Opera North Season Guide 2023-2024

FALSTAFF

GIUSEPPE

VERDI

MASQUE OF MIGHT

HENRY PURCELL LA RONDINE

GIACOMO PUCCINI

ALBERT HERRING

BENJAMIN BRITTEN

COSÌ FAN TUTTE

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA

PIETRO MASCAGNI

ALEKO

SERGEI RACHMANINOV

Cavalleria rusticana, 2017 (Robert Workman)

WELCOME

RICHARD MANTLE General Director/CEO

Creating a broad range of extraordinary musical and dramatic experiences presented to the highest possible standards is at the heart of what we do at Opera North. We are also a Company which constantly innovates and evolves in response to a changing world. No challenge is more urgent for us all than the climate crisis, and we are committed to the positive change that we – along with all our colleagues in the music and theatre sectors – must make in order to reduce our environmental impact and run our operation more sustainably.

We have already taken some important steps along this road, such as our sustainable main stage production of Handel’s Alcina in 2022. This autumn, we embark on an ambitious and progressive programme guided by the Theatre Green Book, an industry-wide initiative to facilitate sustainable ways of working across productions, buildings and operations.

Our Green Season consists of three new productions which use shared scenic elements to create three interlinked yet distinctive designs, enabling us to reduce our use of materials and in turn our carbon footprint. All sets, props and costumes in the season are sourced from previous productions or purchased secondhand. In addition, we have introduced more matinee performances to make it easier for our audiences to travel on public transport.

Our creative teams have embraced these challenges with imagination and invention, and I am confident that the resulting productions will bear all the hallmarks of excellence and innovation audiences expect from Opera North. Typical of the spirit of the season is Masque of Might, a new piece created by one of the world’s most eminent opera directors, Sir David Pountney. This recycles music by one of the greatest English theatre composers, Henry Purcell, and reimagines the 17th-century form of the

the masque with modern technology to create a biting yet humorous contemporary satire, billed as an ‘eco-entertainment’.

‘Life is a burst of laughter’. So begins the fugue that ends Verdi’s Falstaff. Life might not have felt much like a burst of laughter during the past few years, but perhaps that is all the more reason to thread three of the greatest of operatic comedies through the season: a new production of Falstaff, and revivals of Britten’s Albert Herring and Mozart’s Così fan tutte. All three are supremely entertaining masterpieces, yet truthful in their portrayal of human folly, which only makes them all the more profound.

We can also enjoy the lighter side of Puccini in a new production of his beautiful romantic opera La rondine, which many of us consider to be among his finest achievements; and there is full-blooded drama in an intriguing double bill which brings together two products

of youthful genius – Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and Rachmaninov’s Aleko.

We’ll be joined throughout the year by guest artists with whom we have long-standing relationships, as well as newcomers to Opera North. Our Music Director Garry Walker conducts both Falstaff and Albert Herring, with Principal Guest Conductor Antony Hermus taking up the baton for the double bill. We’ll benefit from Harry Bicket’s renowned expertise in baroque repertoire in Masque of Might, and we’re excited to welcome a new generation of conductors to the Company, with Kerem Hasan (La rondine), and Clemens Schuldt and Chloe Rooke (Così fan tutte) joining us for the first time.

Elsewhere in this brochure you’ll find information about our season ticket packages which are designed to make your opera-going as convenient and affordable as possible. I do hope you will be able to join us often in the year ahead.

Music Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto Arrigo Boito

First performance Milan, 1893

FALSTAFF

With mountainous debts piling up, Sir John Falstaff resolves to relieve himself of financial embarrassment by seducing two wealthy wives of Windsor. But these powerful women are wise to the ways of men and so, after plots and counterplots, disguises, deception and confusion – not to mention a dunking in the Thames – Falstaff gets his comeuppance.

After a career in which he had composed some of opera’s greatest tragedies, Verdi turned to Shakespeare’s great comic rogue as inspiration for his final masterpiece. Director Jo Davies (Carousel, The Marriage of Figaro, Kiss Me, Kate) serves up a rich feast of an opera, fully worthy of the abundant personality of its hero.

