English Touring Opera announces Spring programme
14/01/2008
Acclaimed opera company English Touring Opera tours the country this spring, with three new productions: Mozart’s dark comedy Don Giovanni, Donizetti’s Anna Bolena (Anne Boleyn), and the UK professional touring premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s 20th century musical drama Susannah.
ETO’s General Director James Conway says: “It is something of an adventure to put on such a red-blooded trio of operas. Don Giovanni is an opera that needs no introduction. Jonathan Munby’s production promises to register all the light and shade of that tremendous account of the famous libertine’s last 24 hours on earth, set in the courtyards and alleys of Seville.
“Anna Bolena, Donizetti’s first great triumph at La Scala in Milan, has thrilling music, rich period costumes and an action-packed score, imaginatively treating the last days of Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn (the mother of Elizabeth I). This production builds on the success of ETO’s 2005 production of Mary, Queen of Scots, also designed by Soutra Gilmour and nominated for a South Bank award in 2005.
“Our production of the American classic Susannah marks its professional touring debut in the UK, over 50 years since its premiere, and after enormous success across America and Europe. A forceful drama that will appeal to all theatre goers, Susannah is of the finest works of American lyric theatre, alongside Porgy and Bess and West Side Story, with a score featuring lively chorus dances and heart-wrenching lullabies. It is eagerly awaited by opera buffs and is also an ideal first-time experience of opera.”
Some of the country’s top opera singers will perform for ETO this season, including soprano Julie Unwin and Brazilian tenor Luciano Botelho as Anne and her lover Percy in Anna Bolena, Julia Sporsén (winner of Opera Rara 2007 Bel Canto Prize) in Don Giovanni, and Donna Bateman in the title role of Susannah.
ETO’s spring tour opens in London on 13 March 2008 and tours until 24th May. Visit www.englishtouringopera.org.uk for audio and video samples, and full touring information.