Opera North presents three stunning shows in November at the Lowry

Taking place across five gripping days, Leeds-based Opera North presents a new production of Verdi’s world-famous La traviata alongside two thrillingly distinct interpretations of Claudio Monteverdi’s Orpheus this November at the Lowry Theatre.

From Tue 15 Nov to Thu 17 Nov, Opera North Director Alessandro Talevi and designer Madeleine Boyd return for an incredible performance of La traviata, the epochal opera which traces the grand, tragic life of glamorous Parisian courtesan, Violetta. Content with a life of lavish independence, Violetta unexpectedly falls in love with young, naïve bourgeois Alfredo, beginning an intoxicating but ultimately devastating affair. Billed as ‘a riveting tale of scandal, forbidden relationships and damaged reputations’, Verdi’s classic features some of the most unmistakeable melodies in opera, including Sempre Libera and Brindisi.

On Fri 18 Nov, Principal Guest Conductor Antony Hermus leads a lush, stripped-back rendition of Christoph Gluck’s Orfeo Ed Euridice, the orchestra playing some of his finest arias as they and the chorus chart Orfeo’s journey through Hades to recover his love, Euridice, with an excruciating catch: he mustn’t look back, or talk to her, or else he’ll lose her forever. Brimming with ‘hope, desire and the utter agony of heartbreak’, Orfeo Ed Euridice features achingly poignant pieces such as Che farò senza Euridice.

On Sat 19 Nov, Opera North round off their autumn schedule with a reimagining of Monteverdi’s Orpheus. Ostensibly recounting the same myth as Gluck’s masterpiece, this ‘adventurous new production of the ancient tragedy’ combines western baroque classical music with Indian instrumentations, including santoors, tablas and sitars in a daring twist envisioned by Music Directors Laurence Cummings and Jasdeep Singh Jedun. Boasting an exciting cast including Ashnaa Sasikaran and Nicholas Watts, the Opera North collaboration with South Asian Arts-uk promises a ‘unique and beautiful musical encounter between East and West’.

For more information on Opera North shows at the Lowry during the 2022/23 season, click here.