Aurora

by Noah Mosley

Libretto by Elisabetta Campeti

Dates:  Thursday 21 Feb (premiere) Saturday 23 Feb 

Based on an Italian folk story and set in the Dolomite mountains, the libretto tells the tale of King Doleda whose daughter is withering before his eyes as she suffers from a terrible ‘illness of the night’ which also took her mother.  He is desperate to save her, and when the King encounters a charismatic Wise Woman in the woods, the Princess’s journey of self-knowledge, spiritual awakening, sacrifice and love is set in motion. The powerful story deeply resonates with our modern times. Aurora is the second opera BCO has commissioned from Noah Mosley. His first, Mad King Suibhne was very well received when it premiered at Bury Court in 2017 (‘Mosley has a gift for melody’). The new libretto is written by Elisabetta Campeti who studied creative writing in New York and who has written novels and plays in Italian and English.

Aurora is directed by Aylin Bozok (Pelléas et Mélisande, The Rake’s Progress)  Aylin won the Whatsonstage Best Newcomer to the UK Operatic Scene Award, 2013 and works extensively in Europe and the UK.  

Conductor Noah Mosley

Director Aylin Bozok

Designer Holly Pigott

Lighting Designer Ben Pickersgill

CAST

Aurora  - Isolde Roxby

Prince  - Dominic Bowe

Wild Woman  - Katherine Aitken

King  - Andrew Tipple

Big Mountain Witch  - Jean-Max Lattemann 

Prince, Owl  - Magid El Bushra

The Turn of the Screw

by Benjamin Britten

Libretto by Myfanwy Piper

Dates:  Saturday 9 March   Thursday 14 March   Saturday 16 March 

Benjamin Britten first read Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw when he was 18 and thought it ‘an incredible masterpiece’.  It was his friend and librettist Myfanwy Piper who suggested the novella as the subject of an opera and The Turn of the Screw was eventually premiered at the Venice Biennale on 14th September 1954 since when it has been a regular in the operatic repertoire.  

A young governess, engaged by an enigmatic Guardian, is left in sole charge of two orphaned children at a remote country house with just an old housekeeper for company and instructions not to trouble the Guardian with any matter at all.  Miles and Flora immediately captivate the Governess, but the ensuing events quickly reveal the ambiguity at the heart of The Turn of the Screw: the corruption of innocence.

The Turn of the Screw is directed by rising star Ella Marchment.  Ella is co-founder of the Helios Collective and directed BCO’s highly successful first commission Mad King Suibhne which premiered at Bury Court in 2017; she works extensively in the UK and Europe. 

Conductor Paul Wingfield with Chroma Ensemble

Director Ella Marchment

Designer Holly Pigott

Lighting Designer Ben Pickersgill

CAST

Peter Quint – Andrew Dickinson

Miss Jessel – Daisy Brown

Governess – Alison Rose

Mrs Grose – Emily Grey

Miles – Harry Hetherington

Flora - Jennifer Clark