Gilliam & McBurney Make Opera Debuts at ENO

The season opens in September with a new production (a co-production with New York’s Met) of Gounod’s Faust (18 September-16 October 2010), directed by Tony Award-winner Des
McAnuff, conducted by Edward Gardner and starring Toby Spence in the title role and Iain Paterson as Mephistophiles.

Christopher Alden’s acclaimed The Makropulos Case (20 September-5 October 2010), one of
only four revivals, returns with Amanda Roocroft and Andrew Shore, and
Richard Armstrong conducting. Alden also has a new production, with
Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream towards the end of the season (May 2011).

David Alden (Christopher’s brother) also brings a new production, with his Santa Fe Radamisto (7 October-4 November 2010),
conducted by the Handel specialist Laurence Cummings with a cast including counter-tenor Lawrence Zazzo and mezzo Christine Rice.

Jonathan Miller’s La bohème (18 October-27 January) is then revived with Gwyn Hughes Jones alternating Rodolfo with Alfie Boe.

Rufus Norris directs a new Don Giovanni from 6 November to 3 December 2010 with Iain Paterson singing the don, Rebecca Evans as Elvira
and Katherine Broderick as Anna. Ukranian Kirill
Karabits conducts.

Alexander Raskatov’s A Dog’s Heart (20 November-4 December 2010), based on the
Bulgakov novel, premieres on the main stage in November. It’s directed
by Complicite’s Simon McBurney and according to press material will include puppetry by Blind Summit Theatre Company (who previously worked on Anthony Minghella’s ENO Madam Butterfly).

The other new opera comes
at the end of the season (June 2011), a new commission, shared by
London and New York, with the young composer Nico Mulhy setting a
libretto by Craig Lucas. It will have an ‘internet theme’ (with a story drawn
from real life) and will be directed by Bartlett Sher.

Mike Figgis’ contribution is a new production of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, receives its first ENO staging in January 2011, with Paul Daniel conducting Claire Rutter, Michael Fabiano and Alastair Miles.

Nicholas Lehnhoff’s Parsifal, last seen a decade
ago, returns in February
with a cast featuring: Stuart Skelton as Parsifal, John Tomlinson as
Gurnemanz, Iain Paterson as Amfortas and Irene Theorin as Kundry. Mark
Wigglesworth, following his recently acclaimed Katya Kabanova, conducts.

A Young Vic collaboration on Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses premieres on 24 March 2011 for eight performances, directed by Australian Benedict Andrews.

It’s followed by the Terry Gilliam-directed production of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust, which opens on 6 May 2011 for ten performances. Gilliam, best known for his work with Monty Python and for directing films including Brazil, marks his operatic debut with the production, which is designed by German Hildegard Bechler with costumes by Katrina Lindsay.

The final new production is Simon Boccanegra conducted
by Gardner and directed by Russian Dmitri Tcherniakov.
Bruno Caproni sings the title role and Brindley Sherratt, who describes
the opportunity as “being handed the keys of a Ferrari,” is Fiesco.