Press ReleaseTuesday 5 May 2015

OPERA NORTH 2015/16 SEASON REPERTOIRE

Contents

Press Nights 2

Introduction from Richard Mantle 3

Autumn 2015 4

Winter 2016 7

Spring 2016 10

Diary of Main Stage Performances 14

Contact Details 17

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Press Nights 2015/2016

Autumn 2015

Leeds Grand TheatreThu 24 Sep Porter Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pm NEWWed 07 Oct Rossini The Barber of Seville 7.15pmThu 22 Oct Janáček Jenůfa 7.15pm

Winter 2016

Leeds Grand TheatreTue 19 Jan Giordano Andrea Chénier 7.30pm NEWWed 3 Feb Mozart Così fan tutte 7.00pmWed 17 Feb Donizetti L’elisir d’amore 7.30pm

Spring 2016

Howard Assembly Room, LeedsThu 28 Apr Simpson Pleasure 7.45pm WORLD PREMIERE

Leeds Town Hall Der Ring des NibelungenSat 23 Apr Wagner Das Rheingold 7.30pmSat 30 Apr Wagner Die Walküre 5.00pmSat 14 May Wagner Siegfried 5.00pmSat 21 May Wagner Götterdämmerung 3.30pm

West Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsJune 2016 Sondheim Into the Woods NEW

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Introduction from Richard Mantle

A year that begins with Cole Porter and concludes with Richard Wagner – taking in Janáček, Mozart, Sondheim and a brand new work along the way – is evidence of Opera North’s continuing ambition to offer the broadest possible range of artistic experiences to audiences of all tastes.

Our six complete cycles of Wagner’s Ring in the spring and summer of 2016 mark the conclusion of Richard Farnes’ twelve-year term as Music Director of Opera North and were announced earlier in the year to considerable fanfare in the media. Richard’s contribution to the life of the Company is incalculable, and there can be no more fitting conclusion to his illustrious tenure than these performances.

Whilst a complete Ring cycle is undoubtedly a unique landmark in the life of any opera company, there is much to savour before we conclude our Ring odyssey next summer. Over the past several years we have staged works by many of the classic American musical dramatists and have long wanted to add Cole Porter to this list. Porter was an eminent contributor to the Great American Songbook long before he wrote his masterpiece, Kiss Me, Kate, which is just the sort of character-driven piece to which Opera North’s core artistic ensembles of Chorus and Orchestra will do full justice.

From a new production of a classic American operetta to three comic operas in revivals that can be considered classics in their own right. Our productions of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore have been enjoyed by audiences throughout the North and further afield; the latter two, in particular, demonstrating Opera North’s international reach – Così has played at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival in New York and Elisir at Spain’s Ópera de Oviedo.

It’s not all comedy, of course. In the autumn we return to the first of Janáček’s great operas, the intensely moving Jenůfa, in a major revival of an acclaimed production by Tom Cairns. Then, in the New Year, we stage a brand new production of Andrea Chénier directed by Annabel Arden, bringing Giordano’s verismo masterpiece to Opera North audiences for the first time. It’s a work ripe for reappraisal, and it will be fascinating to discover how this piece, set in a time of revolution, speaks to our own turbulent era.

Two new productions in the spring highlight Opera North’s commitment to forging creative partnerships. Pleasure, a new opera by Mark Simpson and Melanie Challenger, receives its world premiere in the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds in May. This will be the fourth new work jointly commissioned and produced through a partnership between Aldeburgh Music, The Royal Opera and Opera North which nurtures opera-makers of the future. Then in June we join forces with West Yorkshire Playhouse for a major collaboration in which we will co-produce Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods in the Quarry Theatre in a new production by the Playhouse’s Artistic Director James Brining.

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All this adds up to what promises to be one of our most excitingly diverse seasons yet.

