Miss Fortune , a new opera by Judith Weir will premiere at the Bregenz Festival in July. The opera is jointly commissioned and co-produced by the Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. The Director is Chen Shi-Zeng and the conductor Paul Daniel. Set designs are by Tom Pye and the cast includes Andrew Watts, Emma Bell and Anne Marie Owens.
The new opera was inspired by and based on an Italian folk tale. It tells of a young woman whose wealthy family suddenly meets hard times. The woman decides to make her own way in the world, trying to exist by working in gruelling occupations. Each time her luck seems to turn for the better, she is thrown by another misfortune. Later, however, she makes the acquaintance of the personification of her own Fate and after this, her life changes for the better.
Weir has updated the action to the 21st century, adapting the story into a very topical parable about the ups and downs of life. Her great interest in folklore and folk music of Scotland, Iceland, India and China has decisively influenced her very personal and original style. Many of Weir’s stage works are based on fantastical and dream-like folk tales, reflecting her fascination and passion for storytelling.
Performances at Bregenz Festival
World Premiere
21 July, 19.30
Further performances
24 July, 11.00
28 July, 19.30
An introductory talk in the Festspielhaus starts one hour before each performance
Two Boys, a new opera by Nico Muhly will be premiered on June 24 at English National Opera.
About the production
A teenage boy is fatally stabbed. Another boy is caught on CCTV leaving the scene. An open-and-shut case, it would seem. But, as Detective Inspector Anne Strawson investigates the older boy's story, she uncovers a bizarre nexus of chatroom meetings, false identities, fictitious spy rings and raunchy cybersex, leading to just one conclusion: it wasn't so much murder as suicide by internet.
Loosely inspired by an incredible but true case that happened in the North of England a few years ago, Nico Muhly’s new opera enters the secret world of the teenage bedroom to hit the panic button on the realities and risks of living our lives online.
With a libretto by Craig Lucas, screenwriter of Prelude to a Kiss and Reckless and video design by Fifty Nine Productions, whose work has been a key feature of such recent ENO triumphs as Doctor Atomic and Satyagraha, this new co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York, is directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher, making his UK opera debut.
Some elements of this production may be unsuitable for those under 16 years of age.
Performances
June 24, 27, 29 & Jul 1, 4, 6, 8 at 7.30pm
Rave Reviews for new Max Opera
A new opera written for students, with music by Peter Maxwell Davies and libretto by David Pountney has received rave reviews at its opening in London. All of the performances sold out weeks ahead of the world premiere.
What the papers said about Kommilitonen! (Young blood!)
'A glorious, heart-warming pageant of humanity...It's a bold and beautiful assertion of the transformative power of truth.' ***** London Evening Standard
'Don't be put off by the title or the subject matter - it's a triumph'
'An extraordinary testament to the fact that, at the age of 76, his creativity is radiantly alive' The Daily Telegraph
‘It is as good as any theatre score he has ever composed.' ***** The Guardian
'A potent, thrilling night...the score works strikingly well. A stirring blast of an opera'
**** The Times
‘Here is proof that Maxwell Davies, who says he never intended to write another opera, still had a serious success inside him.' Financial Times
The opera was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Juilliard School in New York. The performances in New York will take place November 2011.
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