ENO puts together a shrunken season

ENO puts together a shrunken season

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norman lebrecht

April 27, 2017

The troubled English National Opera announced its next season this morning. Martin Brabbins, the new music director, will conduct two out of nine productions. A fifth new show, Britten’s Turn of the Screw, will be staged in June 2018 at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, a space not renowned for its sound quality.

Daniel Kramer, the artistic director, gets to direct La Traviata. The opening production, Aida, will be conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson, wife of the Metropolitan Opera boss, Peter Gelb.

Official highlights:

·         ENO’s 2017/18 season features four new productions and five revivals at the London Coliseum, supported by a number of projects in other venues

·         Daniel Kramer directs his first opera as ENO Artistic Director, a new production of La traviata starring Claudia Boyle in her role debut as Violetta

·         Martyn Brabbins begins his first full season as ENO Music Director, conducting performances of Marnie and The Marriage of Figaro

·         ENO presents the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s latest opera, Marnie, directed by Michael Mayer and conducted by Martyn Brabbins

·         A new production of Verdi’s Aida opens the 17/18 season, conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson. After sell-out performances of his Olivier Award-winning Akhnaten, Phelim McDermott returns to direct

·         Cal McCrystal directs a new production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, starring ENO Harewood Artist Samantha Price in the title role alongside ENO favourites Andrew Shore and Yvonne Howard

·         Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and ENO present a new production of The Turn of the Screw, directed by multiple Olivier Award-winner and Artistic Director of the Open Air Theatre, Timothy Sheader. ENO Mackerras Fellow Toby Purser conducts

·         Revivals of audience favourites include Jonathan Miller’s The Barber of Seville, Richard Jones’s Rodelinda, Phelim McDermott’s Satyagraha, Robert Carsen’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Fiona Shaw’s The Marriage of Figaro

·         A raft of exciting British conductors new to ENO includes Leo McFall, Alexander Soddy and Hilary Griffiths. Keri-Lynn Wilson and Karen Kamensek return after acclaimed debuts in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons respectively

·         Over 93% of cast and conductors in the 2017/18 season are British born, trained or resident. Rodelinda, Iolanthe and Satyagraha all feature casts that are entirely British born, trained or resident

Comments

  • Will says:

    It’s a pretty solid, even exciting, season given what they’ve been through, good balance of interesting crowd pleasers and some more adventurous stuff.

  • Una says:

    A good mix of operas and even Aida! Hardly ever done other than at the Albert Hall with live elephants or similar!

    Good luck to ENO!

  • Robert Garbolinski says:

    Which of these are really brand new or have previously seen elsewhere?

    • John says:

      Aida, Marnie and Iolanthe of the new productions originate at ENO (although the first two at least will go on elsewhere). Traviata will come from Basel where it has its premiere earlier next season. All the revivals except MND originated at ENO.

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