English National Opera 2015 Season
London Coliseum
The Mastersingers of Nuremberg
Feburary 15, 2015 – March 10 2015
From the opening bars of the ever-popular overture, Wagner’s The Mastersingers of Nuremberg is conceived on a truly epic scale, full of glorious melodies, stirring choruses and thrilling orchestration.
ENO’s major new production of Wagner’s comedy sees Richard Jones’s acclaimed staging come to London for the first time. Jones provides a characteristically witty and clear retelling of Wagner’s drama about the 16th-century guild of amateur poets and musicians (the Mastersingers), in which the tension between creativity and conformity is played out in a society obsessed with rules and regulations.
An exceptional cast has been assembled under ENO Music Director Edward Gardner. Leading Wagnerian bass-baritone Iain Paterson sings his first Sachs, while the brilliant singing-actor Andrew Shore makes his stage role debut as Beckmesser.
The Mastersingers of Nuremberg is sung and subtitled in English | Running time: 5hrs 40mins
The Cast
Hans Sachs Iain Paterson
Eva Rachel Nicholls
Beckmesser Andrew Shore
Pogner James Creswell
Walther von Stolzing Gwyn Hughes Jones
David Nicky Spence
Kothner David Stout
Magdalene Madeleine Shaw
Night Watchman Nicholas Crawley
Creative
Conductor Edward Gardner
Director Richard Jones
Set Designer Paul Steinberg
Costume Designer Buki Shiff
Lighting Designer Mimi Jordan Sherin
Choreographer Lucy Burge
Librettist Richard Wagner after various historical and literary sources
Translation Adapted from Frederic Jameson
Reviews
La Traviata
February 09, 2015 – March 13, 2015
La traviata tells the moving story of how the beautiful but fragile courtesan Violetta is coerced into sacrificing her one hope of personal happiness for the sake of her lover’s reputation.
A tragic and resonant tale of society and morality, Verdi’s masterpiece combines compelling characters with hugely powerful, moving and instantly recognisable melodies, making it one of the most emotionally engaging and popular operas of all time. Peter Konwitschny’s celebrated production of La Traviata returns to ENO, cutting to the very heart of the opera’s themes of passionate love and tragic death with a modern and uncluttered staging, and a running time of less than two hours.
Making her UK debut as Violetta is soprano Elizabeth Zharoff, who stars alongside ENO Harewood Artist Ben Johnson as Alfredo and acclaimed baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore as Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont.
Reviews
Cast
Violetta – Elizabeth Zharoff
Alfredo – Ben Johnson
Germont – Anthony Michaels-Moore
Flora – Clare Presland
Gaston – Paul Hopwood
Baron Douphol – Matthew Hargreaves
Marquis d’Obigny – Charles Johnston
Dr Grenvil – Martin Lamb
Annina – Valerie Reid
Creative
Conductor – Roland Böer
Director – Peter Konwitschny
Designer – Johannes Leiacker
Lighting Designer – Joachim Klein
Librettist Francesco Maria Piave after Alexandre Dumas fils
Translator Martin Fitzpatrick
La traviata is sung and surtitled in English | Running time: 1hrs 50mins
The Indian Queen
February 15, 2015 – March 14, 2015
In this vibrant production, devised by acclaimed director Peter Sellars, the rich and transcendent score of Purcell’s final unfinished opera is reworked around a new text and the inclusion of a number of Purcell’s most ravishing religious anthems.
This new retelling of The Indian Queen recounts the initial confrontation between Europeans and the Mayans of the New World through a personal account from the female perspective, which Sellars has based on The Lost Chronicles of Terra Firma by Nicaraguan author Rosario Aguilar.
The production is a spectacle of music, theatre, dance, literature and visual art and features stunning set designs from LA-based graffiti artist, Gronk.
The musical team is led by baroque specialist Laurence Cummings, artistic director of major early music festivals in Britain and Germany. With an integral contribution from the ENO Chorus, the cast of The Indian Queen includes the exceptional young soprano Julia Bullock, for whom Sellars created the role, and leading British lyric soprano Lucy Crowe.
Reviews
Coming Soon
Cast
Teculihuatzin/Doña Luisa Julia Bullock
Doña Isabel Lucy Crowe
Hunahpú Vince Yi
Ixbalanqué Anthony Roth Costanzo
Don Pedro de Alvado Noah Stewart
Don Pedrarias Dávila Thomas Walker
Sacerdote Maya Luthando Qave
Leonor Maritxell Carrero
Creative
Conductor Laurence Cummings
Director Peter Sellars
Set Designer Gronk
Costume Designer Dunya Ramicova
Lighting Designer James F. Ingalls
Choreographer Christopher Williams
Libretto: Songs and hymns by Purcell, with texts by Katherine Philips, George Herbert et al. Spoken texts by Rosario Aguilar from The Lost Chronicles of Terra Firma
Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
at English National Opera for just 13 Performances
with Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel
Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson and international star Bryn Terfel reprise their roles as Mrs Lovett and Sweeney Todd in this concert staging of Stephen Sondheim’s gloriously gruesome musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Cast
Sweeney Todd Bryn Terfel
Mrs Lovett Emma Thompson
Judge Turpin Philip Quast
Creative
Music and lyrics Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Originally directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Conductor David Charles Abell
Director Lonny Price
Associate Director Matt Cowart
Set Designer James Noone
Costume Designer Tracy Christensen
Lighting Designer Mark Henderson
London Coliseum
March 30, 2015 April 10, 2015 13 (Performances Only)
St Martin’s Lane
London
WC2N 4ES
See More on Sweeny at TheatreGold DataBase HERE
See More April – July 2015 Here
Disabled Access to English National Opera London Coliseum
Access Scheme
ENO runs an access scheme which entitles people with a disability to purchase tickets at half-price (subject to availability) and to receive free mailings and priority booking. To join this scheme or for more information call 020 7845 9300, minicom: 020 7836 7666 or email: access@eno.org.
When you register for our access scheme you will be offered the option to receive the following:
- A CD, Braille & large print version of the season brochure
- Braille and large print versions of cast lists and synopses
For wheelchair users
The London Coliseum’s provision for wheelchair users includes:
- Two wheelchair spaces in the stalls, two wheelchair spaces in the dress circle and four wheelchair space in the stalls boxes
- Transfer seats for those who are able to transfer out of their wheelchairs, comprising four in the dress circle and six in the balcony
- Adapted unisex toilets on four out of five levels of the London Coliseum: basement, stalls, dress circle and balcony
- Two lifts – including one in the main foyer – which provide access to most levels of the auditorium and to all bars and restaurants
Wheelchair spaces and transfer seats can be booked by access scheme members by calling the box office on 020 7845 9300.
For people who are deaf or hard of hearing
- We offer an enhanced sound system via headphones. To request this, please visit the information desk in the London Coliseum foyer.
- ENO offers sign language-interpreted performances – see individual production pages for dates.