STRICTLY EMBARGOED until 1000 GMT, 05 May 2016

English National Opera announces 2016/17 Season

• Rory Kinnear makes his directorial debut, directing the World Premiere of Ryan Wigglesworth’s The Winter’s Tale
• The European Premiere of Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD at Hackney Empire
• ENO takes Jonathan Miller’s production of The Mikado to the Opera House at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool
• 500 tickets for every ENO opera performance available for £20 or less

Season highlights include:

• ENO’s Composer-in-Residence, Ryan Wigglesworth, conducts the World Premiere of his first opera The Winter’s Tale, with actor Rory Kinnear making his directorial debut
• The European Premiere of Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD, a jazz-infused chamber opera by Daniel Schnyder that tells the story of the great bebop pioneer, starring Lawrence Brownlee in the title role. Ron Daniels directs YARDBIRD at Hackney Empire – the first opera to be performed as part of a long-term collaboration with Hackney Empire and Opera Philadelphia
• World-renowned artist and director William Kentridge directs a new production of Berg’s Lulu, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth
• Olivier Award-winning director Richard Jones returns to ENO to direct a new production of Don Giovanni, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth, with Christopher Purves in the title role
• ENO takes Jonathan Miller’s popular production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado to the Opera House at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool
• A new partnership with the Southbank Centre. In summer 2017, ENO will present a concert hall performance of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius
• ENO celebrates the work of director Jonathan Miller with a special evening marking well over 1,000 performances of his work over a 38-year period
• Revivals include Jonathan Miller’s Rigoletto, Mike Leigh’s The Pirates of Penzance, Christopher Alden’s Olivier Award-winning production of Handel’s Partenope, Catherine Malfitano’s Tosca and Penny Woolcock’s The Pearl Fishers
• ENO announces a new partnership with Silent Opera, supporting young British director Daisy Evans

Today (5 May 2016), ENO announces its 2016/17 season. This season is the first year of a three-year transition period which will see ENO increase the number of productions it presents from 11 (10 fully-staged and 1 concert hall staging) during 2016/17 season to a minimum of 15 by 2018/19.

From 2016/17, the ENO year will be divided into Autumn and Spring seasons at the London Coliseum with a Summer season of work taking place in venues around London and beyond. In Summer 2017, this work takes place at the Opera House at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, the Hackney Empire and the Southbank Centre. In future seasons, ENO will expand on its Coliseum season and its summer work, presenting 10 works at the London Coliseum (not including any musical theatre co-productions) and staging at least five productions outside the London Coliseum by 2018/19.

Bob Holland, ENO Programming Director said,

“ENO is at a hugely exciting point in its history. As we look to the future, we look forward to presenting a broader range of operatic repertoire than ever before and finding new ways to present this to audiences across London and beyond. Forging new partnerships will enable us to delve much further into the operatic canon and focus on new chamber opera commissions that explore opera, both in terms of composition and staging.

“This work begins in the summer of 2017, in new partnerships with Hackney Empire, Southbank Centre and the Opera House at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This season is only the beginning, with discussions well advanced with more organisations that we are looking to work with long term. Over the next three years, we’ll build our summer programme to a substantial body of work outside of our Coliseum home that will let audiences, new and existing, experience opera in as many new ways as possible.

“On the main stage we’ll continue to build upon recent artistic success with a broad range of repertoire choices and creative teams from Richard Jones’ new production of Don Giovanni, to William Kentridge’s spectacularly theatrical Lulu.

“It’s widely acknowledged that our world class contemporary, baroque, and Gilbert and Sullivan stagings are cornerstones of our artistic fingerprint and will continue to be so, along with a continued commitment to new commissions, such as Ryan Wigglesworth’s The Winter’s Tale, enabling us to explore, take risks and continue to ask what opera can be.”

The 2016/17 season will see the beginning of new partnerships with the Hackney Empire and the Southbank Centre. The partnership with Hackney Empire will enable the Company to explore a series of new repertoire that has recently been commissioned by Opera Philadelphia. The first work, Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD, is a biographical chamber opera that tells the story of the African-American bebop pioneer Charlie Parker through Daniel Schnyder’s jazz-infused score.

