sign in sign up
<<
Home , Alan Oke, Andrew Shore, Barry Banks (tenor), Christine Rice, David Alden, Dina Kuznetsova

PRESS INFORMATION ENO 2013/14 SEASON

1 #ENGLISHENO1314 NATIONAL Press Information 2013/4

CONTENTS

Autumn 2013 4 Fidelio Beethoven

6 Strauss

8 Madam Butterfly Puccini

10 Mozart

12 Glass

Spring 2014 14 Britten

18 Verdi

20 Handel

22 Adès

Summer 2014 24 Thebans Anderson

26 Cosi Fan Tutte Mozart

28 Benvenuto Cellini Berlioz

30 The Pearl Fishers Bizet

32 River Of Fundament Barney & Bepler

ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 3 FIDELIO NEW PRODUCTION Beethoven (1770–1827) Opens: 25 September 2013 (7 performances)

One of the most sought-after opera and theatre directors of his generation, Calixto Bieito returns to ENO to direct a new production of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. Bieito’s continued association with the company shows ENO’s commitment to highly theatrical and new interpretations of core repertoire.

Following the success of his at ENO in 2012, described by as ‘a cogent, gripping piece of work’, Bieito’s production of Fidelio comes to the Coliseum after its 2010 premiere in . Working with designer Rebecca Ringst, Bieito presents a vast Escher-like labyrinth set, symbolising the powerfully claustrophobic nature of the opera.

Edward Gardner, ENO’s highly acclaimed Music Director, 2013 Olivier Award-nominee and recipient of an OBE for services to music, conducts an outstanding cast led by singing Florestan and Emma Bell as Leonore. Since his definitive performance of Peter Grimes at ENO, Skelton is now recognised as one of the finest heldentenors of his generation, appearing at the world’s major opera houses, including the , New York, and Opéra National de Paris. Emma Bell is one of the UK’s leading lyric who was praised by the for her 2010 performance at ENO in ; ‘Emma Bell looks and sounds voluptuous while singing scrupulously in style’. Established ENO artists James Creswell and Sarah Tynan take the roles of Rocco and Marzelline and Philip Horst makes his ENO debut in the role of Don Pizarro.

Director: Calixto Bieito, Conductor: Edward Gardner, Set Designer: Rebecca Ringst, Costume Designer: Ingo Krügle, Lighting Designer: Tim Mitchell

Cast includes: Emma Bell (Leonore), Stuart Skelton (Florestan) excluding selected performances, Philip Horst (Don Pizarro), James Creswell (Rocco), Sarah Tynan (Marzelline), Adrian Dwyer (Jaquino), Roland Wood (Don Fernando)

A co-production with Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich

4 Press Information 2013/4 Wilfried Hösl Credit:

AUTUMN 2013 5 DIE FLEDERMAUS NEW PRODUCTION Johann Strauss II (1825–1899) Opens: 30 September 2013 (11 performances)

Strauss’s popular returns to the after 20 years in a new production directed by Christopher Alden. Over the last 5 seasons, Alden has produced many critically acclaimed productions for ENO, including the Olivier Award-winning production of , The Makropulos Case and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (winner of Russia's esteemed Golden Mask Award for opera and theatre). Alden plays a central role in ENO’s 2013/14 season with this being the first of two new productions he is directing. In this co-production with , Alden and his design team create a sophisticated, sexy tale that unfolds as if in a dream, taking inspiration from the black-and- white world of Ernst Lubitsch’s silent movies.

Tom Randle, one of ENO's most dynamic singing actors, returns to sing the role of Gabriel von Eisenstein. ENO Harewood Artist Julia Sporsén, who sang the title role in ’s magnificent production of , described by the Financial Times as ‘a complete stage animal...who deserves to go far’, now takes on her biggest role to date as Rosalinde. Fellow ENO Harewood Artist Rhian Lois sings Adele. Award-winning and ENO favourite returns following his comical success in the 2013 revival of ’s , described by The Stage as ‘effortless’, to perform the role of Frank. Making their ENO debuts are , the exciting American mezzo- who sings Prince Orlofsky, and the brilliant young conductor Eun Sun Kim.

