ETO Spring 2010
Mary O'Sullivan as Norina in Don Pasquale
Photo: Richard Hubert-Smith
About ETO Spring 2010
ETO present a Season of Comedy for Spring 2010
English Touring Opera present three of the wittiest works of the opera repertoire, taken from the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries. These very different operas - all of them describing the events of one day - find comedy in stifling Sevillian manor houses, in enchanted woods, and in dusty bachelors' quarters.
DON PASQUALE - Donizetti BOOK ONLINE
Tuesday 16 & Friday 19 March, 7.30pm
This is a comedy with zest, cream, and an Italian accent – think zabaglione! - in a new production directed by William Oldroyd, with Dominic Wheeler conducting. Keel Watson plays Don Pasquale, a stubborn, competitive, old batchelor – and here a tyrannic orchestra conductor – who wants to procure a young wife. He seems set to steal from his nephew a beautiful, and apparently submissive bride – but his clumsy wooing turns to painful woe when she reveals her own mind.
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO - Mozart SOLD OUT - Returns Only!
Wednesday 17 & Thursday 18 March, 7.30pm
An elegant production, in period costume of one of the world’s most popular operas, containing some of Mozart’s most beautiful and familiar music. The plot (based on Beaumarcais’ controversial play) traces the intrigues of one day at the house of Count Almaviva. Figaro is to marry Susanna, (a maid, but also a ‘favourite’ of the Count - and opera’s most charming heroine), but he must overcome every obstacle put in his way by the Count and his cronies, before he can be united finally with his bride.
PLEASE NOTE: The Wed 17 March peformance of The Marriage of Figaro will be captioned.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM - Britten SOLD OUT - Returns Only!
Saturday 20 March, 7.30pm
First produced in 2004, ETO’s hugely successful production of the Britten/Shakespeare masterpiece returns. In a fairy-haunted wood, lovers’ knots are tangled, and strange dreams create monstrous romances. Only in an hilarious play performed by working men are all the opera’s tensions and enchantments eased. Michael Rosewell conduct’s Britten’s eerie, highly theatrical score, with a cast led by Jonathan Peter Kenny and Andrew Slater.
“Hike miles to see this… ETO’s staging of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is wonderful beyond words. A corker of a show from a tip-top team”
THE INDEPENDENT * * * * *
www.englishtouringopera.org.uk
A Gourmet Menu is available for Friday and Saturday evening performances. Click here to download a sample menu. All gourmet meals should be pre-booked in advance of your visit. Call Spires on 07855 459361 for all reservations and enquiries.