Sung in English with English titles

Lasts approximately 2 hours 20 minutes

Cast includes:

Falstaff Henry Waddington

Meg Page Helen Évora

Nannetta Isabelle Peters

Fenton Egor Zhuravskii

Ford Richard Burkhard

Mistress Quickly Tichina Vaughn

Dr Caius Paul Nilon

Bardolph Colin Judson

Pistol Dean Robinson

Conductor Garry Walker

Director Jo Davies

Set Designer Leslie Travers

Costume Designer Gabrielle Dalton

Lighting Designer Paule Constable

Associate Lighting Designer Ben Pickersgill

Supported by the Falstaff Circle

AN ECO-ENTERTAINMENT

MASQUE OF MIGHT

Henry Purcell is arguably England’s finest composer of music for the stage before Benjamin Britten, yet he wrote only one opera, Dido and Aeneas. Immortal masterpiece though that undoubtedly is, much of Purcell’s greatest dramatic music is to be found in the ‘semi-operas’, masques and other entertainments that were popular in his time, such as The Fairy Queen.

Taking inspiration from the masque – the 17th-century equivalent of a variety show in its mix of song, dance and spectacle – Sir David Pountney has skilfully assembled a thoroughly modern entertainment that showcases some of Purcell’s best music written for – but now rarely heard in – the theatre. Drawing largely on the original texts set to music by Purcell, this witty, incisive and fantastical work addresses urgently topical themes – the abuses of a powerful political leader and the gathering climate crisis.

Music Henry Purcell

Libretto Adapted and assembled by Sir David Pountney

First performance Leeds, 2023

Sung in English with English titles

Lasts approximately 2 hours 30 minutes

Cast includes:

Nebulous / Activist / Wolf Andri Björn Róbertsson

Elena / Witch Anna Dennis

Tousel Blond / Fox James Laing

Strumpet Ginger Patrick Terry

Diktat Callum Thorpe

Scrofulous / Toady / Seer / Saul Xavier Hetherington

Sceptic / Samuel Matthew Brook

Conductor Harry Bicket

Director Sir David Pountney

Set Designer Leslie Travers

Costume Designer Marie-Jeanne Lecca

Lighting Designer Paule Constable

Video Designer David Haneke

Choreographer Denni Sayers

Associate Lighting Designer Ben Pickersgill

Supported by the Friends of Opera North

LA RONDINE

Set in Paris and on the Riviera, La rondine contrasts two bitter-sweet tales of love. Magda is the mistress of a rich banker, but she falls for the young, ardent Ruggero. Believing that she can, at last, live her dream of true love, Magda runs away with Ruggero to the South. Meanwhile, her maid Lisette takes up with the poet Prunier, who tries to put her on the stage. Can their relationship survive this disaster? And will Magda’s past stand between her and happiness?

James Hurley’s new production of this captivatingly beautiful opera transports us from the popular nightspots of 1930s Paris to the sun-drenched Mediterranean. Puccini’s music is as lush and tuneful as anything in La Bohème, Tosca or Madama Butterfly, with the much-loved ‘Che il bel sogno di Doretta’ among the highlights.

Music Giacomo Puccini

Libretto Giuseppe Adami

First performance Monte Carlo, 1917

Sung in Italian with English titles

Lasts approximately 2 hours

Cast includes:

Magda Galina Averina

Lisette Claire Lees

Ruggero Sébastien Guèze

Prunier Elgan Ll ŷr Thomas

Conductor Kerem Hasan

Director James Hurley

Set Designer Leslie Travers

Costume Designer Gabrielle Dalton

Lighting Designer Paule Constable

Associate Lighting Designer Ben Pickersgill

Music Benjamin Britten

Libretto Eric Crozier

First performance Glyndebourne, 1947

ALBERT HERRING

May Day is looming, and the small town of Loxford is in chaos. All the potential May Queens are deemed morally unsuitable. Desperate, the locals decide a May King will have to do instead. They choose the blameless

Albert Herring, from the greengrocers. He isn’t keen, but stuck firmly under his mother’s thumb, he’ll do what he is told. However, after one rum-laced lemonade at the May Day ceremony, Albert disappears, and even greater chaos ensues.