ENO’s partnership with the Southbank Centre begins in the summer of 2017 with a concert hall staging of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. Further information about ENO’s partnership with the Southbank Centre will be announced in due course.

ENO’s 2016/17 Season Launch follows the recent announcement that Daniel Kramer will join ENO as Artistic Director. Daniel will begin as ENO Artistic Director on 1 August 2016. The 2018/19 season will be the first season that Daniel Kramer programmes as Artistic Director. The 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons will be programmed by ENO’s Senior Artistic Team led by Programming Director, Bob Holland.

Speaking at the launch of the 2016/17 season, ENO’s new Artistic Director, Daniel Kramer, said:

“I am very excited to be joining English National Opera – a company that has always felt like home to me. In fact I have yet to work in a more supportive organisation as a director. The ENO chorus, orchestra, technical teams and staff go that extra mile to create magic on stage, night after night. Working alongside Cressida and ENO’s Senior Artistic Team, I want to develop emerging British directors and singers, composers, librettists, stage managers, opera designers, conductors and, most importantly, I want to develop new audiences – opening them up to this wonderful, intoxicating world of opera.”

Cressida Pollock, ENO Chief Executive said,

“ENO’s 2016/17 season marks a change for the Company. Over the next three years, the Company will move towards a new programming model which will see at least 15 productions produced, both in the London Coliseum and further afield as we renew our mission to reach as many people as possible with world-class, uniquely theatrical opera at an affordable price ”

New ENO productions at the London Coliseum

Actor Rory Kinnear makes his directorial debut in the world premiere of Ryan Wigglesworth’s The Winter’s Tale. Kinnear has performed a number of Shakespearian roles, including Laertes in Phyllida Lloyd’s Hamlet (Old Vic), Angelo in Measure for Measure (Almeida Theatre), the title role in Hamlet and Iago in Othello (both for National Theatre). Kinnear won Best Actor in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in both 2010 and 2013 (alongside Adrian Lester) and also won an Olivier Award for his portrayal of Iago in 2013. Kinnear is best known for playing the character of Bill Tanner in the James Bond films Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.

The Winter’s Tale is ENO Composer-in-Residence Ryan Wigglesworth’s first opera. Ryan will also conduct the world premiere, which features a world-class British cast, including Iain Paterson as Leontes, Sophie Bevan as Hermione, Leigh Melrose as Polixenes and Susan Bickley as Paulina.

Rory Kinnear, director of The Winter’s Tale said,

“I could not be more thrilled to have been invited to work with Ryan on his debut opera, and at ENO, the place where my love for the art form first took hold. I’m giddy with excitement.”

Ryan Wigglesworth, composer and conductor of The Winter’s Tale said,

“I feel immensely privileged that my first opera is for ENO – a company I’ve loved working with on several previous productions as conductor. And to be writing for one of the finest British casts imaginable, with Rory directing and Vicki designing, is truly a dream come true. I’m looking forward hugely to our collaboration together.”

Opening in November, South African artist and director William Kentridge makes his debut at ENO with his new production of Berg’s Lulu, a production which has already been performed to great critical acclaim at Dutch National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

Mark Wigglesworth conducts an exceptional cast which includes Brenda Rae, who makes her ENO debut, in the title role, Sarah Connolly as Countess Geschwitz, Nicky Spence as Alwa and Sir Willard White as Schigolch.

Opening the 2016/17 Season is a new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, directed by Olivier Award-winning director Richard Jones, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. Christopher Purves takes the title role, with Clive Bayley playing Leperello, Caitlin Lynch playing Donna Anna, Allan Clayton playing Don Ottavio, Christine Rice playing Donna Elvira and Mary Bevan in the role of Zerlina.

