Longborough Festival Opera (LFO) announce full cast lists for all productions this season

Photo: Stephen Shepherd

Longborough Festival Opera reaches the last step of in its ambitious project to be the first privately run opera house, apart from Bayreuth, to present Wagner’s fully staged Ring cycle in 2013.  
 

This year sees a new production of Götterdämmerung, the fourth and final opera in the Ring cycle, conducted once again by Anthony Negus and directed by Alan Privett.  Rachel Nicholls, who sang Helmwige in Die Walküre sings Brünnhilde for the first time, and Estonian tenor Mati Turi makes his British debut as Siegfried.  Stuart Pendred makes his debut as Hagen, Eddie Wade will sing Gunther and Malcolm Rivers sings Alberich.

After completing a cycle of the Mozart/Da Ponte operas, the 2012 Festival moves on to The Magic Flute with a libretto by Shickaneder.  The conductor is Gianluca Marciano with director Jenny Miller.   Nicholas Merryweather, who sang Figaro in 2009 and Don Giovanni in 2010, returns to sing Papageno, and Elizabeth Donovan will sing Pamina.  Mario Sofroniou makes his Longborough debut in the role of Tamino, Sasa Cano will be Sarastro and Penelope Randall-Davis will sing Queen of the Night.  Local school children will also be in the production.   

The third opera in this summer’s Festival will be a new production of Janacek’s Katya Kabanova conducted by Jonathan Lyness and directed and designed by Richard Studer.  Lee Bisset (Sieglinde in Die Walküre in 2010) sings the title role with Michael Bracegirdle as Kuligin and Christopher Lemmings as Tichon. 

The season is completed by a Young Artists’ production of Sweeney Todd.  Directed by Maria Jagusz and conducted by Richard Taggart the show will have a cast of young singers aged 16-25.  Longborough has a strong commitment to developing young artists, and offering them opportunities to work with professional creative team

The Magic Flute       Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto Emmanuel Shickaneder
sung in German with English surtitles

Saturday 9th June      6.30pm
Sun    10 June                3.00 pm

Tue    12 June                 6.30 pm
Wed   13 June                 6.30 pm
Fri      15 June                6.30 pm
Sat     16 June                6.30 pm

Ticket prices                    £40-£125

Conductor : Gianluca Marciano
Director: Jenny Miller


Tamino – Mario Sofroniou
Sarastro - Sasa Cano
Papageno - Nicholas Merryweather
Queen of the Night – Penelope Randall-Davis
Pamina – Elizabeth Donovan
 

Katya Kabanova                                   Leoš Janáek

sung in English

Tuesday 26^th June            6.30pm
Wed   27 June                6.30 pm
Fri      29 June                 6.30 pm
Sat     30 June                          6.30 pm

Ticket prices                    £40-£125

Conductor:  Jonathan Lyness
Director/Designer: Richard Studer
Lighting Designer: Wayne Dowdeswell

Katya – Lee Bisset
Kuligin – Michael Bracegirdle
Tichon – Christopher Lemmings
 

 
Götterdämmerung         Richard Wagner
sung in German with English surtitles

Tuesday 17^th July                      3.30pm   

Thu    19 July                  3.30 pm  

Sun    22 July                  3.30 pm 
Tue    24 July                  3.30 pm  

Ticket prices                    £80-£160

Conductor: Anthony Negus
Director: Alan Privett
Designer: Kjell Torriset
Lighting Designer: Guy Hoare

Siegfried – Mati Turi
Brünnhilde – Rachel Nicholls
Gunther – Eddie Wade
Alberich – Malcolm Rivers
Hagen - Stuart Pendred
Waltraute – Alison Kettlewell

Gutrune – Lee Bisset

Sweeney Todd       Stephen Sondheim

Sat     28^th Jul                  6.30 pm
Sun    29^th Jul                  3.00 pm
Ticket prices:                  £25-£50

Conductor: Richard Taggart
Director: Maria Jagusz
Designer: Richard Studer

Lighting Designer: Nicolas Walsh

Sweeney Todd – Ben Maggs
Mrs. Lovett – Megan Yates
Anthony Hope – William Morgan
Joanna - Amy Cate Walsh
Tobias – Daniel Holley
Pirelli – Colin Bryce
Beggar Woman – Alice Nelson
Beadle – Eleias Moore Roberts

Booking Information   www.lfo.org.uk

01451-830292

For more information on Mati Turi - and a sample of his Siegfried - click here
For an interview with Rachel Nicholls - click here
For a review round-up of last years Siegfried - click here
For an overview of LFO - click hereFor a visual exploration of LFO's Siegfried -- click here