ENO UK premiere in London: Weinberg’s highly praised and dramatically compelling The Passenger directed by David Pountney
Date published: Tue 11 Oct 2011
This is the first of seven operas by Weinberg, a Polish Jew who escaped from Poland, without his family, to the Soviet Union when the Nazis invaded in 1939. The Passenger is based on the real-life experience of Holocaust survivor Zofia Posmysz, who was imprisoned in Auschwitz during World War II. Posmysz’s book, The Passenger, forms the basis of Alexander Medvedev’s libretto. While sailing to Brazil, Lisa, a former SS Officer from Auschwitz, thinks she sees a former inmate and confesses her past to her husband. Interwoven with the story are flashbacks to her time in the concentration camp. Weinberg’s opera was effectively banned in the USSR and only received its premiere in Bregenz fourteen years after the composer’s death. It was described by Opera Magazine as a work ‘that demands to be seen’. Posmysz’s novel was also the subject of an unfinished 1963 Polish film directed by Andrzej Munk, who died while the film was in production. David Poutney has had a relationship with ENO for over thirty years. he produced the world premiere of David Blake's Toussaint in 1977 for ENO and went on to become Director of Productions in 1980, directing over twenty operas for the company. His repertoire spans a broad range of traditional and more contemporary operas, and has included a celebrated Janáček cycle in collaboration with WNO and over ten world premieres, including three by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, for which he also wrote the libretto. Pountney has staged productions in opera houses across Europe including the Vienna State Opera and Bayerische Staatsoper Munich and has recently been appointed Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Welsh National Opera.
The creative team is completed by celebrated set designer Johan Engels, costume designer Marie-Jeanne Lecca and lighting designer Fabrice Kebour. Critically acclaimed conductor Sir Richard Armstrong returns to ENO after the success of last year’s revival of Christopher Alden’s The Makropulous Case. He is reunited with Pountney, whose Janáček cycle he conducted and for which he received the Janáček medal. Michelle Breedt, who makes her ENO debut following her performance in the role of Lisa at the premiere at the Bregenz Festival, leads the fantastic cast of Giselle Allen (Marta), Kim Begley (Walter), Leigh Melrose (Tadeusz), Julia Sporsen (Katya) and Pamela Helen Stephen (Christina).
The Passenger opens at the London Coliseum on 19 September for 8 performances 19, 29 September & 7, 13, 15, 22, 25 October at 7.30pm and 24 September at 6.30pm
Pre-performance talk, Saturday 24 September 4.45-5.30pm, £5 London Coliseum tour pre-performance, Saturday 15 October and Saturday 22 October; tours start at 2.30pm A co-production with Bregenz Festival, Austria, Wielki Teatr, Warsaw and Teatro Real, Madrid
New production supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music grant programme and The John S. Cohen Foundation
There will be a screening of the film The Passenger by Andrzej Munk, at Riverside Studios on Monday 26 September. The screening is a double-bill with Jiří Weiss’ film Romeo, Juliet and Darkness (Czechoslovakia, 1960). Screening venue: Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, Hammersmith, London, W6 9RL Date: Monday 26th September – 7pm www.riversidestudios.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
ENO is creating the future of opera by: Staging contemporary highly theatrical work which is world class Working with creative talent from across the arts Reaching new audiences Developing and supporting British talent For further press information please contact: Liz Barrett Head of Press 02078459261 ebarrett@eno.org