Director: Christopher Alden, Conductor: Eun Sun Kim, Set Designer: Allen Moyer, Costume Designer: Constance Hoffman, Lighting Designer: Paul Palazzo

Cast includes: Tom Randle (Gabriel von Eisenstein), Julia Sporsén (Rosalinde), Jennifer Holloway (Prince Orlofsky), Rhian Lois (Adele), Richard Burkhard (Dr Falke), Edgaras Montvidas (Alfred), Simon Butteriss (Dr Blind), Andrew Shore (Frank), TBA (Ida), Jon Pohl (Frosch)

A co-production with Canadian Opera Company New production supported by Lord and Lady Laidlaw

6 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: Chris Hutcheson

AUTUMN 2013 7 MADAM BUTTERFLY Revival (1858–1924) Opens: 14 October 2013 (14 performances)

Anthony Minghella’s Madam Butterfly, described by as ‘one of the most deeply thoughtful and ravishingly beautiful re-creations of Puccini’s opera that you are ever likely to see’, returns to ENO for its fifth revival. This production launched the fertile artistic relationship between ENO and the Metropolitan Opera, New York, which Peter Gelb (General Manager of the Met) described as ‘the envy of the opera world’.

This elegant production is fast becoming an ENO classic and showcases the company’s work with creative talent from across the arts. Expert puppeteers Blind Summit add a touching layer of theatrical genius portraying Butterfly’s and Pinkerton’s child in puppet form.

Mary Plaza returns from the 2012 revival to share the lead of doomed heroine Cio-Cio- San with who recently celebrated success in the title of Glyndebourne’s . Similarly Gwyn Hughes Jones returns as F. B Pinkerton, sharing the role with Timothy Richards following a number of successful European engagements. ENO Harewood Artist Catherine Young returns from the 2012 revival singing the role of Kate Pinkerton and fellow ENO Harewood Artist George von Bergen takes the role of Sharpless.

Director: , Conductor: Gianluca Marciano / Martin Fitzpatrick, Set Designer: Michael Levine, Costume Designer: Han Feng, Lighting Designer: Peter Mumford, Choreographer: Carolyn Choa, Pupperty: Mark Down and Nick Barnes for Blind Summit Theatre

Cast includes: Dina Kuznetsova / Mary Plaza (Cio-Cio San), Timothy Richards / Gwyn Hughes Jones (F. B. Pinkerton), George von Bergen (Sharpless), (Suzki), Alun Rhys-Jenkins (Goro), Mark Richardson (The Bonze), Alexander Robin Baker (Prince Yamadori), Catherine Young (Kate Pinkerton)

A co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York and the Lithuanian National Opera Original production supported by Lord and Lady Laidlaw

8 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit:

AUTUMN 2013 9 THE MAGIC FLUTE New Production Wolfgang Mozart (1756–1791) Opens: 7 November 2013 (12 performances)

ENO is the modern home for opera in London, keeping the artform fresh and relevant for contemporary audiences through bold interpretations of familiar repertoire. ENO’s worldwide reputation, working collaboratively with directors from across the arts, has made the company the first choice for many of the most talented directors from theatre. Complicite’s Simon McBurney returns to ENO for his second operatic venture. McBurney made his opera directing debut at De Nederlandse Opera and ENO in 2010 with A Dog’s Heart, described by The Guardian’s Michael Billington as ‘the most exciting and coherent piece of ... seen on a British stage’. Mozart’s The Magic Flute is, as The Sunday Times described, in ‘the surest of directorial hands’ of McBurney, whose modern and bold take on this classic tale premiered in Amsterdam in 2012 to full houses. McBurney delves deep into the circumstances, inspiration and language of the original piece, reinstates dialogue that is regularly cut and makes the orchestra a visible part of the action.

