Opera North Announces 2022-23 Season

Opera North today announces a year of cultural encounters and myths retold, in eight productions for its 2022-23 season.

The season begins in September 2022 with a revival of Alessandro Talevi's well received Belle Époque production of La traviata, featuring two young international casts across its tour. Also revived for Winter 2023 is Edward Dick's thrilling Tosca, with Giselle Allen and Robert Hayward reprising their roles as Tosca and Scarpia, and Portuguese conductor Joana Carneiro making her Opera North debut.

Opera North's longstanding collaborative relationship with South Asian Arts-uk, a Leeds based centre of excellence in Indian classical music, will break new ground for both companies in a staging of Monteverdi's Orpheus. This reimagining of the pioneering 1607 work, often credited as the first great opera, is the culmination of a long period of research and development, during which musicians and consultants from both organisations have explored ideas and connections between western and Indian classical music. The intimate scale, partially improvised and collaborative nature of early Baroque opera, featuring continuo accompaniment, and arias where soloists are able to add ornamentation, offers creative parallels with the structured improvisation of the Indian classical tradition.

This new production of Orpheus is directed by the young British Asian director and dramaturg Anna Himali Howard, with sets and costumes by Leslie Travers, relocating the mythic fields of Thrace to a British garden. The creative team includes artistic consultant Ustad Dharambir Singh MBE, previously artistic director of South Asian Arts-uk and founder of Leeds Centre For Indian Music and Dance. Musical direction is by early music specialist Laurence Cummings and composer and sitar player Jasdeep Singh Degun, whose previous work with Opera North includes Arya, a concerto for sitar and orchestra. Nicholas Watts (Almaviva, The Barber of Seville; Peter Quint, The Turn of the Screw) sings the title role of Orpheus.

Celebrated British mezzo Alice Coote returns to Opera North in a concert version of another retelling of the Orpheus myth, Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, which will tour alongside La traviata and Orpheus. Originally performed for film and radio broadcast during lockdown in 2021, Opera North is delighted to now share this with audiences across the north, with Alice Coote (Orfeo) joining returning guest soloists Fflur Wyn (Euridice) and Daisy Brown (Amor), the Orchestra of Opera North and Principal Guest Conductor Antony Hermus.

Winter 2023 will see Opera North's first ever presentation of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, in a co-production with Gothenburg Opera. London-based Greek director Rodula Gaitanou and set and costume designer George Souglides set the Prologue within a bustling film studio, where two very different operatic films - a comic buffa, and a tragic seria - are combined to cut costs. The cast, conducted by Antony Hermus, includes company debuts by Elizabeth Llewellyn as Prima Donna / Ariadne and Hanna Hipp as the Composer, with Erin Caves (Don José, Carmen, 2021) as Tenor / Bacchus.

Music Director Garry Walker takes up the baton for David Pountney's classic staging of Janáček's vivacious juxtaposition of the natural and human worlds, The Cunning Little Vixen. Elin Pritchard returns to Opera North as Vixen Sharp-Ears, with Heather Lowe as Fox.

Opening in May 2023, Bizet's The Pearl Fishers will be the latest in Opera North's series of operas presented in concert stagings, conducted by Matthew Kofi Waldren and directed by Matthew Eberhardt. Written in the mid-19th century, it contains some of Bizet's most loved music, including the duet 'Au fond du temple saint', but its setting, in an exoticised pre-colonial Sri Lanka, presents challenges for contemporary opera companies and audiences. Through this new concert staging of Bizet's opera and a related series of events, we will explore some of the issues involved in presenting this work today.

The final new production of the season is a contemporary dance staging of one of the most famous of all choral works, Mozart's Requiem, in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Theatre. Music Director Garry Walker conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North in Mozart's monumental, intensely emotive final work, in a production choreographed by Dane Hurst which will draw on South African influences in a unique response to the grief experienced by so many around the world during the pandemic.

Richard Mantle, General Director, Opera North, comments:

"This year will see fresh interpretations of popular classics, such as Edward Dick's viscerally thrilling take on Tosca, and Alessandro Talevi's deeply moving La traviata, alongside imaginative new approaches to opera performance. In this season we are especially thrilled to collaborate once again with partners across our home city as we approach the year-long celebration of culture in Leeds 2023.

"Working with South Asian Arts-uk on a bold new take on Monteverdi's Orpheus, we return to opera's experimental beginnings, when a new form emerged from the blending of words and music, drama and dance. It's in the same spirit of discovery that we unite musicians and performers from the western and South Asian classical traditions to breathe new life into opera's founding myth.

"We have forged a highly successful partnership with our Leeds neighbours Phoenix Dance Theatre in recent years, and we will be taking this relationship even further with a new version of Mozart's Requiem, choreographed by Dane Hurst and conducted by our Music Director Garry Walker. The Requiem will combine the full resources of both companies together with guest artists from South Africa and will be performed alongside a newly created complementary work.

"Throughout the last few years, and especially during lockdown, the Company has developed new digital audiences for creative work. We are delighted that this year, Orpheus and Tosca will also be filmed live at Leeds Grand Theatre and made available to watch online, allowing us to extend the audience for these exciting productions beyond the boundaries of the theatrical space."

Ms Keranjeet Kaur Virdee, Artistic Director and CEO, SAA-uk, comments:

"2022 is a year of celebration for South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk) as we mark and celebrate 25 years of work, and pave the way to Leeds 2023 and beyond.

"This unique collaboration is the end result of a longstanding relationship and many conversations through which Opera North and SAA-uk have developed trust and the confidence to be bold and innovative. This creative approach has developed into a musical and cultural exchange, pushing the boundaries and challenging perceptions while exploring universal narratives.

"It is exciting to be a part of this evolution and see a new work that is reflective of people like me who have made the UK their home."

