Opera
Opera
Welsh National Opera and NoFit State for Death in Venice - WINNER
Based on the novella of the same name by Thomas Mann, the story followed writer Gustav von Aschenbach as he journeyed to Venice to rid himself of his writer’s block. While there, he becomes in fatuated with the youthful and beautiful Tadzio. In a collaboration with Cardiff based company NoFit State, a mixture of acrobatics with silks, straps, slackropes and other circus elements were interweaved throughout the opera, exploring an edgy quirkiness and adding to the lyricism of the piece.Royal Opera House for Wozzeck
A deeply disturbing masterpiece, Berg’s Wozzeck is considered one of the greatest operas of the twentieth century. Director Deborah Warner returned to Covent Garden for a piece perfectly attuned to her innately theatrical sensibility and her empathy for opera’s tortured visionaries.
Conducted by Antonio Pappano, the anguished score was wonderfully played by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Pappano’s combination of attention to detail, depth of sound and dramatic drive making a compelling experience.
The opera’s stark vision of the poor and forgotten in society feels as bitingly modern as ever.
English National Opera (body of work)
ENO had a critically acclaimed year with sold-out performances and record-breaking numbers of new audiences at the London Coliseum. Work included the UK premiere of Blue, exploring the repercussions of police brutality on a black family and their community, and Isabella Bywater’s ‘hauntingly beautiful production’ (The Times) of Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. Another highlight was Marina Abramović’s reimagined opera, the internationally acclaimed 7 Deaths of Maria Callas.
ENO’s free national music education programme Finish This… is currently working with 14,000 school pupils annually, supporting high quality music making in classrooms. The successful running of ENO Breathe, a free social prescribing intervention that provides support to people recovering from Covid-19, has expanded into 90 NHS Partners nationally. The programme has to date helped more than 3,400 people with long-Covid.