Gergely Madaras, the first recipient of ENO’s Fellowship, makes his ENO conducting debut. ENO’s commitment to support and develop new talent continues as ENO Harewood Artist Ben Johnson sings the role of Tamino, following his recent success as Alfredo in ENO’s La traviata: ‘another knockout performance is the young British Ben Johnson, singing with unerring power’ (The Times). American soprano Devon Guthrie returns to ENO following her success in Fiona Shaw’s in 2011 to sing the role of Pamina. James Creswell sings the role of Sarastro and British tenor Brian Galliford returns from ENO’s Olivier Award-nominated production of Caligula to sing the role of Monostatos. ENO Harewood Artist Mary Bevan who, according to The Guardian sang the role of Yum-Yum ‘immaculately’ in ENO’s 2012/13 revival of , takes the role of Papagena.

Director: Simon McBurney, Conductor: Gergely Madaras, Set Designer: Michael Levine, Costume Designer: Nicky Gillibrand, Lighting Designer: Jean Kalman, Video Designer: , Sound Designer: Gareth Fry, Choreographer: Josie Daxter

Cast includes: Ben Johnson (Tamino), Devon Guthrie (Pamina), Roland Wood (Papageno), Mary Bevan (Papagena), TBA (Queen of the Night), James Creswell (Sarastro), Brian Galliford (Monostatos), Eleanor Dennis (First Lady), Clare Presland (Second Lady), Rosie Aldridge (Third Lady), Anthony Gregory (First Priest/First Armed Man), Stephen Holloway (Second Priest/ Second Armed Man)

A co-production with De Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam and International Festival of Lyric Art, Aix-en-Provence, and in collaboration with Complicite

10 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: De Nederlandse Opera, Clärchen & Matthias

AUTUMN 2013 11 SATYAGRAHA Revival (b. 1937) Opens: 20 November 2013 (6 performances)

ENO revives an iconic piece of work and one of its most successful productions from past seasons for the second time since its premiere in 2007: Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, described by as a ‘masterpiece’. This production received multiple 5* reviews at its previous revival (5* The Times ‘disturbing, inspiring, uplifting’; 5* The Independent, 5* Sunday Express; 5* The Guardian ‘A landmark in recent London opera’). Satyagraha, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘truth force’, is the second in Philip Glass’s trilogy of about men who changed the world. The work, described as ‘transfixing musically and visually’ by The Guardian, is semi narrative in form and deals with ’s early years in South Africa and his development of non-violent protest as a political tool.

ENO works on a regular basis with more living composers than almost any other opera house in the world. Glass is one of the world’s most important composers, who has made an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon the musical and intellectual life of his time. The introduction of a very special artistic relationship between Glass and ENO began in 1985 with the UK premiere of . This revival of Satyagraha also reflects the ongoing relationship between ENO and Phelim McDermott, artistic director of theatre company Improbable, who directs both Satyagraha and Glass’s , which received its world premiere at Madrid in early 2013 and comes to ENO for the UK premiere in June 2013.

McDermott’s work with Improbable is described by The Guardian as ‘one of the most energising and provocative forces in British theatre’, and together, McDermott and Glass bring this spectacular production of Satyagraha to life. As their spellbinding staging continues to astound audiences around the world, returns for this revival to play the role of Gandhi. The Times praised Oke’s 2010 lead performance: ‘Alan Oke’s virtuosic turn as Gandhi… underscores the very humane frailty evoked by composer and production alike’. Soprano Janis Kelly also returns for the revival as Mrs Naidoo.

Director: Phelim McDermott, Conductor: TBA, Set Designer: Julian Crouch, Costume Designer: Kevin Pollard, Lighting Designer: , Video Designers: Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer for Ltd, Movement : Rob Thirtle

Cast includes: Alan Oke (M. K. Gandhi), Janis Kelly (Mrs Naidoo)

A co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and in collaboration with Improbable Original production supported by ENO’s Contemporary Opera Group

12 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: Alistair Muir

AUTUMN 2013 13 PETER GRIMES Revival (1913–1976) Opens: 29 January 2014 (8 performances)

In the 2013/14 season ENO presents a revival of the most significant British opera in over two centuries, Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. During the last five seasons ENO has reaffirmed its position as the world’s leading producer of opera by Britten with acclaimed productions including Christopher Alden’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2011 which saw multiple 5* reviews and ’s which The Independent described as ‘a thrilling company achievement... world class’. The concert performance of ENO’s Peter Grimes at the 2012 BBC Proms was described by The Sunday Times as a ‘radical reinterpretation of Britten’s masterpiece... unmissable’.