Richard Mantle,General Director

AUTUMN 2015

Kiss Me, Kate NEWCole Porter (1948)Thu 24 September (17 performances) Sung in English

'Another Op'nin, Another Show.' Opera North's momentous 2015/16 kicks off to a daz-zling start with a classic American musical comedy. Set both on and off-stage during the production of a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew, the plot revolves around the tangled love lives of actor-manager Fred Gra-ham, his leading lady and ex-wife Lilli Vanessi, ingénue Lois Lane and her boyfriend Bill - not to mention a couple of gangsters who somehow get caught up in the show.  Studded with gems as various as 'So in Love', 'Wunderbar', 'Always True to You in My Fashion' and 'Too Darn Hot', Kiss Me, Kate is a deliciously witty confection graced by what is probably Cole Porter's richest, most accomplished theatrical score. Opera North's new production is conducted by David Charles Abell, who has pre-pared a new critical edition of the score, and directed by Jo Davies, who is responsible for a string of recent Opera North successes, including Ruddigore, Carousel and The Marriage of Figaro. Choreography is by Will Tuckett, whose recent shows include The Wind in the Willows (Royal Opera House and West End) and West Side Story (Sage Gateshead).

Heading the cast of opera and musical theatre performers are Jeni Bern as Lilli and Quirijn de Lang as Fred, both familiar faces to Opera North audiences. Jeni Bern has most recently performed as Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2013); her appearances elsewhere include Paquette in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide (Théâtre du Châtelet/Teatro alla Scala/Hyogo Performing Arts Centre, Kobe); and Emma Jones in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene (Opéra de Toulon). Quirijn de Lang’s many Opera North

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roles have recently included the Count in The Marriage of Figaro (2015), the Singer in La vida breve (2015), and Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2013).

Kiss Me, Kate is a co-production with Welsh National Opera.

Cast and Creative Team includes:

Lilli Vanessi Jeni Bern Conductor David Charles AbellFred Graham Quirijn de Lang Director Jo DaviesGunman John Savournin Choreographer Will TuckettGunman Joseph Shovelton Set and Costume Designer Colin RichmondLois Lane Tiffany Graves Bill Calhoun Ashley Day

The Barber of Seville REVIVAL

Gioachino Rossini (1816)Wed 7 October (11 performances) Sung in English

Rosina is rich, beautiful and in love with a dashing young Count. However, her elderly guardian, Doctor Bartolo, has designs on her himself, and does everything he can to put obstacles in the way of their happiness. But with the help of the sharp-witted Figaro, true love finally triumphs.

Tuneful and vivacious, Rossini’s score contains one irresistibly catchy number after another, ranging from the fireworks of Figaro’s ‘Largo al factotum’ to the seductive beauty of the Count’s ‘Ecco, ridente’. Stuart Stratford conducts, returning to Opera North following Swanhunter (2009), Faust (2012) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2008/2013). Stratford has recently been announced as the new Music Director at Scottish Opera.

Giles Havergal’s handsome period staging, now back at Opera North following performances at opera houses around the world, delivers pure enjoyment with bags of style. This classic production wouldn’t be complete without the comic genius of Eric Roberts as Bartolo, while one of the UK’s most distinguished operatic basses, Alastair Miles, last seen at Opera North as Leporello in Don Giovanni (2012), sings Basilio.

Three exceptionally engaging young singers continue to develop their careers at Opera North: Katie Bray sings Rosina, following previous appearances as Nancy in Albert

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Herring (2013); Nicholas Watts (Vašek, The Bartered Bride, 2014; Don Curzio, The Marriage of Figaro, 2015) takes the role of the Count; and Figaro will be sung by Irish baritone Gavan Ring, previously seen as Jake Wallace in The Girl of the Golden West (2014), Schaunard in La bohème (2014) and Manuel in La vida breve (2015).