Sung in English

Lasts approximately 2 hours 45 minutes

The opera’s librettist Eric Crozier took a story by Maupassant and transformed it into a quintessentially English comedy. Britten’s music characterises the town’s inhabitants with a biting satirical wit – but there’s a touch of affection, too, for a vanished way of life. The intimacy of the Howard Assembly Room is the perfect environment for Giles Havergal’s delightfully immersive production.

Cast includes:

Dame Josephine Barstow, Katie Bray, William Dazeley, Amy Freston, Richard Mosley-Evans, Claire Pascoe, Dominic Sedgwick, Heather Shipp

Conductor Garry Walker

Director Giles Havergal

Associate Director Elaine Tyler-Hall

Set and Costume Designer Leslie Travers

Original Lighting Designer John Bishop

Movement Director Tim Claydon

Albert Herring will be streamed online via our partners at OperaVision. OperaVision is a streaming platform providing a window on the varied landscape of musical theatre for a connected world – all for free, live and on demand.

‘... buckets of energy and zestful acting.’

Richard Morrison, The Times

It starts with a casual bet. The wily cynic Don Alfonso wagers that the fiancées of two young men, complacent in their romantic notions of love, won’t stay faithful for a minute if put to the test. It sounds harmless enough and, anyway, the lovers are entirely sure of themselves. But there is cruelty in this game of love and chance.

It’s difficult to think of an opera that contains more music of sheer beauty than Così fan tutte – or has a libretto that is more unsettling. The plot is a work of supreme artifice, yet the opera charts the boundaries of real and feigned emotion, trust and deception, loyalty and desire, with unsparing accuracy and truthfulness. Tim Albery’s beautiful, thoughtful, 18th centurystyled production is set firmly in a pitiless Age of Reason.

‘Go to this production: there are lots of good Così s, but this is in a class apart.’

Michael Tanner, The Spectator

Music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto Lorenzo da Ponte

First performance Vienna, 1790

Sung in English with English titles

Lasts approximately 3 hours

Cast includes:

Fiordiligi Alexandra Lowe

Dorabella Heather Lowe

Ferrando Anthony Gregory

Guglielmo Henry Neill

Don Alfonso Quirijn de Lang

Conductor Clemens Schuldt / Chloe Rooke

Director Tim Albery

Set and Costume Designer Tobias Hoheisel

Lighting Designer David Finn

IN A DOUBLE BILL WITH ALEKO

CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA

Turiddù and Lola were once lovers; but when he left to join the army, Lola married another man. Although Turridù finds consolation in the arms of Santuzza, his obsessive passion for Lola still burns fiercely. Thus the stage is set for a tale of faithlessness, jealousy and violence, set in a rural community where the church maintains an iron grip on the souls of its people.

A celebrated overnight success in its day, Cavalleria rusticana spearheaded the verismo movement which demonstrated that ordinary people can have opera-sized emotions too. Mascagni displays a masterly control of pacing, conveying a taut, gritty drama through a succession of gorgeously lyrical melodies. With a score that includes the famous Easter Hymn and Intermezzo, Cavalleria rusticana remains for many the very essence of Italian opera.

Music Pietro Mascagni

Libretto Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci

First performance Rome, 1890

Sung in Italian with English titles

Lasts approximately 1 hour 15 mins

Cast includes:

Santuzza Giselle Allen

Turiddù Andrés Presno

Alfio Robert Hayward

Lucia Anne-Marie Owens

Conductor Antony Hermus

Director Karolina Sofulak

Set Designer Charles Edwards

Costume Designer Gabrielle Dalton

Lighting Designer Charles Edwards

‘... Sofulak creates a potent atmosphere that gives fresh impetus to the tragedy.’

Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph

IN A DOUBLE BILL WITH CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA

ALEKO

Rachmaninov’s first opera is a story of emotion run riot. In the past, Aleko turned his back on the restrictions of conventional society and joined a marginalised community where he fell in love with a young woman, Zemfira. But her love for him has grown cold and she finds solace in the arms of a young lover. Driven on by the unforgiving code of honour he has inherited, Aleko exacts a bloody vengeance for this betrayal.

