Our 2019 Season includes works by Puccini and Verdi, a rarity by Cilea, and a double bill on the theme of secrets and lies, in five new productions.
2019 Season
Sponsored by Investec Wealth & Investment
“Elizabeth Llewellyn has an exciting voice for Puccini, silvery and vital...”
“Boldly glamorous”
Manon Lescaut
Giacomo Puccini 4 – 26 JunePremiered in 1893, Puccini’s Manon Lescaut turned a sentimental novel into an operatic sensation. In the opera that made Puccini’s name, a convent girl becomes a courtesan, then a convict, unable to choose between a life of luxury and a life of love.
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“The ball scene with its bloody denouement, powered with tremendous verve by Matthew Kofi Waldren in the pit, is a triumphant meld of lighting, design, and choreography, with Gaitanou’s direction never putting a foot wrong.”
“Un ballo in maschera showcases Opera Holland Park at its best”
“Plowright’s Arvidson... is all frayed majesty and hauteur, while Alison Langer makes a fine Oscar, with her silvery tone and precise coloratura. Matthew Kofi Waldren, meanwhile, conducts with passion and sensitivity. The choral singing is outstanding.”
Un ballo in maschera
Giuseppe Verdi 8 – 29 JunePolitical intrigue, illicit love and a baleful prophecy. Un ballo in maschera sets a tense love triangle against the background of an assassination plot. Reason and superstition vie for supremacy in the opera that was dubbed ‘Verdi’s Tristan’.
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L’arlesiana
Francesco Cilea 20 July – 2 AugustOpera Holland Park’s acclaimed strand of operatic rarities continues with Francesco Cilea’s tragedy of desperate passion in the heat of rural Provence. First performed in 1897, L’arlesiana established the career of the great tenor, Enrico Caruso, and gave voice to a figure who would become central to Italian opera, the mother.
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Il segreto di Susanna / Iolanta
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 22 July – 3 AugustWolf-Ferrari’s delicious 1909 farce of marital misunderstanding and modern manners is contrasted with the turbulent Romanticism of Iolanta. A dark fairytale, Tchaikovsky’s final opera forms the second half of a double bill on the theme of secrets and lies.
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The Royal Ballet School
4 – 6 JulyThe Royal Ballet School returns to Opera Holland Park for four impressive shows featuring its talented young artists-in-training. These spectacular performances will feature a mix of classical ballet repertoire, contemporary and character pieces. Students will perform work by choreographers including Frederick Ashton, Marius Petipa and David Bintley. This is a very special opportunity to witness the achievements of gifted young dancers from one of the best ballet schools in the world.
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