Cast and Creative Team includes:

Rosina Katie Bray Conductor Stuart Stratford/Count Almaviva Nicholas Watts Timothy BurkeFigaro Gavan Ring Director Giles HavergalDoctor Bartolo Eric Roberts Set & Costume Designer Russell CraigDon Basilio Alastair Miles / Lighting Designer Gerry Jenkinson

Dean RobinsonBerta Victoria SharpFiorello Nicholas ButterfieldAmbrogio Jeremy PeakerOfficer Stephen DowsonNotary Gordon Shaw

Jenůfa REVIVAL

Leoš Janáček (1904)Thu 22 October (7 performances) Sung in English with English titles

This intense story of love, jealousy and sacrifice is by turns harrowing, heart-wrenching and starkly tragic. It took Janáček ten years to complete his first great opera, and in the final year of its composition he witnessed his own daughter’s painful illness and early death. His soul-piercing score is laced with the suffering caused by this event.

Tom Cairns returns to direct a production acclaimed for its beautifully simple staging and sheer emotional power. A world-class cast includes Susan Bickley (Waltraute, Götterdämmerung, 2014) as the Kostelnička and Elizabeth Sikora (Salud’s Grandmother, La vida breve, 2015) as Grandmother Buryjkova. In the title role is the Swedish soprano Ylva Kihlberg, who gave a memorably powerful performance as Emilia Marty in Cairns’ production of The Makropulos Case for Opera North at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2012.

The young Serbian conductor Aleksandar Marković, Music Director and Chief

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Conductor of Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, makes his Opera North main house debut, following a concert with the Orchestra of Opera North in January 2015.

Cast and Creative Team includes:

Jenůfa Ylva Kihlberg Conductor Aleksandar MarkovićKostelnička Susan Bickley Director Tom CairnsGrandmother Elizabeth Sikora Set & Costume Designer Tom CairnsŠteva Buryja Ed Lyon/Daniel Norman Lighting Designer Wolfgang GöbbelLaca Klemeň David Butt Philip Choreographer Aletta CollinsForeman Dean Robinson English translation Otakar KrausKarolka Daisy Brown Edward DownesMayor Jeremy PeakerMayor’s Wife Claire PascoeMaid Beth MackayBarena Sarah EstillOld Woman Hazel Croft

WINTER 2016

Andrea Chénier NEW

Umberto Giordano (1896)Tue 19 January (9 performances) Sung in Italian with English titles

Opera North’s first ever production of Andrea Chénier, directed by Annabel Arden, explores the chaos of revolution and examines the role of the artist in a time of political turmoil. Loosely based on the life of the French poet André Chénier (1762 – 94) and set at the time of the French Revolution and the ensuing Terror, Giordano’s stirring opera has always been warmly embraced by audiences for its open-hearted emotionalism and ardent dramatic lyricism.

The cast includes Rafael Rojas (Chénier) and Robert Hayward (Carlo Gérard), who last squared up to each other at Opera North in The Girl of the Golden West (2014). Dutch soprano Annemarie Kremer, who gave unforgettable performance in the title

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role of Norma for the Company in 2012 and as Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito in 2013, sings Maddalena.

For many, Andrea Chénier encapsulates the very essence of Italian opera and the title role is one of the most prized in the tenor repertoire, with arias such as ‘Un di all’azzuro spazio’, ‘Come un bel dì di maggio’ and the closing duet for Chénier and the opera’s heroine Maddalena, whose love endures even in the face of death. In the best verismo tradition, Giordano also colours his score with tunes associated with the French Revolution, such as ‘Ça ira’ and the ‘Marseillaise’.

Oliver von Dohnányi takes up the baton. Recent work at Opera North includes La traviata (2015) and Norma (2012).

Cast and Creative Team includes:

Andrea Chénier Rafael Rojas Conductor Oliver von DohnányiCarlo Gérard Robert Hayward Director Annabel ArdenMaddalena de Coigny Annemarie Kremer Set & Costume Designer Joanna ParkerBersi Anna Dennis Lighting Designer Peter MumfordContessa di Coigny/ Movement Director Tim Claydon Madelon Fiona Kimm Roucher Phillip RhodesL’Abate/ an ‘Incroyable’ Daniel NormanMathieu Jeremy PeakerActor Tim Claydon

Supported by a generous gift from Terry and Liz Bramall

Così fan tutte REVIVAL

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1790)Wed 3 February (11 performances) Sung in English

It starts with a casual bet. The wily old cynic Don Alfonso (William Dazeley) wagers that the fiancées of two young men, complacent in their romantic notions of love, won’t stay faithful for a minute if put to the test. It sounds harmless enough and, anyway, the lovers are entirely sure of themselves. But cruelty is inherent in this game of love and chance.

