A musical telling by Will Todd and David Simpatico
Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol: A Musical Retelling uses the original Dickens text and a multi-layered score. The work is designed as a theatrical oratorio for solo actor/actress, eight singing actors, and a small orchestra. The 70 minute adaptation is intended for both theatrical and/or choral presentations, and can be done simply with a lecture and music stands, or can be opened up to accommodate the needs and creativity of the individual productions.
Scored for: 8 Singers and 1 Actor, Accordion, Piano, Double Bass and Hand Bells
Duration: 70 minutes
“If you are looking for something cosy and fun to do, last night I went to see Will Todd’s new opera of A Christmas Carol. It is just fantastic, beautifully staged, witty, just ingenious, absolutely wonderful…you must pounce on tickets.” – Alexander Armstrong on Classic FM
“A lovely Christmas night out!”
Petroc Trelawny – BBC Radio 3
“Will Todd’s musical telling of the story, with a libretto by David Simpatico, captures the spirit of the tale perfectly…Enough to see everyone leave the performance filled with a hefty dose of festive cheer.”
Sam Smith – Music OMH
GREAT NEWS! A CHRISTMAS CAROL IS BACK AT SINFONIA SQUARE FOR TWO PERFORMANCES ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15! SEE LINK FOR INFO. https://operahollandpark.com/productions/a-christmas-carol-2025/
If you are interested in licensing DICKENS’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK
On Two Nights: 17th & 18th December
Tue 17 Dec & Wed 18 Dec
6.30pm Smith Square Hall
Produced by James Clutton and Opera Holland Park, directed by Martin Duncan, December 2024. Cast and Musicians: Kit Benjamin: Narrator and Scrooge Alys Roberts: Fan and Tiny Tim Fleur de Bray: Belle and Laundress Victoria Simmonds: Ghost of Christmas Past and Char Woman Charlotte Badham: Ghost of Christmas Present and Charity Collector 2 Charne Rochford: Bob Cratchit Julien Van Mellaerts: Mr Fezziwig and Charity Collector 1 Paul Carey Jones: Fred and Undertaker’s Man Robert Winslade Anderson: Jacob Marley’s Ghost and Joe, the Beetle Fran Hills: Piano Dave Ayre: Double Bass Ilona Suomalainen: Accordion
Developed by Opera Holland Park and premiered in December 2024.
PLEASE NOTE ANY PUBLIC PRODUCTION OF THIS WORK MUST SECURE RIGHTS FROM THE PRODUCERS C/O TYALGUM PRESS. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR DETAILS.
Here is the recording we made in concert at The Church of Scotland, in London, December 2018. Score by Will Todd; Directed by Martin Duncan; produced by James Clutton; featuring Kit Benjamin, Alys Roberts, Fleur de Bray, Victoria Simmonds, Heather Lowe, Robert Murray, Nicholas Garrett, Julien Van Mellaerts; scored for piano, bass and accordion.
Press this LINK for the full concert presentation (45 minutes, we left out the first scene for time constraints.)
TWO MINUTE TRAILER
Enjoy the two minute trailer (taped live in concert at The Church of Scotland, 2018); on my Youtube Channel, Noiseball Simpatico.
David Simpatico, Dramatist 