Billy BuddOpera North, 18th to 29th October Leeds Grand Theatre then touring UK until 3rd December
Benjamin Britten’s most psychologically complex opera is generally regarded as his greatest masterpiece. With a libretto drawn from Herman Melville’s novella by EM Forster and Eric Crozier, Britten fashioned a work that combined epic scale with philosophical intimacy. It was premiered as a four-act opera in 1952 at the Royal Opera House before Britten cut it down to two acts plus a prologue and an epilogue for a BBC broadcast in 1960. It is this streamlined version that is usually performed as it distils the essence of the work and heightens its potency. It has been 20 years since Opera North tackled Billy Budd and Orpha Phelan’s new production promises to honour Britten’s (and Melville’s) themes of guilt, betrayal, love, innocence, envy and corruption among an all-male band of seaborne brothers, catalysed by the youthful beauty of the titular hero. Bolstered by the formidable male chorus of Opera North, leading baritone Roderick Williams plays Billy while tenor Alan Oke embraces the role of Captain Vere. This is a voyage that should not be missed.
Xerxes/Ulysses’Homecoming English Touring Opera 8th October to 22nd November English Touring Opera’s winter season includes a revival of their well-regarded production of Handel’s Xerxes, which is relocated to an RAF base during the Battle of Britain with Xerxes as an ace fighter pilot. Mezzo-soprano Julia Riley sings the title role, which was originally written for a soprano castrato. James Conway directs from Nicholas Hytner’s adroit and sensitive translation. In the same season, Conway unveils his new production of Monteverdi’s Ulysses’ Homecoming, with Benedict Nelson in the title role and Carolyn Dobbin as Penelope. It’s gods versus mortals as Ulysses takes the long way home to his wife after the Trojan War.
Don GiovanniEnglish National Opera 30th September to 26th October Given ENO’s history of past productions of Don Giovanni that have failed to set the stage alight, all eyes (and ears) will be on this spanking new version by theatrical wunderkind Richard Jones. With Mark Wigglesworth in the pit and Christopher Purves as Don Giovanni and Christine Rice as Donna Elvira, ENO is taking no chances. Maybe this time they will get it right. Fingers crossed.
Xerxes/Ulysses’Homecoming English Touring Opera 8th October to 22nd November English Touring Opera’s winter season includes a revival of their well-regarded production of Handel’s Xerxes, which is relocated to an RAF base during the Battle of Britain with Xerxes as an ace fighter pilot. Mezzo-soprano Julia Riley sings the title role, which was originally written for a soprano castrato. James Conway directs from Nicholas Hytner’s adroit and sensitive translation. In the same season, Conway unveils his new production of Monteverdi’s Ulysses’ Homecoming, with Benedict Nelson in the title role and Carolyn Dobbin as Penelope. It’s gods versus mortals as Ulysses takes the long way home to his wife after the Trojan War.
Don GiovanniEnglish National Opera 30th September to 26th October Given ENO’s history of past productions of Don Giovanni that have failed to set the stage alight, all eyes (and ears) will be on this spanking new version by theatrical wunderkind Richard Jones. With Mark Wigglesworth in the pit and Christopher Purves as Don Giovanni and Christine Rice as Donna Elvira, ENO is taking no chances. Maybe this time they will get it right. Fingers crossed.