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It’s difficult to think of an opera that contains more music of sheer beauty than Così fan tutte – or that has a libretto that is more unsettling. The plot is a work of supreme artifice, yet the opera charts the boundaries of real and feigned emotion, trust and deception, loyalty and desire, with unsparing accuracy and truthfulness.

Tim Albery, a regular Opera North collaborator whose most recent work includes The Coronation of Poppea (2014) and Otello (2013), directs a fresh young cast in a production set firmly in the Age of Reason, conducted by Dutch maestro Jac van Steen (Peter Grimes (2013), La vida breve/Gianni Schicchi (2015)).

A vibrant and talented young cast includes Máire Flavin as Fiordiligi, Helen Sherman and Ellie Laugharne as Dorabella and Despina, while Nicholas Watts and Gavan Ring sing Ferrando and Guglielmo.

Cast and Creative Team includes:

Fiordiligi Máire Flavin Conductor Jac van Steen/Dorabella Helen Sherman Anthony KrausFerrando Nicholas Watts Director Tim AlberyGuglielmo Gavan Ring Set & Costume Designer Tobias HoheiselDespina Ellie Laugharne Lighting Designer David FinnDon Alfonso William Dazeley

L’elisir d’amore REVIVAL

Gaetano Donizetti (1832)Wed 17 February (8 performances) Sung in Italian with English titles

L’elisir d’amore is the ‘male Cinderella’ tale of Nemorino, ineffectual but good-hearted, and his love for the very self-assured Adina, who fancies the experienced charmer Belcore. When the quack Dr. Dulcamara comes to town touting a miraculous

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‘love potion’, Nemorino thinks his prayers have been answered. But is it really the potion that makes him suddenly irresistible to all the girls in the village?

Daniel Slater’s sunny 1950s-style production, complete with hot-air balloon and Vespas, is a perfect fit for Donizetti’s irrepressibly fresh comedy. Funny and moving, the opera includes one of the best-loved of tenor arias, ‘Una furtiva lagrima’.

Romanian soprano Gabriela Iştoc sings Adina having made a strong impression as Mimì in La bohème at Opera North in 2014. In June 2015 Iştoc also appears as Violetta in specially staged excerpts of La traviata for a new landmark BBC Two documentary, in which Amanda Vickery and Tom Service explore the real-life drama behind one of the world’s most popular operas, with casting and music provided by Opera North (La Traviata & The Women Of London, BBC Two).

Baritone Duncan Rock sings Belcore, returning following performances of Marcello in La Bohème (2014); Nemorino is sung by the South Korean tenor Jung Soo Yun, previously seen as Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth (2014); and Richard Burkhard, fresh from widespread acclaim in the title role of The Marriage of Figaro (2015) is Dr. Dulcamara.

Cast and Production Team includes:

Adina Gabriela Iştoc Conductor Tobias RingborgNemorino Jung Soo Yun Director Daniel SlaterBelcore Duncan Rock Associate Director Tim ClaydonDr. Dulcamara Richard Burkhard Set & Costume Designer Robert Innes HopkinsGiannetta Fflur Wyn Lighting Designer Simon Mills

Choreographer Tim Claydon

SPRING 2016

Pleasure WORLD PREMIÈRE

Mark Simpson Thu 28 April (8 performances)

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Sung in English. Approx 75 minutes, no interval

A new chamber opera, by the young composer Mark Simpson and writer Melanie Challenger, Pleasure is the fourth new work produced as part of a three-year partnership between Aldeburgh Music, The Royal Opera and Opera North, designed to boost opportunities for emerging opera writers, and bring new work to audiences across the UK.

