Returning to the Lowry with two feverishly anticipated runs in November 2024 and March 2025, Opera North presents a diverse collection of breathtaking performances spanning Mozart, Shakespeare, Wagner and more following their immensely popular residencies in 2023 and earlier this year.
The following evening, the company stages a gleefully rowdy interpretation of Gilbert & Sullivan’s madcap Victorian melodrama, Ruddigore.
The beleaguered and badly-behaved baronet Sir Despard Murgatroyd has inherited an ancient curse which forces him to commit a crime a day or die an excruciating death. So, when he discovers that the mild-mannered Robin Oakapple is his long-lost elder brother – and true inheritor of the curse – he rejoices in his salvation. Unfortunately, his meek sibling is a predictably feeble hellraiser, and before long his ham-fisted misdeeds awaken the pair’s exasperated ancestors.
Hailed as an instant classic upon its debut, Jo Davis’ adaptation of Ruddigore promises a riotous comedy-cum-ghost story ideal for fans of Gilbert & Sullivan and lovers of opera, theatre and musicals alike.
Staged as part of both runs, The Magic Flute breathes new life into Mozart’s fantastical family-friendly opera with a blend of popular music mixes, inspirational choruses, jaw-dropping vocal turns and soul-stirring arias.
The delightfully enchanting tale follows the adventures of Prince Tamino and his bird-catching companion, Papageno, as they embark on a quest to rescue Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, held captive by Sarastro, the Priest of the Sun.
On Thu 13 Mar, The Magic Flute Lite offers a truncated 90-minute version of the spellbinding production packed with the same wondrous storytelling and timeless Mozart magic.
On the morning of Sat 16 Nov, the Orchestra of Opera North and an assortment of talented singers invite audiences on a fifty-minute whistlestop journey to meet opera’s greatest heroes and villains, in a family-friendly show featuring an array of iconic compositions and the best-loved songs in the operatic canon.
Billed as the perfect introduction to Wagner’s fathomlessly rich musical oeuvre, Opera North’s thrilling interpretation of The Flying Dutchman sweeps the audience up in a roaring tempest of propulsive drama and instrumental grandeur.
Directed by Annabel Arden and designed by Joanna Parker (Andrea Chénier, Turandot, Aida), the absorbing new adaptation revisits the story of Senta, a young woman who dreams of escape from her cold, callous world on land and obsesses over the legend of a cursed captain, whose endless seabound torment can only be saved by true love.
Wed 13 Nov - Sat 15 Mar, The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Salford, M50 3AZ, Tel: 0161 876 2000
thelowry.com
- Words:
- Wolf McFarlane
- Published on:
- Fri 27 Sep 2024
On Wed 13 Nov, Opera North kick off their first run with a classically theatrical and sparklingly witty take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which the Fairy King and Queen Oberon and Tytania are embroiled in a woodland dispute so fierce it threatens widespread climate catastrophe, while two Athenian women and their unrequited male interests escape the city for the freedom of the forest, dooming their messy relationships to further mystical misfortune.