Composed when he was just 19 years old, Rachmaninov’s passionate score displays the rich orchestral palette familiar from his piano concertos and symphonies, as well as his unparalleled gift for melody – nowhere more so than in Aleko’s moving Cavatina. Karolina Sofulak’s new production shares the bill with Cavalleria rusticana, and is designed as a companion piece for Mascagni’s equally youthful masterpiece.

Music Sergei Rachmaninov

Libretto Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko

First performance Moscow, 1893

Lasts approximately 1 hour

Sung in Russian with English titles

Cast includes:

Aleko Robert Hayward

Zemfira Elin Pritchard

Young Lover Andrés Presno

Baboushka Anne-Marie Owens

Conductor Antony Hermus

Director Karolina Sofulak

Set Designer Charles Edwards

Costume Designer Gabrielle Dalton

Lighting Designer Charles Edwards

ACCESS

At Opera North we work hard to ensure everyone can enjoy our performances, both in Leeds and on tour. We offer the following:

English surtitles at most opera performances

Sign interpreted performances (for BSL users)

Audio-described performances

Touch tours (before audio-described performances)

Audio introductions available on our website

Large print, audio or braille programmes and brochures – please get in touch with us

Relaxed performances at Leeds Grand Theatre and the Howard Assembly Room

Photograph: Opera North audio-described performance at Leeds Grand Theatre (Tom Arber)

FRIENDS OF OPERA NORTH

Experience even more extraordinary opera throughout the year by becoming a Friend of Opera North. Join from just £5 a month for access to exclusive insights, events and more …

Enjoy behind-the-scenes insights with invitations to exclusive Friends’ events

Secure your favourite seats early with priority booking for our opera productions in Leeds and on tour

Take an early look at our productions with access to dress rehearsals

Your support will enable us to create extraordinary experiences for audiences and communities across the north of England and transform even more lives through the power of music.

Join online today at operanorth.co.uk/friends or by calling 0113 223 3627

Photograph: Ariadne auf Naxos, 2023: production supported by the Friends of Opera North (Richard H Smith)

OPERA NORTH PROJECTS

Opera North Projects creates a year-round festival of music, film, performance and spoken word. From our home in Leeds, the Howard Assembly Room, to festivals, outdoor spaces and in our communities, we break down barriers and challenge artists to push their creativity.

This year we will expand our work supporting global majority music creators to make new, genre-busting music theatre, through our Resonance artist residencies and our Resonance Connect film commissions with Sky Arts. We will complete our People’s Lullabies films, and commission a new artwork that brings together science and culture through the DARE partnership with the University of Leeds. Look out too for our Light Night sound installation, and annual Solstice concert with SAA-uk, both in the Howard Assembly Room.

Watch this space: operanorth.co.uk/projects

Photograph: Former Resonance artist, musician Nwando Ebizie (Tom Arber)

ORCHESTRA OF OPERA NORTH

From taking centre stage in Opera North’s legendary Ring cycle, to playing with 80s pop icons to an audience of thousands outdoors in Millennium Square in Leeds, to regular appearances in major concert series throughout the region, the Orchestra of Opera North is renowned for its adaptability and its artistry, and holds a unique place in British orchestral life.

Highlights of the 2023/24 orchestral season include:

Music Director Garry Walker conducting Dvořák’s New World Symphony and Mahler’s First Symphony

Scottish pianist Steven Osborne returning to the Kirklees Concert Season to perform Ravel’s Piano

Concerto in G Major

Internationally acclaimed guest conductors Joana

Carniero, Julia Jones and Andrew Grams

View our listings: operanorth.co.uk/orchestra

Photograph: Orchestra of Opera North at Huddersfield Town Hall (Justin Slee)

OPERA NORTH EDUCATION

Opera North Education connects with communities and inspires people of all ages and walks of life to explore opera, music and the arts through an extensive performance and participatory programme in towns and cities across the north of England.

