Opening Saturday 11th April 2015, 7.30pm at the Barbican (8 performances)
Critically acclaimed opera and theatre director Deborah Warner directs the world premiere of British composer Tansy Davies’s highly anticipated first opera. With a libretto by Nick Drake and conducted by contemporary music specialist Gerry Cornelius, Between Worldsforms part of a series of major British operas premiered by ENO, the next world premiere being February 2017.
Between Worlds is a sensitive, spiritual and uplifting journey inspired by the events of 9/11, addressing one of the most significant events of the twenty-first century and bringing the universal operatic themes of tragedy, loss, courage, healing and love into a contemporary context.
The opera focuses on the relationships and emotions of the people at the very centre of the tragedy. It tells the story of six individuals whose days start normally but end in the most devastating of circumstances. Trapped high up in the World Trade Center, they are forced to face the inconceivable possibility that they may never see their loved ones again. Nick Drake’s libretto has been partially inspired by first-hand accounts and messages sent on the day of the tragedy and released by WikiLeaks in 2009.
ENO has had significant success staging new operas written by living British composers. In May 2014 Pierre Audi directed the world premiere of Julian Anderson’s first opera, Thebans,at the London Coliseum. Joanna Lee’s first opera, The Way Back Home, received its world premiere in an ENO co-production with the Young Vic in December 2014, directed by Katie Mitchell.
Deborah Warner returns to ENO and the Barbican following her recent five star productions of Death in Venice (London Coliseum) andThe Testament of Mary, starring Fiona Shaw (Barbican Theatre).Her ‘electrifying’ (Bachtrack) new production of Beethoven’s Fideliorecently opened the 2014/15 La Scala season to great acclaim.
Composer Tansy Davies’s distinctive sound-world has been described as possessing a ‘rare power to remind listeners of their own inner freedom’ (Guardian). Her work has been commissioned and performed by many significant international ensembles and orchestras, including the London Sinfonietta, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She received a Paul Hamlyn Award in 2009 and was nominated for a South Bank Sky Arts Award in 2010.