WITH FIVE MAJOR PRODUCTIONS SCHEDULED

Opera North today announces five new productions for its 2021/22 season and an eclectic programme of live music in the Howard Assembly Room, marking a crucial and celebratory moment for the national opera company in the North this Autumn.

The new 2021/22 season, which is Opera North’s first full season in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, follows a tour of Fidelio and a co-production with Leeds Playhouse of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music in Spring/Summer 2021.

The 2021/22 season opens at Leeds Grand Theatre on 2 October 2021 with a new production of Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by Garry Walker in his first production as Opera North’s new Music Director.

A double-bill of works by Leonard Bernstein sees a revival of his one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti paired with a new co-production of West Side Story Symphonic Dances in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Theatre. Conducted by Antony Hermus, Opera North’s Principal Guest Conductor and choreographed by Phoenix Dance Theatre’s recently appointed Artistic Director Dane Hurst, Symphonic Dances will be an entirely new dance work, interpreting Bernstein’s thrilling music in an exploration of identity and conflict.

Performances of Carmen continue into Winter 2022, joined by a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto,  with a cast including  Sir Willard White. A new production of Handel’s Alcina, Opera North’s first environmentally sustainable production, is conducted by Laurence Cummings and directed by Tim Albery.

The year is completed by a rescheduled tour of Wagner’s Parsifal, which will open at Leeds Grand Theatre before touring to concert halls across the country including a London venue to be announced, in what will surely be one of the must-see operatic events of 2022.

All productions will open at Leeds Grand Theatre before touring. Tickets for events in the 2021/22 season will be on sale from June, with audience capacities following the most up-to-date government guidelines. Opera North will continue to work closely with partner venues to ensure that the safety and comfort of all audience members, staff and performers remains the highest priority. More information and the latest guidance on COVID measures can be found at operanorth.co.uk/covid-19-audience-guidance