Preview Opera North's 2010-2011 Season
A look at what's coming up for Leeds' opera lovers
Other Recent Preview Articles
Opera North have recently released casting information for their forthcoming season. This exciting season consists of one revival and a massive six new productions and a concert staging of Das Rheingold. As always, Opera North put together a diverse season of opera, mixing such well known classics as Bizet’s Carmen with little known works such as Weinberg’s The Portrait. Carmen is to play a central part of the freedom themed spring/summer 2011 season which will also feature Beethoven’s Fidelio and Janacek’s From The House of The Dead. Full details for each production and the specific Leeds Grand Theatre dates are listed below;
The Adventures of Pinocchio (Jonathan Dove)
16th September – 31st December 2010
Cast Includes: Victoria Simmonds/Karina Lucas, Mary Plazaz/Fflur Wyn, Jonathan Summers, Rebecca Bottone, Graeme Broadbent/Stephen Richardson, Nicky Spence, Mark Wilde, James Laing, Carole Wilson
Director: Martin Duncan
Conductor: David Parry
The first revival of Jonathan Dove’s excellent family opera. This proved to be incredibly successful with both critics and audiences alike when it premiered in 2007. Most of the original cast return, including Victoria Simmonds who shone in the demanding title role. Early booking is advise as this should be a big seller for families in particular.
The Turn of The Screw (Benjamin Britten)
2nd October 2010 – 21st October 2010
Cast includes: Benjamin Hulett, Elizabeth Atherton, Giselle Allen, Fflur Wynn, Yvonne Howard
Director: Alessandro Talevi
Conductor: Richard Farnes
Giselle Allen returns to the company after her Rusalka to play Miss Jessel in Britten’s deeply unsettling psychological thriller about ghosts and child abuse. This is one of Britten’s most complex and technical scores and is based on a 12 note theme, similar to Schoenberg’s revolutionary 12 tone system. Opera North have always had great success with previous Britten operas and I have high hopes for this new production conducted by musical director Richard Farnes.
The Merry Widow (Franz Lehar)
16th October 2010 – 8th February 2011
Cast includes: Stephanie Corley, Amy Freston, Allan Clayton/Nicholas Sharratt, William Dazeley, Geoffrey Dolton
Director: Giles Havergal
Conductor: Wyn Davies
A co-production with Opera Australia of Lehar’s sparkling Viennese operetta. Dickie and Butch favourite Craig Revel Horwood will return to the company to choreograph the production after his wonderful work on last year’s Paradise Moscow. This will be a great show to catch over the Christmas period and will provide a much needed break from the flood of pantomimes saturating the country.
Carmen (Georges Bizet)
17th January 2011 – 11th May
Cast includes: Heather Shipp/Sandra Piques Eddy, Peter Auty, Kostas Smoriginas, Anne Sophie Duprels/Elizabeth Atherton
Director: Daniel Kramer
Conductor: Andreas Delfs/Andrea Licata
I have to say I’m not a huge fan of Bizet’s most popular opera (I still have nightmares about Sally Potter’s horrific production for ENO) but I will be seeing this just to see Heather Shipp (who was just about the only good thing about ON’s disastrous Skin Deep) in the title role. The strong cast is also joined by Anne Sophie Duprels who sang beautifully in both La Boheme and Madama Butterfly. I’m hoping for a modern take on the opera from director Daniel Kramer, returning to Opera North after directing Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna in 2009.
The Portrait (Mieczyslaw Weinberg)
2nd February 2011 – 12th February 2011
Cast includes: Paul Nilon, Katherine Broderick, Richard Burkhard, Wynne Evans, Helen Field, Mark Le Brocq, Peter Savidge, Nicholas Sharratt, Carole Wilson.
Director: David Pountney
Conductor: Rossen Gergov
I have to admit to knowing absolutely nothing about this opera, to be co-produced with the Opéra national de Lorraine. The opera was written in 1980 and is based on Gogol’s short story about a man who acquires a strangely realistic portrait of himself which exerts a demonic power over him. Very Dorian Gray. The presence of Paul Nilon and the excellent David Pountney make this a must see.
From The House of The Dead (Leoš Janácek)
5th May 2011 – 14th May 2011
Cast includes: Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Alan Oke, Robert Haywood, Roderick Williams, Stephen Richardson
Director: John Fulljames
Conductor: Richard Farnes
A new production of Janácek’s last opera, a bleak and austere story set against some of the most extraordinarily ethereal chamber music that he ever composed. A talented all-male cast will ensure that this is a well acted and brilliantly sung evening and if not, then the director’s fantastic surname will make the ticket price worthwhile.
Fidelio (Ludwig van Beethoven)
14th April 2011 – 13th May 2011
Cast includes: Emma Bell, Steven Harrison, Jeremy White, Fflur Wyn, Joshua Ellicott, Andrew Foster-Williams, Robert Winslade Anderson.
Director: Tim Alberry
Conductor: Dietfried Bernet
Opera North bring Tim Alberry’s Scottish Opera production of Beethoven’s one and only opera, Fidelio, to Leeds Grand Theatre. This isn’t one of the greatest opera’s ever written and the plot is hardly the most interesting, but it does feature some fantastic music including the act one quartet, the ‘Prisoner’s Chorus‘ (sadly though, it is nothing like ‘Prisoners of Love’ from The Producers) and the 10 minute tenor showpiece ’Gott, welch’ Dunkel hier’. The Viennese conductor Dietfried Bernet should ensure an unforgettable musical performance, even if the piece is dramatically not the most interesting of evenings.
Das Rheingold (Richard Wagner)
Leeds Town Hall – 18th June, 1st July, 8th September 2011
Birmingham Symphony Hall – 24th June 2011
Sage Gateshead – 26th June 2011
The Lowry – 10th September 2011
Cast to be announced
Conductor: Richard Farnes
The first part in Wagner’s epic four part Der Ring des Nibelungen will provide a stunning close to the season. This will be the first time that Opera North have tackled the Ring Cycle and each of the four operas will be performed over four years between 2011-2014. Casting has not yet been published, but we are expecting an announcement very shortly, so keep checking back for full details. I’ll probably be seeing this at least twice, once in Leeds and then again at the acoustically superior Sage Gateshead. John Tomlinson, one of the greatest Wotan’s of recent years, will be involved as an artistic consultant which is thrilling news.
The new Opera North season was previewed by Dickie, co-author of arts blog www.dickieandbutch.com
Posted on Tuesday 15th June 2010
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