Each year we programme a wide range of workshops, performances and activities, both in person and online, for children, families, young people and adults. We also provide an annual creative arts offer to schools involving our Chorus and Orchestra, and deliver the widely admired In Harmony programme to over 2500 children each week in Leeds and Halifax. Structured vocal and instrumental training pathways are on offer to over 200 young people through our Young Performers Programme.

Discover what we do: operanorth.co.uk/participate

Photograph: In Harmony Opera North 10th anniversary event, December 2022 (Tom Arber)

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Opera North’s Community Partnerships scheme aims to strengthen relationships with the communities of Leeds and to open up music and opera to people who may have barriers that prevent them from engaging with the arts.

In 2018, Opera North became the first opera company in the UK to be awarded Theatre of Sanctuary status in recognition of an ongoing commitment to create a welcoming environment for refugees and people seeking asylum. Since it began in 2013, the Encore community scheme has welcomed more than 13,000 attendees to our performances.

Find out more operanorth.co.uk/about-us/

Photograph: Discover La traviata at Lychee Red, 2022 (Ernesto Rogata)

PERFORMANCE DIARY

SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER 2023

LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

Thu 28 Sep Falstaff

Thu 5 Oct Falstaff

Fri 6 Oct Masque of Might

Sat 7 Oct 2.00pm Falstaff

Sat 14 Oct 2.00pm Masque of Might

Sat 14 Oct Falstaff

Fri 20 Oct La rondine

Sat 21 Oct 2.00pm Masque of Might

Sat 21 Oct Falstaff

Tue 24 Oct La rondine

Wed 25 Oct 2.00pm Falstaff

Thu 26 Oct La rondine

Fri 27 Oct Masque of Might

Sat 28 Oct La rondine

THEATRE ROYAL, NEWCASTLE

Tue 31 Oct Falstaff

Wed 1 Nov La rondine

Thu 2 Nov Falstaff

Fri 3 Nov La rondine

All performances start at 7.00pm unless otherwise stated.

THE LOWRY, SALFORD QUAYS

Wed 15 Nov Falstaff

Thu 16 Nov Masque of Might

Fri 17 Nov La rondine

Sat 18 Nov 2.00pm Falstaff

Sat 4 Nov Masque of Might

THEATRE ROYAL, NOTTINGHAM

Tue 7 Nov Falstaff

Wed 8 Nov La rondine

Thu 9 Nov Masque of Might

Fri 10 Nov La rondine

Sat 11 Nov 2.00pm Falstaff

JANUARY – APRIL 2024

HOWARD ASSEMBLY ROOM, LEEDS

Fri 12 Jan Albert Herring

Sun 14 Jan 2.00pm Albert Herring

Tue 16 Jan Albert Herring

Thu 18 Jan Albert Herring

Sat 20 Jan 2.00pm Albert Herring

Thu 29 Feb Albert Herring

Sat 2 Mar 4.00pm Albert Herring

All performances start at 7.00pm unless otherwise stated.

LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

Fri 2 Feb Così fan tutte

Sat 10 Feb Così fan tutte

Wed 14 Feb Così fan tutte

Thu 15 Feb Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Fri 16 Feb Così fan tutte

Sat 17 Feb Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Tue 20 Feb Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Wed 21 Feb Così fan tutte

Thu 22 Feb Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Fri 23 Feb Così fan tutte

Sat 24 Feb Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

THEATRE ROYAL, NOTTINGHAM

Wed 6 Mar Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Thu 7 Mar Così fan tutte

Fri 8 Mar Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Sat 9 Mar Così fan tutte

THEATRE ROYAL, NEWCASTLE

Wed 13 Mar Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Thu 14 Mar Così fan tutte

Fri 15 Mar Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Sat 16 Mar Così fan tutte

THE LOWRY, SALFORD QUAYS

Wed 20 Mar Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Thu 21 Mar Così fan tutte

Fri 22 Mar Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko

Sat 23 Mar Così fan tutte

HULL NEW THEATRE

Thu 4 Apr Così fan tutte

Sat 6 Apr 2.30pm Così fan tutte

Audio described performance

Sign interpreted performance for D/deaf and hard of hearing bookers

REL Relaxed performance for bookers who require a more relaxed environment

ENJOY A FULL SEASON OF OPERA

Book a Full Season Package at Leeds Grand Theatre and you can enjoy all 6 operas with 15% off!