ENO’s Music Director Edward Gardner conducts the electrifying score once more, rekindling his close association with Britten’s work. He made his conducting debut at ENO as Music Director in 2007 with ’s premiere of ; he conducts the June 2013 revival in the composer's centenary year. He also conducted David Alden’s 2013 Olivier-nominated Billy Budd, with noting the ‘sumptuous, tumultuous playing from the orchestra’. Gardner has been nominated for the 2013 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for Billy Budd and his conducting of ENO’s 2012 production of The Flying Dutchman.

This exciting revival introduces two new major singers to the production. British baritone , who sings Wotan under at the 2013 BBC Proms, sings Balstrode for the first time in a fully staged production following his outstanding performance at in 2012 with ENO. The internationally celebrated Elza Van de Heever makes her London operatic debut singing Ellen Orford for the first time. Australian heldentenor Stuart Skelton takes the title role once again giving his remarkable, multifaceted portrayal of the disturbed outsider, and the definitive Mrs Sedley is sung by Dame . Michael Colvin, Matthew Best and Leigh Melrose also reprise their roles in this revival. ENO Harewood Artists Rhian Lois and Mary Bevan take the role of First and Second Niece, completing a cast of outstanding vocal strength for this spectacular revival.

Director: David Alden, Conductor: Edward Gardner, Set Designer: Paul Steinberg, Costume Designer: Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Lighting Designer: Adam Silverman, Movement Director: Maxine Braham

Cast includes: Stuart Skelton (Peter Grimes), Elza van den Heever (Ellen Orford), Iain Paterson (Balstrode), (Auntie), Matthew Best (Swallow), Leigh Melrose (Ned Keene), Michael Colvin (Bob Boles), Felicity Palmer (Mrs Sedley), Rhian Lois (1st Niece), Mary Bevan (2nd Niece), Matthew Treviño (Hobson), Tim Robinson (Reverend Horace Adams)

A co-production with De Vlaamse Opera, Opera de Oviedo and Original production supported by ENO’s

14 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: Clive Barda

SPRING 2014 15 RIGOLETTO New Production (1813–1901) Opens: 13 February 2014 (11 performances)

Christopher Alden is one of the most sought-after directors and in demand worldwide for his brilliantly crafted and often surprising productions. He makes his second appearance at ENO this season with his new production of Rigoletto. Verdi set his original Rigoletto in the Renaissance era of the sixteenth century. Alden’s desire for the audience to immediately recognise the strong power structure in the piece has led him and his creative team to update the piece to the time that Verdi wrote it, in the mid-nineteenth century.

Christopher Alden’s ENO triumphs have included his Olivier Award-winning production of Handel’s Partenope (Best New Opera Production 2008/09); the multi-5* production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (winner of the Golden Mask Award), described by the Evening Standard as ‘genius’ and ‘utterly compelling’ and Janác˘ek’s The Makropulos Case, which The Arts Desk stated as being ‘as near to a perfect evening of opera as you are likely to get’.

Graeme Jenkins, retiring Music Director at , returns to ENO to conduct. He leads an impressive cast consisting of Quinn Kelsey who reprises the role of Rigoletto from the Canadian Opera premiere, described by the Canadian press as ‘a Rigoletto for all ages...a stupendous performance’. British tenor , whose international career has taken him to Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich and the Metropolitan Opera, sings the Duke of Mantua for the first time following his success in the title role of ENO’s 5* production of The Tales of Hoffmann, which was described as ‘tremendous’ by The Daily Telegraph. Charismatic soprano , whose previous ENO credits include a ‘sparkling’ Tytania in Christopher Alden’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and her ‘breathtakingly accurate’ Lucia in ENO’s 2008 , takes the role of Gilda, supported by the luxury casting of Peter Rose and Matthew Treviño sharing the role of Sparafucile and Diana Montague’s Giovanna.