Hackney Empire – Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD

Opening June 2017, ENO and the Hackney Empire present the European premiere of Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD, a jazz-influenced chamber ‘be-bopera’ composed by Daniel Schnyder with a libretto by award-winning African American poet Bridgette A. Wimberly. Daniel Schnyder is known as a composer/performer with a dynamic reputation in both jazz and classical fields. Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD was commissioned by Opera Philadelphia and received its world premiere in June 2015 at the Perelmen Theatre before being staged at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York.

American tenor Lawrence Brownlee plays the title role, following his critically-acclaimed performances in New York, described as “splendid” and “gloriously alive” by the Wall Street Journal.

The first performances of Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD in New York marked the first time opera had been performed at the iconic Apollo Theatre, Harlem – a theatre that was central to the civil rights movement in America. The Apollo was the first theatre in American to allow black people to perform, at a time when African-Americans were forbidden from entering most theatres in the US. The Apollo is at the heart of the African-American community in Harlem and launched the careers of many influential performers including James Brown, the Jacksons and Charlie Parker.

Hackney Empire is a similarly iconic venue within London’s theatre landscape. It has the world on its doorstep and the world on its stage. Within its eclectic combination of the highest quality performance work and creative learning activity it offers a myriad of opportunities to BAME artists and audiences; and it nurtures and presents work that is at once extraordinary, inclusive, inspirational and transformative.

Clarie Middleton, Chief Executive of Hackney Empire said,

“Music – and especially its intrinsic role in emotional narrative – is at the core of Hackney Empire’s work. We reach out both locally and globally, and actively celebrate culturally diverse artists and audiences. By developing and collaborating on innovative work we aim to become a truly dynamic place to experience opera in the 21st century.

“Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD is a superb piece that effortlessly mixes classical and jazz styles to tell the story of a musical genius, it will engage with Hackney Empire’s many different audiences on a myriad of levels.

“We are delighted to be partnering with ENO on this project and others over the next few years. This is much more than a sharing of resources. It will build bridges for audiences into opera and break boundaries within the art form itself.”

This project is the first in a series of work planned in partnership with ENO, Hackney Empire and Opera Philadelphia, which to engage with a diverse range of artists and audience members through opera. Information about future work will be announced in due course.

The Mikado goes to Blackpool
ENO will be taking Jonathan Miller’s much-loved production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado to the Opera House at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool for 10 performances, opening on 25 May 2017.

The Mikado was first performed by ENO at the London Coliseum on 27 September 1986, featuring an all-star cast including Lesley Garrett, Dame Felicity Palmer, Richard Angas, and Eric Idle in the role of Ko-Ko. Since the first production, The Mikado has been performed more than 200 times, played to over 400,000 audience members at the London Coliseum and has been broadcast on ITV (in 1987) and screened live to cinemas across the UK and internationally (3 December 2015).

Casting and information about the creative team for The Mikado will be announced at a later date.

ENO Baylis will deliver a programme of learning and engagement alongside these performances, working in collaboration with Blackpool Council, local secondary schools and members of the community. Subject to funding, this programme will begin in Spring 2017 in advance of The Mikado performances, with whole school takeovers in three secondary schools as part of the acclaimed Opera Squad programme, launching a bespoke programme of activity in each school to support arts curriculum learning.

Southbank Centre – The Dream of Gerontius

On 1 and 2 July 2017, ENO will present a concert hall staging of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, featuring the Olivier Award-winning ENO Chorus and Orchestra. The conductor, soloists and director will be confirmed in due course. This performance marks the beginning of a long-term partnership with the Southbank Centre, with more details to be announced.

Jude Kelly CBE, Artistic Director, Southbank Centre said,

“Following the success of Southbank Centre’s series of operas in concert we are delighted to be building on this with an exciting new partnership with ENO. Our belief that everyone should have access to classical music is aligned with ENO’s vision to bring opera out into a wider domain and reach an even more diverse audience. We look forward to welcoming the wonderful ENO Orchestra and Chorus to the Royal Festival Hall, and to the beginning of a promising new collaboration.”