The opera tells the story of Val (Lesley Garrett), who works as an attendant in the toilets in ‘Pleasure’, a hedonistic gay club in the north of England, presided over by Bacchanalian drag queen Anna Fewmore. For years, Val has been both a shoulder to cry on and a confidante. She is much-loved, but viewed as an enigma. Why is she still there? Why does she never leave? When Nathan, a beautiful and unpredictable young man, arrives in Pleasure and leaves a gift for Val, it marks the beginning of an emotional and violent night.

Pleasure will be performed by a cast of four singers and the Manchester-based music ensemble Psappha, conducted by Nicholas Kok. Tim Albery directs, with set and costume designs by Leslie Travers.

One of the UK’s most exciting young musical talents, Mark Simpson was born in Liv-erpool in 1988. He won BBC Young Musician of the Year as a clarinettist in 2006 and also, that same year, received the accolade of BBC Young Composer of the Year – the only individual to have won both competitions. He was recently named Composer in Association with the BBC Philharmonic, a position he takes up in September 2015.

Cast and Production Team includes:

Val Lesley Garrett Conductor Nicholas KokDirector Tim AlberySet and Costume Designer Leslie Travers

Ensemble Psappha Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth

Supported in Leeds by the Opera North Future Fund and The Emerald Foundation

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Into the Woods NEW

Sondheim (1987)Sung in English

 In Stephen Sondheim’s celebrated musical, characters from several well-known fairy tales collide.  And for Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack, and Red Riding Hood, together with a childless baker and his wife, ‘Happy Ever After’ turns out to be far from the end of the story. Sondheim’s revered wit and intelligence are everywhere evident in his dazzling music and lyrics.  The show also digs deep, packing a powerful emotional punch in its exploration of themes of wish-fulfilment, growing up and the relationship of parents and children. This new production of Into the Woods is a major collaboration between Opera North and West Yorkshire Playhouse, two of Leeds’ leading arts organisations.  It will be directed by James Brining, Artistic Director of West Yorkshire Playhouse, in the Quarry Theatre, with a cast drawn largely from the hugely versatile Chorus of Opera North, part of the Company’s core artistic ensemble.  

Into the Woods is a co-production with West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Cast and performance dates to be announced.

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Der Ring des Nibelungen Richard Wagner (1876)Sung in German with English titles

Orchestra of Opera North

Conductor Richard FarnesConcert Staging & Design Concept Peter MumfordLighting & Projection Designer Peter MumfordAssociate Director Joe Austin

Das Rheingold

The ‘preliminary evening’ of The Ring begins with music that evokes the dawn of time, starting a journey which travels from the watery twilight beneath the river Rhine, to the rainbow bridge that leads to Valhalla, fortress home of the gods. Set in a world populated by dwarfs and giants, gods and river-maidens, Das Rheingold sets the whole epic cycle in motion in thrilling fashion.

Wotan Michael Druiett Froh Mark Le BrocqLoge Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke Fasolt James CreswellAlberich Jo Pohlheim Fafner Mats AlmgrenFricka Yvonne Howard Erda Ceri WilliamsMime Richard Roberts Woglinde Jeni BernFreia Giselle Allen Wellgunde Madeleine ShawDonner Andrew Foster-Williams Flosshilde Sarah Castle

Die Walküre

In Die Walküre, it is human emotion that takes centre stage. The musical highlights are many: ‘Winterstürme’, Siegmund’s hymn of praise to the coming of spring and the awakening of love; the Ride of the Valkyries; the Magic Fire music; and, above all, the great confrontation between the god Wotan and his favourite daughter, Brünnhilde – the Valkyrie of the title.

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Brünnhilde Kelly Cae HoganSieglinde Lee Bisset (Leeds)

Alwyn Mellor (Nottingham, Lowry, Southbank Centre, Sage Gateshead)Siegmund Michael Weinius (Leeds, Lowry, Southbank Centre, Sage Gateshead)

Mark Le Brocq (Nottingham)Wotan Robert Hayward (Leeds, Sage Gateshead)

Béla Perencz (Nottingham, Lowry, Southbank Centre)Fricka Susan Bickley (Leeds, Nottingham)

Yvonne Howard (Lowry, Southbank Centre, Sage Gateshead)Hunding James Creswell

Siegfried

Wagner’s unparalleled orchestral scene-painting reaches new heights as the youthful hero Siegfried, mortal grandson of Wotan, the king of the gods, forges an unbreakable sword. He slays the dragon Fafner, seizes the ring from the dragon’s hoard, and braves the magic fire that encircles the sleeping Brünnhilde.

