VIVALDI MEETS WERTHER: FOUR SEASONS
Werther’s tragic love story told through Antonio Vivaldi’s violin concert The Four Seasons in this multidisciplinary project, starring violinist Alda Dizdari and actor Samuel Lawrence.
UK Premiere
27, 29 & 30 August at Opera in the City Festival, Bridewell Theatre (London EC4Y 8EQ).
Different art forms reframe and reimagine one another to form an original vision of two traditional works: united by their sense of drama, characterisation and feeling. With interactions between actor and violinist, this production develops the drama inherent in Vivaldi’s music into a bold new reading of these two well-loved narratives: where the dramatic movements of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons interweave with Goethe’s text to bring its haunting story to life: words and music communicate with each other and take turns in telling this passionate love story. In unison they paint a picture of Werther’s troubled mind and his journey through the seasons.
In Spring Werther arrives at the countryside, where he ecstatically enjoys nature and a new-found freedom. Soon after he meets Lotte and falls in love, delighting in a Summer of romance and passion. But Autumn brings the arrival of Lotte’s fiancee Albert, and the boy’s mood turns sombre. Alone in the unforgiving cold of Winter, Werther is unable to cope with this unrequited love.
Director Pamela Schermann revisits her project which previously had been performed in Vienna/Austria in 2013, and directs its first UK performance. She says “by combining Vivaldi’s well-known violin concert ‘The Four Seasons’ with Werther’s story, we add a strong narrative which attracts new audiences to classical music, and offers a new interpretation to those familiar with the original.”
This production stars renowned violinist Alda Dizdari (Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, BBC3 Radio, UK wide and international concert tours), as ‘Lotte’ and actor Samuel Lawrence (Theatre Royal Bath, Theatre503, Tobacco Factory, National Tours) as ‘Werther’. Schermann’s recent credits include Cry Havoc (Park Theatre) and the award-nominated production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart & Salieri (Arcola Theatre, UK Tour). Set and costume design by Yole Lambrecht (Rose Playhouse, BADA, Bridewell Theatre, Ovalhouse).
Vivaldi meets Werther: Four Seasons is part of Opera in the City Festival, London’s new summer opera festival from 20 August – 7 September at Bridewell Theatre, which champions new works, reimaginations and UK premieres by the most exciting British and international artists. Further highlights include the contemporary fashion opera WEAR by Scottish composer Alastair White, the forgotten classic Caccia Lontana by Croatian-Italian composer Antonio Smareglia and R’Otello, an opera between rugby and Jazz.
VIVALDI MEETS WERTHER: FOUR SEASONS
Music: Antonio Vivaldi
Text: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, adapted by Pamela Schermann
Dates: 27th – 30th August 2019, 7.30pm (running time: approx 65 minutes)
Venue: Bridewell Theatre, 14 Bride Lane, off Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EQ
Tickets: £18 – £26 (plus booking fee), booking: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/opera-in-the-city
Web: www.opera-in-the-city.com
Social Media: @TimeZoneTheatre, @OperaCityFest, @BridewellCentre / fb: timezonetheatre
CACCIA LONTANA
Music: Antonio Smareglia
Libretto: Giovanni Pozza
Dates: 20th, 21st and 22nd August 2019 at 7.30pm (running time: 60 minutes)
Ticket prices: £18 – £22
Istrian National Theatre Pula and Croatian National Theatre in Varazdin present the UK premiere of Caccia Lontana: an opera of courtly intrigue and forbidden love by Croatian-Italian composer Antonio Smareglia. A rare chance to experience this recently rediscovered work in a critically acclaimed production.
WEAR
Music and libretto: Alastair White
Dates: 23rd and 24th August at 7.30pm (running time: 50 minutes. Post-show events afterwards)
Ticket prices: £12
Combining contemporary music with high fashion and dance, WEAR is an award-nominated opera about fashion at the end of the world: in a future where the commercial use of time-machine technology has ripped the universe apart. Presented by UU Studios.
R’OTELLO THE RUGBY OPERA
Music: Verdi, Bizet, Pucchini and Cross
Libretto: Sani Muliaumaseali’i.
Dates: 4th, 6th and 7th September 2019 at 7.30pm (running time: 2h30min)
Ticket prices: £20 – £30 (Concessions £18 – £28)
Otello leads Samoa to the Rugby World Cup Final. The passions of rugby and opera face off in this imaginative retelling of the tragedy of domestic violence. Arranged for orchestra and jazz band, R’Otello the rugby opera features the operas Otello (Verdi), Carmen (Bizet) and Tosca (Puccini) with scenes written and directed by Sani Muliaumaseali’i. Presented by GAFA Arts Collective and Clearpoint.
www.opera-in-the-city.com
London’s new summer opera festival
20 August – 7 September at Bridewell Theatre