The Ballad of Jamie Allan (2004)

The colourful life of border gypsy Jamie Allan was resurrected in a world premiere at the Sage Gateshead - on what could have been the very spot where he stole the horse that led to his imprisonment and death in a Durham gaol in 1810. Just as the Northumbrian piper had packed so much into his long life, so Newcastle-born saxophonist and composer John Harle managed to fit about every musical style and theatrical device into the folk opera. Northern Sinfonia performed the Ballad of Jamie Allan, with the catchy libretto by Tom Pickard. Kathryn Tickell composed some magical passages on her Northumbrian Pipes. Jamie, who became a legendary rogue and talented musician patronised by the aristocracy, was portrayed with penetrating insight by the charismatic baritone Omar Ebrahim. He was perfectly counterbalanced by his consort Annie Bennet, played by jazz/rock/R&B singing star Sarah Jane Morris. Her command of the lower end of the register with her deep earthy voice was a treat, while both her and Ebrahim's tones were perfectly married in the duets. The score straddled several musical genres, with the evershifting tapestry threatening to overwhelm the senses at times. The opera, supplemented by video and photographic footage from Tom Pickard, was challenging but rewarding. Jamie died a miserable death in Durham - his spirits would have been lifted by the spectacle.