Silent Opera – Support for emerging British talent
Highlighting ENO’s aim to nurture and develop young British talent, ENO is supporting Silent Opera and their Artistic Director Daisy Evans. Silent Opera has been presenting some of the most exciting work in site-specific opera for the last five years, taking an approach that breaks with traditional opera-making methods and uses technology in an innovative way.
Daisy’s work gives the audience a unique and intimate experience whilst not losing the impact and scale of the choice of repertoire. Daisy is currently developing a production of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle to be performed by Silent Opera in Spring 2017. ENO will be supporting Silent Opera in this project by providing its technical and production resource and expertise, producing experience and marketing support.

Daisy Evans, Artistic Director of Silent Opera said,

“This partnership is invaluable to Silent Opera, and me as an artist. It is an opportunity for us to collaborate on some really exciting and groundbreaking methods of opera making, evolving new audiences and the art form itself. It is my aim to generate exciting and innovative work that preserves high quality operatic drama, whilst reaching out to a new generation. Opera is not inaccessible, and I am delighted that the ENO are joining me on my quest to challenge, create and develop this amazing art form”

Revivals

ENO will produce five revivals of audience favourites during the 2016/17 season. Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance will receive its first revival. First performed in May 2015, Mike Leigh’s production of The Pirates of Penzance became ENO’s most successful opera production, performing to more than 75,000 people at the London Coliseum or at one of 400+ cinemas across the UK and Ireland. The live broadcast of The Pirates of Penzance is still currently the most successful cinema screening of opera in the UK.

Jonathan Miller’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto returns to ENO for its 13th revival. First seen in 1982 and last revived in 2009, this Little Italy ‘mafia’ inspired production is conducted by Richard Armstrong with Nicholas Pallesen in the title role.

Other revivals in the 2016/17 season include Catherine Malfitano’s production of Puccini’s Tosca, conducted by Oleg Caetani and starring Keri Alkema as Tosca, Gwyn Hughes-Jones as Cavaradossi and Craig Colclough as Scarpia. Penny Woolcock’s production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers returns to ENO, conducted by Roland Böer with Claudia Boyle playing Leila and Robert McPherson as Nadir. The Coliseum season comes to an end with Christopher Alden’s Olivier-Award winning production of Handel’s Partenope, conducted by Christian Curnyn with Sarah Tynan in the title role.

Celebrating Jonathan Miller

On 16 November 2016, ENO will present an evening celebrating the work of Jonathan Miller featuring guest appearances and performances by artists who have worked with Miller over the years. Jonathan Miller has worked with ENO for 38 years, directing 15 operas. Since 1978, ENO has presented more than 1,000 performances of Jonathan Miller productions.

This celebratory evening, entitled Marvellous Miller, precedes a revival of his hugely popular production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, which opens at ENO on 2 February 2017 and a revival of The Mikado at the Opera House, Blackpool, opening 25 May 2017.

ENO Harewood Artists & Opera Works – Supporting Emerging Singers

The ENO Harewood Artists programme enables exceptionally talented UK-trained singers to perform with a major opera company while receiving specialist coaching, support and guidance.

ENO will support eight Harewood Artists during 2016/17 season. These are:

• Eleanor Dennis
• Rhian Lois
• Sorayi Mafi*
• Samantha Price
• David Webb*
• Nicky Spence
• Matthew Durkan
• Andri Björn Róbertsson*

*denotes new Harewood Artist.

During the 2016/17 season, 16 roles will be taken by current or former Harewood Artists, with a further three roles sung by ENO Opera Works alumni.

ENO Opera Works is a professional development programme for singers who have strong vocal technique and a clear commitment to developing a career in opera. Each season, approximately 14 students are offered a place on the Opera Works programme, which offers individual coaching sessions and tailored group workshops to enable singers to develop their vocal and dramatic skills in a professional environment. This season, the ENO Opera Works programme will take place from January – April 2017.

500 tickets for every performance available for £20 or less

In the 2015/16 season, ENO reduced the price of more than half of its tickets, making 500 tickets available for £20 or less for every ENO opera performance. This pricing policy will continue in the 2016/17 season to ensure that ENO remains one of the world’s most accessible and affordable opera houses.

