{"id":4087,"date":"2018-02-01T14:10:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T14:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=4087"},"modified":"2018-02-01T14:10:49","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T14:10:49","slug":"eno-a-midsummer-nights-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=4087","title":{"rendered":"ENO: A Midsummer Night’s Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Carsen\u2019s classic production of<\/span>\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/span> returns to the London Coliseum<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opens Thursday 01 March at <\/span>7.30pm at the London Coliseum (6 performances)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Robert Carsen\u2019s \u2018legendary production\u2019 (<\/span>Bachtrack<\/span>) of Benjamin Britten\u2019s Shakespearean comedy returns to the London Coliseum this spring, featuring an ensemble of some of British opera\u2019s most sparkling rising stars.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The production is the first of four works by Benjamin Britten to be performed in this fiftieth anniversary year of opera in residence at the Coliseum and highlights the historic role of the company in premiering and performing the composer\u2019s work. <\/span>\u00a0The Turn of the Screw<\/span>\u00a0 at Regent\u2019s Park Open Air Theatre and <\/span>\u00a0Paul Bunyan<\/span>\u00a0at Wilton\u2019s Music Hall follow later this season, finishing with a staged interpretation of Britten\u2019s <\/span>\u00a0War Requiem <\/span>\u00a0in November. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shakespeare\u2019s romantic comedy, with its two pairs of lovers enchanted, switched and finally given their happy ending by fairy magic, is beautifully retold in Britten\u2019s opera. Carsen\u2019s bewitching nocturnal staging, with Michael Levine\u2019s arresting dreamscape designs and Matthew Bourne\u2019s gorgeously fluid choreography, has enchanted audiences from La Scala to Beijing since its 1991 premiere at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. This is its third revival at the London Coliseum, where it last appeared in 2004. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shakespeare\u2019s hapless and hilarious cast of fairies, lovers and mechanicals are given life by a group of singers closely associated with ENO, including five Harewood Artists, members of ENO\u2019s scheme for the training of talented young singers. Harewood Artist and winner of the 2016 Susan Chilcott Award Soraya Mafi sings fairy queen Tytania in her role debut, after her \u2018scintillating\u2019(<\/span>The Daily Telegraph<\/span>)performance as Mabel in 2017\u2019s revival of <\/span>\u00a0The Pirates of Penzance<\/span>. She is joined by countertenor Christopher Ainslie as her husband Oberon; the two also sang together in October 2017 as Cleopatra and Cesare in ETO\u2019s <\/span>\u00a0Giulio Cesare<\/span>. In 2014 Ainslie performed in <\/span>Thebans<\/span>\u00a0with his most recent appearance being a \u2018breathtaking\u2019 (<\/span>\u00a0The Guardian<\/span>\u00a0)performance in<\/span>\u00a0Rodelinda.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harewood Artist David Webb returns for his second engagement of the season as the young lover Demetrius following his Messenger in <\/span>\u00a0Aida<\/span>\u00a0. His Frederic in <\/span>\u00a0The Pirates of Penzance<\/span>\u00a0 opposite Mafi was praised for its \u2018effortless vocal lyricism\u2019 (<\/span>\u00a0What\u2019s On Stage<\/span>)and considerable comic ability. Fellow Harewood Artist Matthew Durkan sings his rival Lysander in his third appearance of the season, following Fiorello in <\/span>The Barber of Seville<\/span>\u00a0and Malcolm Fleet in the world premiere of<\/span>\u00a0Marnie<\/span>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lysander\u2019s lover Hermia is sung by mezzo-soprano Clare Presland, who has appeared in many roles at ENO since training with Opera Works, in shows which include <\/span>\u00a0Lulu, The Force of Destiny<\/span> and<\/span>\u00a0Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk<\/span>. She is the winner of the 2014 Susan Chilcott Award. Her rival Helena is sung by Harewood Artist Eleanor Dennis, whose role as the High Priestess earlier in the season in <\/span>Aida<\/span>\u00a0 gained wide attention: \u2018she is a major talent\u2019 (<\/span>What\u2019s On Stage<\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Bottom is sung by bass Joshua Bloom, whose comic chops were demonstrated by his swaggering Pirate King in the 2015 run of <\/span>\u00a0The Pirates of Penzance<\/span>\u00a0. The non-singing role of Puck is performed by <\/span>\u00a0Miltos Yerolemou, who has performed the role in Carsen\u2019s production since 2008: \u2018has it all: a scorching twinkle in his eye, the richest of speaking voices and fearless tumbling skills\u2019 (<\/span>\u00a0Bachtrack<\/span>\u00a0). Yerelemou is known to television audiences as <\/span>\u00a0Game of Thrones\u2019<\/span>\u00a0 Syrio Forel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Theseus is sung by ENO Harewood Artist Andri Bj\u00f6rn R\u00f3bertsson and his bride Hippolyta by Emma Carrington. The band of Mechanicals, Quince, Flute, Snug, Snout and Starveling, are sung by familiar ENO faces Graeme Danby, Robert Murray, Jonathan Lemalu, Timothy Robinson and Simon Butteriss respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Making his debut conducting the ENO Orchestra is Alexander Soddy, Music Director at the National Theatre at Mannheim since 2016. Having spent the last decade with orchestras in Germany and Austria, the English conductor has been a guest conductor at the Hamburg and Berlin State Operas as well as the State Theatre at Klagenfurt where as Music Director he last conducted <\/span>\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/span> in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Canadian Robert Carsen is one of the most prominent and influential international directors of opera of the last thirty years, originator of numerous acclaimed productions and recipient of the Order of Canada. Revival direction is by Emmanuelle Bastet, longtime collaborator of Carsen\u2019s and revival director for the previous run of performances at the London Coliseum in 2004.<\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew Bourne is one of the most important figures in contemporary choreography, whose work includes seminal interpretations of <\/span>\u00a0Swan Lake <\/span>\u00a0(1995) and <\/span>\u00a0Carmen (Matthew Bourne\u2019s The Car Man, <\/span>\u00a02000<\/span>\u00a0)<\/span>. Designer Michael Levine has provided designs for ENO productions including <\/span>\u00a0The Magic Flute (<\/span>\u00a02012<\/span>\u00a0) Between Worlds (<\/span>\u00a02015<\/span>\u00a0)<\/span> and<\/span>\u00a0A Dog\u2019s Heart<\/span>\u00a0(2010)<\/span>\u00a0.<\/span>\u00a0 Lighting design is by Robert Carsen and Peter van Praet.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/span>\u00a0opens on<\/span>\u00a0Thursday 01 March at <\/span>7.30pm at the London Coliseum<\/span>\u00a0for 6 performances: 01, 08, 10, 14 and 15 March at 7.30pm and 04 March at 3pm.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robert Carsen\u2019s classic production of\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream returns to the London Coliseum Opens Thursday 01 March at 7.30pm at the London Coliseum (6 performances) Robert Carsen\u2019s \u2018legendary production\u2019 (Bachtrack) of Benjamin Britten\u2019s Shakespearean comedy returns to the London Coliseum … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4087"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4089,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4087\/revisions\/4089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}