Siegfried Daniel FrankBrünnhilde Katherine Broderick (Leeds)

Kelly Cae Hogan (Nottingham, Lowry, Southbank Centre, Sage Gateshead)

Mime Richard RobertsWanderer Béla PerenczFafner Mats AlmgrenWoodbird Jeni BernErda Ceri Williams

Götterdämmerung

In the overwhelming conclusion of the cycle, the all-consuming love of Siegfried and Brünnhilde is broken in bitter betrayal; the scheming Hagen, son of Alberich, seals Siegfried’s doom; and Brünnhilde’s self-sacrifice precipitates the end of the old world order and the beginning of a new era. The musical and dramatic power of Götterdämmerung is awe-inspiring – sweeping from Siegfried’s Rhine Journey to his Funeral March, and, finally, to Brünnhilde’s immolation and the work’s titanic orchestral climax.

Brünnhilde Kelly Cae Hogan (Leeds)Alwyn Mellor (Nottingham, Lowry, Southbank Centre, Sage

Gateshead)Siegfried Mati TuriHagen Mats AlmgrenGutrune Giselle AllenGunther Andrew Foster-Williams

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Waltraute Susan Bickley (Leeds, Sage Gateshead)Heather Shipp (Nottingham, Lowry, Southbank Centre)

Alberich Jo PohlheimFirst Norn Fiona KimmSecond Norn Heather Shipp (Leeds, Sage Gateshead)

Yvonne Howard (Nottingham, Lowry, Southbank Centre)Third Norn Lee BissetWoglinde Jeni BernWellgunde Madeleine ShawFlosshilde Sarah Castle

Chorus of Opera North

Financially supported by the Opera North Future Fund, The Ring Fellowship 2016, the Ring Circle and The Emerald Foundation 

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Performance diary

September – November 2015

Leeds Grand TheatreMon 21 Sep Kiss Me, Kate (preview) 7.15pmWed 23 Sep Kiss Me, Kate (preview) 7.15pmThu 24 Sep Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pmFri 25 Sep Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pmSat 3 Oct Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pmWed 7 Oct The Barber of Seville 7.15pmSat 17 Oct The Barber of Seville 7.15pmWed 21 Oct Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pmThu 22 Oct Jenůfa 7.15pmFri 23 Oct The Barber of Seville 7.15pmSat 24 Oct Jenůfa 7.15pmMon 26 Oct Jenůfa 7.15pmTue 27 Oct The Barber of Seville 7.15pmWed 28 Oct Jenůfa 7.15pmThu 29 Oct The Barber of Seville 7.15pmFri 30 Oct Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pmSat 31 Oct Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pm

Theatre Royal, NewcastleTue 3 Nov The Barber of Seville 7.15pmWed 4 Nov Jenůfa 7.15pmThu 5 Nov The Barber of Seville 7.15pmFri 6 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pmSat 7 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 2.15pmSat 7 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pm

The Lowry, Salford QuaysTue 10 Nov The Barber of Seville 7.15pmWed 11 Nov Jenůfa 7.15pmThu 12 Nov The Barber of Seville 7.15pmFri 13 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pmSat 14 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 2.15pmSat 14 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pm

Theatre Royal, NottinghamTue 17 Nov The Barber of Seville 7.15pmWed 18 Nov Jenůfa 7.15pmThu 19 Nov The Barber of Seville 7.15pmFri 20 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pmSat 21 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 2.15pmSat 21 Nov Kiss Me, Kate 7.15pm