As a result of this pricing policy, ENO has seen an 18% increase in the sale of balcony tickets per performance in 2015/16 thus far, when compared to the 2014/15 season.

ENO’s Secret Seat scheme will also continue during the 2016/17 season. Encouraging early booking for ENO’s most loyal audience members, 50 seats for every ENO opera performance are made available for £20. 48 hours before the performance, Secret Seat purchasers are informed of the location of their seat, which will always be in a seat worth at least £30, but may be a top-priced seat in the stalls. For The Winter’s Tale, 200 Secret Seats per performance will be available.

Opera Undressed

Since Opera Undressed launched in November 2012, 4,850 people have attended an Opera Undressed performance. At each performance, for just £20, audience members are given a pre-show talk, one of the best seats in the house and a free drink at a special after-show party with the cast. Opera Undressed is aimed at first-time opera goers, giving them a brilliant experience with like-minded people.

Since the scheme launched 70% of Opera Undressed attendees have been first-time ENO opera goers, with 35% of total attendees returning to see another ENO opera. This hugely successful audience development scheme will be continuing throughout the 2016/17 season with 8 Opera Undressed events planned.

Recently, 200 tickets went on sale for Madam Butterfly Opera Undressed. These sold out in a record five minutes, highlighting the scheme’s continued popularity.

Opera Undressed will take place on the following dates during the 2016/17 season:

• 4 October 2016 (Don Giovanni)
• 12 October 2016 (Tosca)
• 20 October 2016 (Tosca)
• 27 October 2016 (The Pearl Fishers)
• 5 February 2017 (Rigoletto)
• 15 February 2017 (Rigoletto)
• 16 February 2017 (Pirates of Penzance)
• 9 March 2017 (Pirates of Penzance)

ENO Baylis in 2016/17

ENO Baylis is our learning and participation programme and an integral part of our artistic mission, continuing the inspiring work of ENO founder Lilian Baylis whose vision was to make opera accessible to all. ENO will be expanding its investment in the Baylis programme during 2016/17 season, doubling the ENO Baylis budget, increasing opportunities to develop learning and participation work linked to ENO’s summer programme of outside work.

The Baylis programme offers a range of opportunities for people of all ages to engage with opera, typically reaching 13,000 people each year through its projects, workshops and live events. These open up the art form and the stories told on stage, enriching the experience of opera for regular opera-goers and those discovering the art form for the first time. ENO’s main stage productions serve as a springboard for creating new work with people of all ages, celebrating opera’s unique capacity to express ideas across a range of art forms and through the power of the human voice.

In 2016/17 ENO will continue to develop its programme with young people, focussing on the 11-18 age group and working across the range of disciplines that combine to make opera. ENO is continuing to extend its reach by taking over four secondary schools (new relationships with ENO) in October 2016, kick starting a year’s Opera Squad partnership with each school, with a range of follow up activity delivered in school to support arts curriculum learning and opportunities to bring groups to the Coliseum throughout the season. Outside of school, ENO’s youth programme continues to develop with a new series of creative projects supporting skills development and creative expression, delivered across the season in partnership with several youth clubs and arts organisations including the Whitechapel Gallery, the Sorrell Foundation, Brixton Youth Theatre and Raw Material.

ENO is developing its community programme in the coming year, delivered in partnership with Streetwise Opera. The strands use ENO productions as a springboard for creative projects that nurture design/making, singing and performance skills, and support confidence and social inclusion.

At ENO’s 2015/16 season launch, it was announced that, at every dress rehearsal, just over 400 tickets would be made available, free of charge, to schools, community groups and students. During the 2015/16 season, 3,800 tickets have (so far) been given away, offering many people their first glimpse of opera. This scheme will continue during the 2016/17 season, re-affirming ENO’s commitment to making opera accessible to all.