Full Season Package benefits include:

Ultimate priority booking

Great savings – up to £68 off your ticket price

Your favourite seat secured each year

Payment in monthly instalments

10% off at our bar and restaurant Kino*

Advance programmes with free P&P

Free, flexible ticket exchange

An invitation to an exclusive event

An invitation to the 2024-2025 Season Preview

Bring a friend. Add single tickets when you book your package

For the easiest way to book, with maximum benefits, choose one of the following packages:

operanorth.co.uk/packages

Package A

Fri 6 Oct 7pm

Sat 14 Oct 7pm

Tue 24 Oct 7pm

Tue 16 Jan 7pm

Tue 20 Feb 7pm

Wed 21 Feb 7pm

Package B

Thu 5 Oct 7pm

Sat 21 Oct 2pm

Thu 26 Oct 7pm

Thu 18 Jan 7pm

Wed 14 Feb 7pm

Thu 22 Feb 7pm

Package C

Masque of Might

Falstaff

La rondine

Albert Herring

Cavalleria rusticana/

Aleko

Così fan tutte

Sat 7 Oct 2pm

Fri 20 Oct 7pm

Fri 27 Oct 7pm

Fri 12 Jan 7pm

Fri 16 Feb 7pm

Sat 24 Feb 7pm

Package D

Falstaff

La rondine

Masque of Might

Albert Herring

Così fan tutte

Cavalleria rusticana/ Aleko

Falstaff

Masque of Might

La rondine

Albert Herring

Così fan tutte

Cavalleria rusticana/

Aleko

Sat 14 Oct 2pm

Sat 21 Oct 7pm

Sat 28 Oct 7pm

Sat 20 Jan 2pm

Sat 10 Feb 7pm

Sat 17 Feb 7pm

Masque of Might

Falstaff

La rondine

Albert Herring

Così fan tutte

Cavalleria rusticana/ Aleko

CREATE YOUR OWN SEASON OF OPERA

The more you see, the more you save.

Our packages offer the chance to pick and choose the operas and dates that suit you. As a package booker you can enjoy:

Priority booking to secure your favourite seats

Payment in monthly instalments†

10% off at our bar and restaurant Kino*

Advance programmes with free P&P

Flexible ticket exchange

An invitation to the 2024-2025 Season Preview

Bring a friend. Add single tickets when you book your package†

Book your package even earlier by becoming a Friend of Opera North, see page 21 for more details.

Leeds Book 3 operas, get 10% off Book 4-5 operas, get 12.5% off Book 6 operas, get 15% off

Newcastle, Book 3 operas, get 10% off

Nottingham and Book 4 operas, get 12.5% off

Salford Quays Book 5 operas, get 15% off

operanorth.co.uk/packages

* Tue-Thu evenings from 5pm and Saturday until 5pm until Sat 24 Feb 2024

Not to be used in conjunction with additional offers. Subject to change.

† Leeds bookers only

HOW TO BOOK

For bookings in Leeds and general enquiries, please contact Opera North: Visit our website: operanorth.co.uk

Call us: 0113 223 3600 Email us: boxoffice@operanorth.co.uk

To book tickets or a package at one of our tour venues, please contact the relevant venue.

You can find detailed booking dates, including priority booking periods for all our venues at operanorth.co.uk/packages

Registered Charity No. 511726

© Opera North Limited, 2023

The information in this brochure is published in good faith and is correct at the time of going to print, but changes may occasionally be necessary. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, Opera North reserves the right to change casts or performances.

This brochure is fully recyclable and printed on carbon balanced paper sourced from responsibly sustainable forest using vegetable-based inks.

Major Supporters

Principal Partner

Major Education Supporter

Così fan tutte, 2016 (Tristram Kenton)