The highly acclaimed English Touring Opera will be returning to York Theatre Royal with two exciting new operas. What Dreams May Come debuts in the Studio from 28 Feb – 01 Mar and Bellini: The Capulets & The Montagues is showing for one night only on Sat 01 Mar in the Main House. Both operas will be performed in their original language with English surtitles.
Robin Norton-Hale, Director of English Touring Opera, said: “This spring ETO celebrates the enduring power and relevance of the works of William Shakespeare with a season featuring one of the landmark operas of the 19th century alongside new works that draw inspiration from his themes and characters to create something entirely fresh and original.
Bellini’s The Capulets and the Montagues puts a new spin on one of Shakespeare’s best-loved stories and is a classic of bel canto repertoire, with a dramatic contrast of sumptuous music and destructive violence, while What Dreams May Come combines puppetry and song in an intimate exploration of life, love and death, set to new orchestrations of music inspired by the works of Shakespeare. It is a season that will showcase the best of ETO – wonderful storytelling and exceptional musicality at your local theatre.”
The Capulets & The Montagues is a tale of two households at war and of two lovers in over their heads, doomed by the conflict between their families. With its tale of loyalty and love put to the test amidst political violence, Vincenzo Bellini’s gritty re-working of Romeo & Juliet remains a fresh, vital take on a well-loved story that brings the warring families’ emotional and political struggle to life with devastating power.
Soprano Jessica Cale – a First Prize winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and audience prize winner at the London Handel Festival International Singing Competition – sings the role of Giulietta opposite mezzo-soprano Samantha Price, a regular performer with The Royal Opera and English National Opera, who sings the role of Romeo. Brenton Spiteri, who last performed with ETO in its productions of Manon Lescaut and The Rake’s Progress in Spring 2024, stars as Tebaldo, with Timothy Nelson as Capello and Masimba Ushe as Lorenzo. Eloise Lally, who directed ETO’s 2023 production of Lucrezia Borgia, returns to direct this production, while conductor, pianist and founder member of the ensemble Le Balcon Alphonse Cemin conducts in his debut season with ETO.
There is a free Pre – Show talk before this show where you can hear from the performers and creatives about what it takes to put on their shows.
What Dreams May Come, is a new studio piece drawing on hundreds of years of music inspired by and adapted from Shakespeare’s plays and poetry to depict the joys and sorrows of a long life, well-lived. Mixing puppetry with music by composers including Purcell, Finzi, Amy Beach and Britten performed by a chamber ensemble, this new production explores the timeless appeal of Shakespeare’s words and characters for composers and audiences throughout history.
Singers include soprano Alys Mererid Roberts, mezzo-soprano Emily Hodkinson, tenor Tamsanqa Tylor Lemani and baritone Samuel Pantcheff. The piece is devised and directed by Valentina Ceschi – whose past work for ETO includes the acclaimed 2023 production of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims, children’s opera The Great Stink and film for families The Firebird – with Erika Gundesen conducting from the piano.
The Capulets & The Montagues is at York Theatre Royal on 01 March. Remember to book a place on the free Pre – Show talk here.
What Dreams May Come is at York Theatre Royal from 28 Feb – 01 March. Find out more information and book your tickets here.
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