Coliseum redevelopment

During the summer of 2016, phase one of planned work to the front of house space in the London Coliseum will take place. This work aims to improve audience flow in the ground floor foyer, stalls promenade and the dress circle Laidlaw Bar. The box office will be repositioned, which will open up increased space in the foyer. Further work is being done to improve acoustic separation between the auditorium and the front of house spaces. This initial phase of work has been funded by ENO’s restaurant partners Benugo, with a view to improving our food and beverage offer for audiences.

-ENDS-
English National Opera is founded on the belief that opera of the highest quality should be accessible to everyone. We are a national company of international standard. We forge ground-breaking collaborations across art forms, and our world-class productions inspire, surprise, and captivate. We sing in English. We believe that singing in our own language connects the performers and the audience to the drama onstage, and enhances the experience for all. We bring our productions to the widest possible audience, whether at the London Coliseum, nationally or internationally. We make our work accessible by offering a large proportion of tickets at affordable prices, and by distributing it widely on screen and via digital media. We nurture talent across the entire company, whether on-stage, backstage, or in the pit. We provide a platform for young singers to develop global careers.
We tell the world’s most timeless stories, unforgettably.

IMAGES
To download images, please click here: https://we.tl/lD1IGE4qiT
VIDEO
To view a playlist of films to share/embed: https://goo.gl/DWBmFt

Booking Dates
Booking for ENO’s Autumn 2016 and Spring 2017 programme at the London Coliseum opens on:

Thu 5 May – Opera Circle Patrons
Wed 11 May – ENO Friends
Wed 25 May – Subscription booking & Access scheme booking
Wed 1 June – General booking opens

Tickets available from www.eno.org or by calling 020 7845 9300*
*Booking fee applies

On-sale dates for ENO Summer 2017 performances at the Opera House at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, Hackney Empire and Southbank Centre will be confirmed in due course. Check www.eno.org for updates.

Listings Information

Autumn 2016

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – DON GIOVANNI
New production
Libretto: Lorenzo da Pointe
Opens 30 September 2016 for 10 performances
Sep 30, Oct 4, 7, 13, 15, 18, 21, 24, 26 at 19.00 & Oct 9 at 15.00

Director: Richard Jones, Conductor: Mark Wigglesworth, Set Designer: Paul Steinberg, Costume Designer: Nicky Gillibrand, Lighting Designer: Mimi Jordan Sherin, Movement Director: Sarah Fahie, Translator: Amanda Holden

CAST INCLUDES: Christopher Purves (Don Giovanni), Clive Bayley (Leporello), Caitlyn Lynch (Donna Anna), Allan Clayton (Don Ottavio), Christine Rice (Donna Elvira), James Creswell (Commendatore), Mary Bevan (Zerlina), Nicholas Crawley (Masetto)

A co-production with Theater Basel
New production supported by a syndicate of donors

Giacomo Puccini – TOSCA
Revival
Libretto: Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa
Opens 3 October 2016 for 13 performances
Oct 3, 12, 14, 20, 25, Nov 22, 24, 29 & Dec 1 at 19.30; Oct 8 & Dec 3 at 18.30 & Oct 22 & Nov 26 at 15.00

Director: Catherine Malfitano, Conductor: Oleg Caetani/Martin Fitzpatrick (Dec 2 & 4), Set Designer: Frank Philipp Schlössmann, Costume Designer: Gideon Davey, Lighting Designer: David Martin Jacques, Translator: Edmund Tracey

CAST INCLUDES: Keri Alkema (Tosca), Gwyn Hughes Jones (Cavaradossi), Craig Colclough (Scarpia), Andri Björn Róbertsson (Angelotti), Adrian Powter (Sacristan), Scott Davies (Spoletta), Graeme Danby (Sciarrone)

George Bizet – THE PEARL FISHERS
Revival
Libretto: Eugène Cormon & Michael Carré
Opens 19 October 2016 for 10 performances
Oct 19, 27, Nov 3, 8, 11, 18, 23, 25, 30 & Dec 2 at 19.30

Director: Penny Woolcock, Conductor: Roland Böer, Set Designer: Dick Bird, Costume Designer: Kevin Pollard, Lighting Designer: Jennifer Schriever, Video Designer: 59 Productions Ltd, Choreographer: Andrew Dawson, Translator: Martin Fitzpatrick

