Blood,
Sweat and Fears:
WNO announces its autumn 2007 season including a new opera
by James Macmillan. (BK)
In Autumn 2007 Welsh National Opera stages the world premiere
of The Sacrifice, James MacMillan’s new
opera about the bloody legacy of civil war.
Over
eight years in the making, The Sacrifice promises
to be a landmark event in 2007’s arts calendar. Commissioned
by award-winning WNO, the three -act opera draws parallels
between the armed conflicts of the 20th century
and the blood soaked legends of a mythical Wales. Liverpool
Culture Company is the production partner.
The
Production
James MacMillan himself, will
conduct performances of his new opera at Wales Millennium
Centre, Cardiff, and in Liverpool, Southampton, Llandudno,
Bristol, Oxford, Birmingham and Swansea.
Katie
Mitchell, who made her debut as a director of opera
with WNO ten years ago, returns to direct The Sacrifice.
The
libretto, written by poet and documentary maker Michael
Symmons Roberts, re-invents themes drawn from the powerful
stories of The Mabinogion – underlining their
haunting parallels to 20th century armed
conflicts.
The
cast is made up of some of Britain’s finest opera singer-actors,
including Christopher Purves, Sarah Tynan, Peter Hoare,
Lisa Milne and Leigh Melrose. The
set, which references the iconic Holiday Inn in 1990’s
war-torn Sarajevo, has been designed by Vicki Mortimer,
Head of Design at Theatre Project Tokyo.
What
is The Sacrifice about?
The
Sacrifice is a compelling and timeless story of a
ruler’s ultimate sacrifice to safeguard the future of
his war weary, faction-ridden country. It is a story of
love, revenge and reconciliation.
Working
closely with librettist Michael Symmons Roberts, MacMillan
has created a Shakespearian opera exploring notions of
public duty and sacrifice through a close-knit group of
principal characters. A General’s daughter offers to sacrifice
her lover to marry the leader of a rival military faction
and so secure the peace of her country. However, her sense
of duty goes against the course of her heart with tragic
consequences, inflamed by the actions of her rejected
lover who cannot give up his political (and emotional)
hopes. Private moments colliding with large-scale public
ceremonies chart the decline of the General’s plans for
peace, until he steps in to break a cycle of terrible
bloodshed.
The
cast includes Christopher Purves, who sang the title role
in WNO’s award winning production of Berg’s Wozzeck,
and rising young soprano Sarah Tynan who made her professional
debut in the Company’s production of Jephtha, directed
by Katie Mitchell.
Katie
Mitchell has worked with WNO on productions of Don
Giovanni, Jenufa and Katya Kabanova
and The Turn of the Screw for the BBC. She is an
Associate Director at the Royal National Theatre where
she is currently directing Waves, an adaptation
of a novel by Virginia Woolf.
The
Sacrifice is one of three productions in WNO’s Autumn
2007 Season. Rossini’s Cinderella (La Cenerentola),
is the second new production in the season. This is being
staged in collaboration with Barcelona’s extraordinary
Comediants. Cinderella will feature spectacular
set and costume designs by Joan Guillén reminiscent of
catwalk couture. Vivienne Westwood meets the most outrageous
of 18th century courtiers in Guillén’s imaginative
and colourful bodice dresses and zany shoes.
The
cast of Cenerentola includes Marianna Pizzolato, who makes
her UK debut, Colin Lee, Roberto de Candia, Robert Poulton,
Andrew Foster-Williams and Julianne Young. The conductor
is Carlo Rizzi, Music Director of WNO.
Carlo
Rizzi will also be conducting a revival of Il trovatore,
the third production in the season.
Bill Kenny
Tickets
for the 2007 Autumn Season go on sale throughout 2007.
Please visit
www.wno.org.uk
for further details.