Director: Christopher Alden, Conductor: Graeme Jenkins, Set and Costume Designer: Michael Levine, Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler

Cast includes: Quinn Kelsey (Rigoletto), Barry Banks (Duke of Mantua), Anna Christy (Gilda), Peter Rose/ Matthew Treviño (Sparafucile), Justina Gringyte (Maddalena), David Stout (Monterone), George Humphreys (Marullo), Anthony Gregory (Borsa), Barnaby Rea (Ceprano), Diana Montague (Giovanna)

A co-production with Canadian Opera Company New production supported by a syndicate of individual donors

16 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: Michael Cooper SPRING 2014 17

RODELINDA New Production (1685–1759) Opens: 28 February 2014 (8 performances)

ENO introduces a new production of Rodelinda, directed by Richard Jones with an exciting new co-producing partner, The Bolshoi Opera. This production is Richard Jones’s second Handel: the first was his triumphant Julius Caesar at Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, in 1997, which became one of the most celebrated productions of Peter Jonas’s tenure. Since ’s Olivier Award-winning Xerxes in 1985, ENO has proved its undisputed title as the ‘House of Handel’ with a string of critically successful Handel productions including Christopher Alden’s Olivier Award-winning Partenope and David Alden’s 2010 production of , described by as ‘First rate... ENO’s Handel tradition continues, magnificently’. Olivier Award-winning director, Richard Jones’s long-standing association with ENO continues. He has directed some of the company’s most exciting work, including his most recent, stunning version of Martinu˚’s rarely performed Julietta of which the Financial Times declared ‘you couldn’t want for a more intelligent or entertaining production’.

ENO’s international influence during an exciting six-year period has seen the company develop work with up to 40 international opera houses and festivals; this was most recently summed up by Mark Swed in the LA Times: ‘ENO remains an astonishingly vital company... a world leader’. ENO continues to reach a wider audience through a number of successful partnerships including: De Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam; Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich; and the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and this season ENO introduces a brand new creative co-producer, the world-famous Bolshoi Opera, Russia.

Grammy Award-winning soprano Rebecca Evans takes the title role of Rodelinda following her latest ENO appearance in ’s . , one of the most sought-after conductors of baroque repertoire, who conducted ENO’s very first Rameau opera, the Olivier Award-winning Castor and Pollux and most recently, ENO’s 5* production of Charpentier’s Medea, returns to conduct.

Director: Richard Jones, Conductor: Christian Curnyn, Set Designer: Jeremy Herbert, Costume Designer: Nicky Gillibrand, Lighting Designer: Mimi Jordan Sherin, Choreographer: Sarah Fahie

Cast includes: Rebecca Evans (Rodelinda), (Bertarido), (Grimoaldo), Susan Bickley (Eduige), Christopher Ainslie (Unulfo), Richard Burkhard (Garibaldo)

A co-production with the Bolshoi Opera, Russia New production supported by Colwinston Charitable Trust and a syndicate of individual donors

18 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: Steven Williams

SPRING 2014 19 POWDER HER FACE New Production Thomas Adès (b. 1971) Opens: 2 April 2014 (9 site-specific performances at Ambika P3)

ENO’s impressive partnerships with theatres across London to take award-winning opera to a variety of locations, including the Theatre, and, most recently, the in 2013, has gained momentum in the last five years, as has the company’s work in discovering new directors, such as European Opera Directing Prize-winner Sam Brown, who directed Jakob Lenz in 2012, and Diane Paulus, who directed Lost Highway at the Young Vic in 2008. Critically acclaimed productions such as The Return of Ulysses, directed by , and , directed by Daniel Kramer at the Young Vic have given the company the opportunity to showcase new talent for opera. Kramer’s ENO and Young Vic production won the South Bank Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, while Andrews’s subsequent production of Caligula at ENO has been nominated for an Olivier and RPS Award.

ENO’s pursuit of pushing the boundaries of opera has also led it to a derelict office block space in East London for the Royal Philharmonic Society Award-winning collaboration with immersive theatre company Punchdrunk with in 2010. This new production of Powder Her Face takes ENO to Ambika P3, described by The Guardian as ‘one of the capital’s hidden and most exciting new spaces’.