CAST INCLUDES: Claudia Boyle (Leïla), Robert McPherson (Nadir), Jacques Imbrailo (Zurga), James Creswell (Nourabad)

A co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York

Alban Berg – LULU
New production
Act III realised by Friedrich Cerha
Libretto: Berg after Frank Wedekind
Opens 9 November 2016 (5 performances)
Nov 9, 14, 17 at 19.00 & Nov 12, 19 at 18.00

Director: William Kentridge, Co-Director: Luc De Wit, Conductor: Mark Wigglesworth, Designer: Sabine Theunissen, Costume Designer: Greta Goiris, Lighting Designer: Urs Schönebaum, Video Designer: Catherine Meyburgh, Video Operator: Kim Gunning, Translator: Richard Stokes

Cast includes: Brenda Rae (Lulu), Sarah Connolly (Countess Geschwitz), Michael Colvin (Painter), James Morris (Dr Schön/Jack the Ripper), Nicky Spence (Alwa), Willard White (Schigolch), David Soar (Animal Tamer/Athlete), Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (Prince/Manservant/Marquis), Clare Presland (Schoolboy/Dresser/Waiter), Graeme Danby (Theatre Director/Bank Director), Sarah Labiner (15 Year Old Girl), Rebecca de Pont Davies (Her Mother), Sarah Champion (Female Artist), Geoffrey Dolton (Journalist)

A co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York and Dutch National Opera
New production supported by a syndicate of donors

MARVELLOUS MILLER – A CELEBRATION OF JONATHAN MILLER AT ENO
16 November 2016

An evening to celebrate the contribution of Jonathan Miller’s work to English National Opera. Will include audience-favourite scenes from his ENO productions and guest appearances by ENO singers past and present.

Spring 2017

Giuseppe Verdi – RIGOLETTO
Revival
Libretto: Francesco Maria Piave after Victor Hugo
Opens 2 February 2017 for 9 performances
Feb 2, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 28 at 19.30 & Feb 4, 25 at 18.30

Director: Jonathan Miller, Revival Director: Elaine Tyler-Hall, Conductor: Sir Richard Armstrong, Designers: Patrick Robertson & Rosemary Vercoe, Lighting Designer: Robert Bryan, Choreographer: Tommy Shaw, Translator: James Fenton

CAST INCLUDES: Nicholas Pallesen (Rigoletto), Joshua Guerrero (Duke), Sydney Mancasola (Gilda), Barnaby Rea (Sparafucile), Madeleine Shaw (Maddalena), Nicholas Folwell (Monterone) Matthew Durkan (Marullo), Anthony Flaum (Borsa), Andri Björn Róbertsson (Ceprano)

Arthur Sullivan & W.S. Gilbert – THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
Revival
Opens 9 February 2017 for 16 performances
Feb 9, 11, 16, 18, 23 & Mar 4, 9, 11, 16, 21, 23 at 19.30 & Feb 11, 18, Mar 4, 18, 25 at 15.00

Director: Mike Leigh, Revival Director: Sarah Tipple, Conductor: Gareth Jones, Designer: Alison Chitty, Lighting Designer: Paul Pyant, Choreographer: Francesca Jaynes

CAST INCLUDES: Andrew Shore (Major-General Stanley), Ashley Riches (The Pirate King), David Webb (Frederic), Johnny Herford (Samuel), Sir John Tomlinson/Mark Richardson (Sergeant of Police), Soraya Mafi (Mabel), Katie Coventry (Edith), Angharad Lyddon (Kate), Lucy Schaufer (Ruth)

A co-production with Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Saarländische Staatstheater Saarbrücken
Supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union

Ryan Wigglesworth – THE WINTER’S TALE
World Premiere
Libretto: Ryan Wigglesworth after William Shakespeare
Opens 27 February 2017 for 5 performances
Feb 27, Mar 3, 8, 10, 14 at 19.30

