Preview: Opera North Season at Newcastle Theatre Royal

 Opera North brings magic, mystery and mischief to the stage 

Opera North Season

Newcastle Theatre Royal

November 2024

Audiences are invited to join Leeds-based Opera North on a journey of magical discovery this autumn as the company prepares to open its latest season with three fantastical tales told through compelling drama and unforgettable music. 

The Magic Flute - Photo: Tristram Kenton

The magic opens with Benjamin Britten’s retelling of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a revival of Martin Duncan’s original production directed by Matthew Eberhardt. A tangled web of relationships is being played out in the woods, with the feuding Fairy King and Queen locked in a fierce dispute, while four lovers from the city try to work out their feelings for each other. With Bottom the Weaver confident in his dramatic prowess, and Puck and his fairies eager to cast a spell or two, mischief and mayhem are never far away.

Opera North Music Director Garry Walker conducts a cast including James Laing, Henry Waddington and Daniel Abelson who reprieve their roles as Oberon, Bottom and Puck, and Daisy Brown who sings Tytania. Johan Engels’ set and Ashley-Martin Davis’ costumes add a colourful 60s vibe to proceedings, perfectly complementing Britten’s witty and beguiling score.

Another comic opera complements the season with Gilbert and Sullivan’s hilariously inventive Gothic parody, Ruddigore, in a production by Jo Davies which was hailed as an instant classic in its first run. Bad baronet Sir Despard Murgatroyd (John Savournin) has inherited a centuries-old curse to commit a crime a day. Imagine his delight when the virtuous Robin Oakapple (Dominic Sedgwick) is revealed as his long-lost brother and the true inheritor of the curse. Things are looking up until it becomes all too apparent that Robin’s feeble attempts at wrong-doing are failing to impress his ghostly ancestors.

The Magic Flute - Photo: Tristram Kenton

The season finishes with Mozart’s mesmerising final opera The Magic Flute. James Brining, Leeds Playhouse Artistic Director, returns to direct his 2019 production, fresh from the success of My Fair Lady, the latest in a series of collaborations between Leeds Playhouse and Opera North. As Prince Tamino embarks on a quest with the bird-catcher Papageno to rescue the captive Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, he relies on a magic flute to help him battle all the trials which await him – but will it prove strong enough to protect him in a shape-shifting world?

A fantastical adventure with romance at its heart, The Magic Flute is the ideal introduction to opera for all ages. Having made his Opera North debut as Fenton in last year’s production of Falstaff, tenor Egor Zhuravskii returns to the stage to sing Tamino, alongside Claire Lees as Pamina. Anna Dennis takes on the vocal fireworks of the Queen of the Night, following her virtuoso performance in Masque of Might during the company’s Green Season. 

The Magic Flute - Photo: Tristram Kenton

Laura Canning, General Director, Opera North, said: “This season, we invite everyone to come along on a terrific journey through drama and music, encountering magic, sorcery and supernatural forces along the way, as we tour three of the most overtly theatrical of all operas and a new family show across the north of England. 

“We believe opera and music offer extraordinary experiences for everyone which is why we are delighted to have found more ways than ever to make great opera accessible, from earlier start times and more matinees, to special ticket deals for newcomers and new initiatives for families. Our ‘right up your street’ campaign also seeks to reassure everyone that a warm welcome awaits them if they do decide to step into the world of opera this autumn.”

Performance Diary 

All performances start at 7.00pm unless otherwise stated.

AD Audio described performance
BSL Sign interpreted performance for D/deaf and hard of hearing bookers

THEATRE ROYAL, NEWCASTLE

Wed 6 Nov A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Thu 7 Nov Ruddigore AD

Fri 8 Nov         The Magic Flute

Sat 9 Nov 2.30pm The Magic Flute AD and BSL