Peter Sellars returns to English National Opera following his critically-acclaimed production of John Adams’s The Gospel According To The Other Mary to direct Purcell’s The Indian Queen.

A co-production with Perm State Opera and Teatro Real, Madrid, The Indian Queen has opened to great critical acclaim with audiences in Russia and Spain, “…one of the best theatrical operas in recent years” (El Pais). Sellars takes Purcell’s rich score and incorporates some of the composer’s most ravishing sacred and secular pieces, adding vibrant set designs from Chicano graffiti artist Gronk and choreography by Christopher Williams.

Woven throughout the production is spoken text taken from Rosario Aguilar’s novel The Lost Chronicles of Terra Firma, which recounts the initial confrontation between Europeans and the Mayans of the New World through a personal account from a female perspective. The result is a spectacle of music, theatre, dance, literature and visual art.

The Other Mary and The Indian Queen have a shared theme of retelling history recorded by men through the eyes of women – bringing out the humanity of the work and giving a voice to individuals who, over time, have been erased from history.

Opera and theatre director and winner of 2014 Polar Music Prize (often called the ‘Nobel Prize for Music’), Peter Sellars is one of the most innovative and powerful forces in the performing arts in the world. A visionary artist, Sellars is known for engaging with social and political issues through art. Sellars is Professor of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), where he teaches Art as Social Action and Art as Moral Action. The Indian Queen marks the culmination of Peter Sellars’ five-month residency at ENO.

The Indian Queen opens at the London Coliseum on 26 February 2015 for 8 performances – 26 February, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 March at 7.00pm, 28 February at 6.00pm and 14 March at 3.00pm

Pre-performance talk: Monday 2 March, 5-5.45pm, £5/£2.50 concs.