Joe Hill-Gibbins, one of Britain’s most exciting young theatre directors, makes his opera directing debut at ENO. Last year he directed a delirious and disturbing production of the Jacobean classic The Changeling at the Young Vic, following on from his fresh, critically acclaimed revivals of The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Glass Menagerie and Brecht’s A Respectable Wedding. He is also known for his work at the , including sell-out productions of The Village Bike by Penelope Skinner and The Girlfriend Experience by Alecky Blythe. This year he will direct Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II at the National Theatre.

Powder Her Face follows the scandalous stories about Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, known as the “Dirty Duchess” who was brought to the attention of the British media during her divorce from the Duke of Argyll in 1963. The opera was commissioned by Almeida Opera for the Cheltenham Festival in 1995; it has since been performed all over the world and comes to ENO for this first time this season. Former Artistic Director of the Festival (1999–2008), composer Thomas Adès has won multiple awards for his work, including the Classical Brit award for Composer of the Year in 2010 and he was the youngest recipient of the Grawemeyer Award in 2010.

Director: Joe Hill-Gibbins, Conductor: tbA

20 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: The Changeling Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins Pattison Vic , Photo: Keith Young

SPRING 2014 21 THEBANS World Premiere (b.1967) Libretto by Frank McGuinness (B.1953) Opens: 3 May 2014 (8 performances)

This exciting world premiere, the first of four world premieres by British composers over the next four seasons, is a new opera by Julian Anderson with a libretto by Frank McGuinness, directed by the artistic director of De Nederlandse Opera, Pierre Audi. ENO continues to break new ground and places British artists at the heart of its creative output. British born composer Julian Anderson is currently the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Composer in Residence. He was the recent recipient of the 2013 South Bank Sky Arts Award in Classical Music for his orchestral piece The Discovery of Heaven. Well known for adapting literary classics, Irish playwright McGuinness has translated a number of plays including those by Ibsen, Strindberg and Sophocles’ play Oedipus.

Based on the ancient trilogy of plays written by Sophocles, Thebans follows the tragedy of Oedipus, the mythical King of Thebes, who fulfils the devastating prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. ‘Oedipus the King’, ‘Oedipus at Colonus’ and ‘Antigone’ comprise the trilogy.

Pierre Audi was the founder of the in 1978 and is currently Artistic Director of the Holland Festival and regular co-producing company to ENO, De Nederlandse Opera. He took up the position of Artistic Director in Amsterdam in 1988, of which the L A Times said ‘by treating opera as vital, modern art, he’s made the company into one of the world’s best’.

ENO’s Music Director Edward Gardner leads an outstanding cast of regular singers at ENO. Roland Wood returns from ENO’s historic performance of Vaughan Williams’s The Pilgrim’s Progress as Oedipus. Many of the cast of ENO’s 5* production of Julietta are reunited for this new piece; ENO Harewood Artist Julia Sporsén as Antigone, ENO favourite as Creon, Susan Bickley sings Jocasta and Anthony Gregory as Haemon.

Director: Pierre Audi, Conductor: Edward Gardner, Set Designer: Tom Pye, Costume Designer: Christof Hetzer, Lighting Designer: Jean Kalman

Cast includes: Roland Wood (Oedipus), Peter Hoare (Creon), Julia Sporsén (Antigone), Matthew Best (Tiresias), Susan Bickley (Jocasta), Christopher Ainslie (Messenger), Anthony Gregory (Haemon), Jonathan McGovern (Polynices)

A co-production with Bonn Oper New production supported by The Boltini Trust, PRS for Music Foundation and ENO’s Contemporary Opera Group

22 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 by Frank McGuinness Credit: The Matchbox by Frank Everyman Playhouse, Photo: Christian Smith

SUMMER 2014 23 COSI FAN TUTTE New Production WOLFGANG Mozart (1756–1791) Opens: 16 May 2014 (12 performances)

Following what was described by The Independent as her ‘exquisite’ production of Idomeneo in 2010, acclaimed theatre and opera director returns to ENO. Mitchell made her opera debut in 1996 at with Don Giovanni and has previously directed a radical multi-media reinterpretation of (After Dido) at the Young Vic in 2009 and at the London Coliseum in 2005, both for ENO. Mitchell is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most successful theatre and opera directors with a number of major European credits to her name, including a new production of Luigi Nono’s Al gran sole carico d’amore for the in 2009, Ibsen’s Fräulein Julie, her debut for Schaubühne, and her stunning new production of George Benjamin’s which premiered at the Grand Théâtre de Provence during Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2012.

