatic site-specific performances such as Slip River, for which she received the Austin Chronicle’s Critics Table Award for Best New Comedy. Her play Judith received the B. Iden Payne Award for Best New Script. Katie was a Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis and received her MFA from The University of Texas at Austin. She is thrilled to be working with Andy and Lissa.
Find more information here: Katie Bender
Photos from the premiere
Photography by Catherine Spainhour
Video of the Premiere
Reviews of the Premiere of Adelina the Jester
From some musical ensemble directors:
"Adelina the Jester was an absolute joy to put together. Andrew Grainger's music was challenging and a terrific interpretation of a story that is lively, sad, funny, and uplifting all at the same time. Being included in the entire journey of such a significant project, from listening to its producer's first creative notions to conducting the final performance, made it truly fulfilling. Seeing the overwhelming response from our audiences was a reminder that Adelina deserves to be experienced long beyond its initial run.”
Trevor Shaw - Conductor of the premiere with Inversion Ensemble
"Adelina is an accessible piece for all sorts of folks. The textural threads of modern vs old world keep the audience guessing and entertained: the period instrumentation juxtaposed with contemporary choral arrangements, and the historical characters singing text that could be straight out of a current text message thread."
Julie Fiore
Founder & Artistic Director
"Experiencing *Adelina the Jester* was a captivating journey into a medieval tale brought to life through opera. The production skillfully combined dramatic storytelling with stunning musicality, vividly illustrating the whimsical and poignant moments of the narrative and wonderful humor! The performance's rich powerful vocals enhanced the timeless charm of Adelina's story."
Liz Cass
Founder and Executive Producer of LOLA (Local Opera Local Artists), Executive Director of Armstrong Community Music School
“Adelina is a clever blend of old and new; it engages instruments and sounds one might associate with Early Music, while employing modern pacing and superlative wit. Light-hearted, entertaining, and just the right amount of bawdy, this charming work is a novel delight!”
Julie Orlandini
Executive Director and Conductor of Panoramic Voices
From some of our performers:
“This was an amazing project, and I feel so honored.”
Bethany Naef Ammon - lead soloist
“Playing the character of Fitzhugh in the premier staging of Adelina the Jester was a privilege and an ox-cart full o' fun! The music is brilliantly constructed and extremely singable, creating an ancient feel built of modern harmonizations. Composer Andy Grainger is a wizard, weaving spells made from a mix of raucous ensemble numbers with hauntingly beautiful solos and duets resulting in an unforgettable experience for performer and audience member alike.”
Steve Young - soloist
“Playing in the Adelina orchestra was a one-of-a-kind joy. We were a tiny cohort of players suspended between musical worlds. We played melodies that felt medieval, on instruments whose forebears would not have been out of place in the Earl’s court, while keeping up with the harmonic twists and turns of 21st century musical composition. The music sticks with you. After the final performance it was hard to say goodbye to that captivating musical world. To this day, at our house, we catch ourselves singing Adelina songs!”
Shana Norton - harpist
“Adelina the Jester was an exciting experience that piqued my interest and challenged me to expand my dance expression. Dancing along with live music in a historic theater was a wonderful experience that had obvious resonance with audiences and performers alike. Very grateful to be a part of the project!”
Jairus Carr - dancer
From some audience members:
"Adelina the Jester is a wonderful and fascinating production and we thoroughly enjoyed the very entertaining story and the awesome music, dancing and singing. My family and I were immediately immersed into medieval England and just loved the concept of this multi-layered show."
“I found this oratorio quite entrancing . . . Amazingly, it all worked: the orchestra, singers and dancers all in sync and creating a panoramic spectacle. The first act is long and sets up both the historical background and the plot. The second, much shorter act depicts the gradual, then faster and finally very satisfying denouement. There is a moment in which the world is set to a very imperfect state of rights: everybody wins, but in doing so each one also loses.”
“What an enchanting story: a female jester, who knew? And enchanting music to match!”
“I couldn’t attend the performance in person but have watched now on video--twice! The music is both exciting and comforting, and the text is witty, a great recipe for an engaging show!”
“I thought it had a very sophisticated musical construct--kind of like Pippin without Bob Fosse. It has an off-Broadway appeal.”
“I was really impressed—every aspect of the performance is so professional!”
"The production of Adelina is an engaging example of the fusion of multiple artistic disciplines. The historical story is compelling and the music sings the story forward by blending medieval and 21st-century musical traditions. The interplay between the large chorus and the soloists in a traditional oratorio, combined with 21st-century dance, adds layers of depth to the performance. It took a musician, playwright, and producer to create this very contemporary, compelling, and rich performance experience!"