Renowned Musical Director Greg Arrowsmith joins the ‘Follies’ creative team
Northern Ireland Opera are delighted to announce Greg Arrowsmith as the Musical Director for our new production of Follies.
This year he will conduct his 21st West End production in a career spanning 25 years. He has worked with Cameron Menzies, who will direct Follies, in London in 2019 and with NI Opera on the Salon Series production of The Lost Boy in The Playhouse in 2024.
Greg comments: ‘Being Musical Director for the legendary musical Follies is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I can’t wait to get started. This production in the Grand Opera House in September will have a 19-strong cast plus ensemble and a 32 piece orchestra performing in the pit of this stunning Frank Matcham designed heatre. I’ve worked in Belfast many times before and have travelled over to see NI Opera’s performances of Tosca and Eugene Onegin and I’m really looking forward to spending time in the city helping bring this award-winning musical to life.’
Past conducting highlights include The Rocky Horror Show (Playhouse Theatre, Peacock Theatre and Dominion Theatre), Songs for Nobodies (Ambassadors Theatre), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Playhouse Theatre), Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre), Shall We Dance (Sadlers Wells), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium) and nine Pantomimes at the London Palladium. Tours include Chess, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Happy Days, Calamity Jane, Kiss Me, Kate, Shout and Sister Act.
Greg is the co-music supervisor of Come Alive and musical supervisor for the world tour of The Rocky Horror Show. Greg was the conductor for the world premiere of Only the Brave at the Wales Millennium Centre. He has conducted various major orchestras most recently a season of performances of Rimsky Korsakov’s Sheherazade with the BBC National Orchestra Of Wales.
He also works as a composer and Greg’s new opera Ciphers was performed at the Tête à Tête opera festival in London last year. Internationally Greg has worked on shows in Tel Aviv, Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Turin, Naples, Milan, Trieste, Toronto, San Diego, Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore
We look forward to welcoming him to Belfast as Musical Director for Follies which will run from 13 to 20 September at the Grand Opera House, Belfast.