Audiences and Access

Opera North strongly believes that opera is for everyone, and we work hard to ensure everyone can enjoy our performances, both in Leeds and on tour. We offer English surtitles at all opera performances as well as a range of Access performances, including Sign Interpreted performances (for BSL users), and Audio-described performances (for blind or partially-sighted customers) with touch tours beforehand.

This season includes a Relaxed performance of La traviata at Leeds Grand Theatre on Monday 24 October, as well as a new strand of Relaxed concerts and events in the Howard Assembly Room. Everyone is welcome to attend a relaxed performance, and there is a completely relaxed attitude towards any spontaneous noise, people needing to move around, or reacting to what they see or hear on stage. This could include parents with young children, people with sensory or communication needs and people living with dementia.

Relaxed performances involve small modifications such as keeping the house lights on low, softening any lighting or sound contrasts in the show, a quiet space if people need to have a break, and having extra front of house staff on hand to help.

Ticket prices for mainstage opera productions start from £15, and we have a number of membership and new to opera schemes offering 100 reduced and accessibly priced tickets at every performance across the tour. Under 30s can book tickets for £10 for any performance, with free tickets available for 16-20 year olds. New attenders can book their first opera experience at a special price of £20 for seats in the stalls as part of the Try it ON scheme, while our Community Partnerships scheme engages with more than 70 community groups across Leeds and West Yorkshire to strengthen relationships with the communities of Leeds and to open up music and opera to people who may have barriers that prevent them from engaging with the arts. Since it began in 2013, the Encore community scheme has welcomed more than 13,000 attendees to our performances.

The 2022 Encore Plus Community Partners include Lychee Red, part of Health for All, which runs a singing group and social club for older people from the Chinese community; Pyramid of Arts which offers art activities and artist development schemes for adults living with a disability; Richmond Hill Elderly Action which provides support and activities for older adults; and Visually Impaired Social Club, which collectively organises social activities by and for blind people and those living with visual impairments.

Two further partnerships reflect Opera North's position as the only opera company in the UK to have been awarded Theatre of Sanctuary status for its work with refugees and sanctuary seekers: The Refugee Council's resettlement team which supports people seeking asylum who have just arrived in the UK, and PAFRAS which supports people in Leeds seeking asylum or appealing a refusal.

Projects

Crossing conventional boundaries and bringing together the classical and contemporary arts, Opera North Projects creates an eclectic year-round programme of performance, visual and digital arts, talks and artistic development, as well as commissioning and producing small-scale touring shows and site-specific performances throughout the country. Opera North Projects curates the public programme of the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds, which re-opened following redevelopment in 2021.

Over the coming year we look forward to the return of As You Are, a soundwalk through the streets of Leeds composed by Abel Selaocoe, a commission by Roopa Panesar for the national PRS New Music Biennial in Coventry and London, the continuation of the annual Resonance artist development programme for minority ethnic professional music creators, and a spectacular outdoor installation for Light Night Leeds.

Education

Opera North Education connects with communities and inspires people of all ages and walks of life to explore opera, music and the arts through an extensive performance and participatory programme in towns and cities across the north of England. Each year we programme a wide range of workshops, performances and activities, both in person and online, for children, families, young people and adults. We also provide an annual offer to schools in addition to delivering our widely admired In Harmony programme, which celebrates its 10th year in 2023, to over 2000 children each week in Leeds.

We are delighted to offer a series of Schools' Matinee performances of The Cunning Little Vixen as part of this season, as well as an introduction to The Cunning Little Vixen especially for children aged 4-7, and a Whistle Stop Opera version of Orpheus, which will tour to small and mid-scale venues and community spaces across the North of England.

Our growing Young Performers programme, now housed within the recently redeveloped Bramall Education Studio at the Howard Opera Centre, is a significant talent development pipeline for the next generation of singers and musicians from the North of England. We support young people to explore their own creativity by gaining practical experience across a broad range of artforms - music, singing, instrumental, drama, direction, design and technical skills. Comprising three vocal ensembles for different age groups, the Opera North Children's Chorus, Young Voices and Youth Company are training young singers in classical voice, choral singing and stagecraft. Young instrumentalists take part in regular orchestra and sectional ensembles, including Strings, Brass, Percussion and Wind Academies for ages 10-18, while the recently formed Opera North Youth Orchestra, a pre-professional ensemble in the North of England for career-minded instrumentalists aged 16 - 21, serves to help transition from further or higher education into the professional world of music.

Opera North's range of participation activities for adults includes a developing focus on wellbeing. From Sing ON group singing sessions, to Restorative Yoga with live music in the Howard Assembly Room, Melodic Memories music sessions for people living with dementia and their carers, to the huge success of virtual singing workshops open to all online in From Couch to Chorus, our adults' activities use participation in music and creativity as a tool to enhance social, physical and emotional health across our local communities.

Orchestra of Opera North

From taking centre stage in Opera North's legendary Ring cycle, to playing alongside 80s pop icons to an audience of thousands outdoors in Millennium Square in Leeds, to regular appearances in major concert series throughout the region, the Orchestra of Opera North is renowned for its adaptability and its artistry, and holds a unique place in British orchestral life. The Company's partnership with Kirklees Council, now in its 20th year, delivers a concert season across Huddersfield and Dewsbury and will be a distinctive part of the programme in the upcoming Kirklees Year of Music 2023.

Highlights of the 2022/23 orchestral season include Music Director Garry Walker conducting an all-American programme featuring clarinettist Julian Bliss, and Elgar's Violin Concerto with soloist Elena Urioste, Principal Guest Conductor Antony Hermus in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, and international guest conductors including Valentina Peleggi, Christoph Altstaedt and Jordan da Souza.