ENO’s passion for nurturing and showcasing British talent continues to remain at the forefront of the company’s priorities. , ENO’s Composer in Residence, returns to conduct this Mozart classic. Wigglesworth made his ENO conducting debut in 2012 with Benedict Andrews’s 2013 Olivier Award-nominated production of Caligula, described by The Times as ‘faultlessly conducted’, followed by Calixto Bieito’s production of Carmen, for which The Independent said ‘Wigglesworth extracts exhilarating sounds from both orchestra and chorus’. The 2013 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Classical Music was presented to Ryan Wigglesworth and the London Philharmonic Orchestra for their performance of Julian Anderson’s The Discovery of Heaven.

The British-strong cast is led by ENO Harewood Artist Kate Valentine and leading British mezzo-soprano in the roles of Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Fellow ENO Harewood Artist Mary Bevan sings Despina following her triumph as Yum-Yum in ENO’s 2012/13 revival of Jonathan Miller’s The Mikado for which the Mail on Sunday described her as ‘enchanting’. Fellow British ENO regular who was described as ‘excellent’ by The Guardian in ENO’s Sunken Garden, sings the role of Don Alfonso. Norman Reinhardt makes his ENO debut, singing the role of Ferrando.

Director: Katie Mitchell, Conductor: Ryan Wigglesworth, Set Designer: Giles Cadle, Costume Designer: Vicki Mortimer, Lighting Designer: Paule Constable, Movement Director: Signe Fabricus

Cast includes: Kate Valentine (Fiordiligi), Christine Rice (Dorabella), Norman Reinhardt (Ferrando), Marcus Farnsworth (Guglielmo), Roderick Williams (Don Alfonso), Mary Bevan (Despina)

A co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York

24 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 directed by Katie Mitchell ENO, Credit: Idomeneo directed by Katie Mitchell ENO, Photo: Steve Cummiskey

SUMMER 2014 25 BENVENUTO CELLINI New Production (1803–1869) Opens: 5 June 2014 (8 performances)

Winner of the 2012 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for the breadth and diversity of its artistic programme, ENO continues to demonstrate its position at the forefront of innovative and imaginative theatrical productions. ENO has forged many important and successful creative relationships over the last 5 years with directors from across the arts including Improbable, Simon McBurney, , Rufus Norris, Fiona Shaw, and of course .

Following the astounding success of his opera directing debut at ENO in 2011 with the South Bank Sky Arts Opera Award-winning The Damnation of , described by The Daily Telegraph as ‘pure theatrical magic’, Terry Gilliam returns to ENO to direct his second Berlioz opera. Expert storyteller Gilliam and his team will tell the tale of the colourful life of the Italian artist Benvenuto Cellini, showcasing the exciting artistic relationship between ENO and Gilliam. Following The Damnation of Faust, The Times claimed that ‘Gilliam has found the ideal medium for his fantastical mind’.

ENO’s Music Director, Edward Gardner pairs with the Monty Python legend for the second time; ‘I haven’t space to pay adequate tribute to Edward Gardner’s magnificent conducting’ (on The Damnation of Faust - The Daily Telegraph). Gardner leads a tremendous cast with tenor Michael Spyres in the title role of Cellini. Making her return to ENO is the stunning American soprano, Corrine Winters who dazzled audiences and critics in her European debut as Violetta in Peter Konwitschny’s 2013 Olivier Award-nominated production of La traviata. ENO Harewood Artist takes the role of Francesco, , who was the recent recipient of the Golden Mask award for Best Male artist for his role of Bottom in the Mariinsky Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream which he also sang at ENO, returns to sing Pope Clement VII.