Director: Rory Kinnear, Conductor: Ryan Wigglesworth, Set Designer: Vicki Mortimer

CAST INCLUDES: Iain Paterson (Leontes), Sophie Bevan (Hermione), Samantha Price (Perdita), Leigh Melrose (Polixenes), Anthony Gregory (Florizel), Susan Bickley (Paulina), Neal Davies (Antigonus/Shepherd), Timothy Robinson (Camillo)

New production supported by ENO Contemporary and a syndicate of donors

George Frederic Handel – PARTENOPE
Revival
Text adapted from a libretto by Silvio Stampiglia
Opens 15 March 2017 for 5 performances
Mar 15, 17, 20, 22, 24 at 19.00

Director: Christopher Alden, Conductor: Christian Curnyn, Set Designer: Andrew Lieberman, Costume Designer: Jon Morrell, Lighting Designer: Adam Silverman, Translator: Amanda Holden

CAST INCLUDES: Sarah Tynan (Partenope), Patricia Bardon (Arsace), James Laing (Armindo), Robert Murray (Emilio)

A co-production with Opera Australia
Revival supported by a syndicate of donors

Summer 2017

Arthur Sullivan & W.S. Gilbert – THE MIKADO
Revival
Opens 25 May for 10 performances at the Opera House in the Winter Gardens, Blackpool

Director: Jonathan Miller, Revival Director: Elaine Tyler-Hall, Conductor: TBC, Set Designer: Stefanos Lazardis, Costume Designer: Sue Blane, Lighting Designer: Davy Cunningham, Choreographer: Anthony Van Laast, Revival Choreographer: Carol Grant

CAST INCLUDES: tbc

A co-production with Houston Grand Opera and Los Angeles Music Center Opera

Daniel Schnyder – CHARLIE PARKER’S YARDBIRD
European Premiere
Libretto: Bridgette A. Wimberly
Opens June 2017 at Hackney Empire Performance dates TBC

Director: Ron Daniels, Conductor: tbc, Set Designer: Riccardo Hernandez, Costume Designer: Emily Rebholz, Lighting Designer: Scott Zielinski

CAST INCLUDES: Lawrence Brownlee (Charlie Parker)

Commissioned by Opera Philadelphia. European Premiere presented in collaboration between Hackney Empire and ENO

Edward Elgar – THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS
Concert Hall Staging
Text from a poem by Cardinal John Henry Newman
1 and 2 July at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre

ENO FACTS AND FIGURES

The 2016/17 Season

11 productions, 4 new productions, 6 revivals, 1 concert hall staging 90 performances in 4 venues

Audiences

How ENO’s audiences viewed our productions during the 2014/15 season:

• Live performances at London Coliseum or Barbican: 234,368
• BBC Radio 3 broadcasts: 746,000
• ENO Screen broadcasts: 105,300
• International co-productions: 144,842
• 1,230,510 people enjoyed an ENO production live at the London Coliseum or Barbican, at their local cinema, on BBC Radio 3 or at one of our international co-producing partners.

Accessibility

There are 500 tickets for £20 and under for every ENO opera performance in the 2016/17 season (at the London Coliseum)

That’s more than 37,000 tickets (or about 23% of seats to every show)

Since the scheme began, 4,850 have attended Opera Undressed
70% of bookers are new to ENO and 35% have returned at least once

During the 2015/16 season, 3,800 tickets have (so far) been given away to schoolchildren, community groups and students to see an ENO dress rehearsal, offering many people their first taste of opera

On average, 13,000 people participate in activity organised by the ENO Baylis team each year

2015/16 Highlights

ENO’s recent production of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten was seen by almost 16,000 audience members at the London Coliseum, equating to 96% occupancy

The ENO Orchestra and Chorus recently won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for their performances in The Queen of Spades, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and The Force of Destiny

The ENO Chorus are also nominated for ‘Best Opera Chorus’ in the International Opera Awards. The winner will be announced on 15 May 2016 at The Savoy Hotel

Force of Destiny has been nominated in the Best New Opera Production category of the South Bank Sky Arts Awards