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January – March 2016

Leeds Grand TheatreTue 19 Jan Andrea Chénier 7.30pmSat 23 Jan Andrea Chénier 7.30pmTue 2 Feb Andrea Chénier 7.30pmWed 3 Feb Così fan tutte 7.00pmWed 10 Feb Così fan tutte 7.00pmSat 13 Feb Così fan tutte 7.00pmWed 17 Feb L’elisir d’amore 7.30pmThu 18 Feb Così fan tutte 7.00pmFri 19 Feb L’elisir d’amore 7.30pmSat 20 Feb Andrea Chénier 7.30pmTue 23 Feb L’elisir d’amore 2.30pm Schools matineeWed 24 Feb Andrea Chénier 7.30pmThu 25 Feb L’elisir d’amore 7.30pmFri 26 Feb Così fan tutte 7.00pmSat 27 Feb L’elisir d’amore 7.30pm

Theatre Royal, NewcastleWed 2 Mar Così fan tutte 7.00pmThu 3 Mar L’elisir d’amore 7.30pmFri 4 Mar Così fan tutte 7.00pmSat 5 Mar Andrea Chénier 7.30pm

Theatre Royal, NottinghamTue 8 Mar Così fan tutte 7.00pmWed 9 Mar Andrea Chénier 7.30pmThu 10 Mar L’elisir d’amore 7.30pmFri 11 Mar Così fan tutte 7.00pmSat 12 Mar Andrea Chénier 7.30pm

The Lowry, Salford QuaysWed 16 Mar Così fan tutte 7.00pmThu 17 Mar L’elisir d’amore 7.30pmFri 18 Mar Così fan tutte 7.00pmSat 19 Mar Andrea Chénier 7.30pm

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April – July 2016

Howard Assembly Room, Leeds Thu 28 Apr Pleasure 7.45pm World premiereFri 29 Apr Pleasure 7.45pm

Liverpool PlayhouseWed 4 May Pleasure

Britten Studio at Aldeburgh Music, Snape MaltingsSat 7 May Pleasure

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonWed 11 May PleasureThu 12 May PleasureFri 13 May PleasureSat 14 May Pleasure

West Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsJune 2016 Into the Woods

Der Ring des Nibelungen

Leeds Town Hall - Cycle 1 Sat 23 Apr Das Rheingold 7.30pmSat 30 Apr Die Walküre 5.00pmSat 14 May Siegfried 5.00pmSat 21 May Götterdämmerung 3.30pm

Leeds Town Hall - Cycle 2Tue 24 May Das Rheingold 7.30pmWed 25 May Die Walküre 5.00pmFri 27 May Siegfried 5.00pmSun 29 May Götterdämmerung 3.30pm

Royal Concert Hall, NottinghamMon 6 Jun Das Rheingold 7.00pmTue 7 Jun Die Walküre 3.00pmThu 9 Jun Siegfried 3.00pmSat 11 Jun Götterdämmerung 3.00pm

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The Lowry, Salford QuaysMon 13 Jun Das Rheingold 7.30pmTue 14 Jun Die Walküre 4.30pmThu 16 Jun Siegfried 4.30pmSat 18 Jun Götterdämmerung 3.30pm

Southbank Centre, LondonTue 28 Jun Das Rheingold 7.00pmWed 29 Jun Die Walküre 5.00pmFri 1 Jul Siegfried 5.00pmSun 3 Jul Götterdämmerung 3.00pm

Sage GatesheadTue 5 Jul Das Rheingold 7.30pmWed 6 Jul Die Walküre 4.30pmFri 8 Jul Siegfried 4.30pmSun 10 Jul Götterdämmerung 3.30pm

/ENDS

For further information and images, please contact:

Julia Gregg, Press & Communications Managerjulia.gregg@operanorth.co.uk 0113 223 3526

Sian Dudley, Press Officersian.dudley@operanorth.co.uk 0113 223 3528

Rebekah Wadham, Press Assistantrebekah.wadham@operanorth.co.uk

Opera NorthLeeds Grand Theatre46 New BriggateLeedsLS1 6NU

www.operanorth.co.uk/press-centre

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