Director: Terry Gilliam, Conductor: Edward Gardner, Co-director and Movement Director: Leah Hausman, Set Designer: Rae Smith, Costume Designer: Katrina Lindsay, Lighting Designer: Paule Constable, Video Designer: Finn Ross

Cast includes: Michael Spyres (Benvenuto Cellini), Corrine Winters (Teresa), Pavlo Hunka (Balcucci), Nicky Spence (Francesco), Paula Mirrihy (Ascanio), Willard White (Pope Clement VII), Richard Burkhard (Fieramosca)

A co-production with De Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam New production supported by the Peter Moores Foundation’s Swansong Project 2013–2015 and a syndicate of individual donors

26 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: The Damnation of Faust ENO Kenton Tristram

SUMMER 2014 27 THE PEARL FISHERS Revival (1838–1875) Opens: 16 June 2014 (9 performances)

Penny Woolcock’s hugely popular 2010 production of one of Bizet’s early operas The Pearl Fishers, described by the Financial Times as ‘skilfully directed’, returns to ENO for its first revival. Set in Ceylon, Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers tells the story of two local fishermen, their vow of friendship and love and its dramatic consequences. The famous friendship duet is a firm favourite in the opera repertoire.

Taking the role of Leila is former ENO Harewood Artist Sophie Bevan, winner of the prestigious Times Breakthrough Award at the 2012 South Bank Sky Arts Awards and the recipient of the inaugural Young Singer of the Year Award at the 2013 International Opera Awards. Starting her career as a painter, Penny Woolcock turned to film-making in her mid-30s and has since directed a string of award-winning documentaries, television programmes and feature films. Woolcock made her ENO directing debut with a new production of ’s Doctor Atomic in 2009, a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera. She previously collaborated with John Adams on the Channel 4 film version of . Woolcock is currently working on a new film One Mile Away which is a documentary follow-up to her UK grime musical 1 Day, which dramatised the gangland ‘postcode wars’ blighting the streets of Birmingham.

Director: Penny Woolcock, Conductor: TBA, Set Designer: Dick Bird, Costume Designer: Kevin Pollard, Lighting Designer: Jennifer Schriever, Video Designer: Leo Warner for 59 Productions Ltd, Choreographer: Andrew Dawson

Cast: Sophie Bevan (Leila), John Tessier (Nadir), George Von Bergen (Zurga)

28 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: Catherine Ashmore

SUMMER 2014 29 RIVER OF FUNDAMENT Film/OPERA PROJECT Matthew Barney (b. 1967), Jonathan Bepler (b. 1959) Opens 29 June 2014 (3 viewings)

Continuing to explore the boundaries of opera, ENO presents River of Fundament, an exciting new film project by American artist Matthew Barney and composer Jonathan Bepler. Loosely based on Norman Mailer’s novel Ancient Evenings, River of Fundament explores the seven stages of the soul’s departure from the deceased body as it passes from death to rebirth in accordance with Egyptian mythology. Since 2007, Barney and Bepler have been creating a series of multi-disciplinary, site-specific projects which this film showcases and will be presented in the auditorium of the London Coliseum.

River of Fundament is presented worldwide on behalf of the artist by Manchester International Festival. ENO and Manchester International Festival co-produced and co-commissioned ’s and Rufus Norris’s , of which The Times said ‘as an experimental work and a visual spectacle it’s quite magical’; The Daily Telegraph described Dr Dee as ‘weirdly beautiful and original... knocks most modern opera into a cocked hat.’

ENO is committed to working with living composers and presenting spectacular events, making the London Coliseum, home of ENO, an ideal setting for the viewing of the London premiere of River of Fundament.

River of Fundament is presented worldwide on behalf of the artist by Manchester International Festival

30 ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 Credit: Hugo Glendinning SUMMER 2014 31

For further press information please contact:

ENO Press Office

Christopher Calvert Kate Hassell +44 (0)20 7845 9245 +44 (0)20 7845 9433 [email protected] [email protected]

Correct at the time of going to print, April 2013. Please check details before publication. Cover image: Wilfried Hösl (Fidelio)