A Midsummer Night’s Dream
‘Lord, what fools these mortals be!’
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‘the magic lives on’
★★★★★ – Financial Times
About the opera
Hermia loves Lysander, but her father orders her to marry Demetrius. Helena loves Demetrius, but he only has eyes for Hermia…
In Shakespeare’s story of dreams and desires, four young lovers find themselves lost in a magical wood – playthings for the fairies who rule there. Inhibition gives way to exploration, as fantasy and reality collide over the course of one heady summer’s night.
An enchanted wood whispers and stirs, fairies sing their songs in moonlit choirs, a king and queen trade elegant insults and love blooms rich and strange in Benjamin Britten’s most bewitching score. Shakespeare’s comedy retains all of its charm in this witty, light-footed adaptation, but also gains new darkness in an intoxicating musical celebration of instinct and illicit desire. This may be a fairytale, but danger is never far away…
With its lavish costumes and magical, Arthur Rackham-inspired designs, Peter Hall’s production is a longstanding Festival favourite. Dalia Stasevska conducts.
A revival of the 1981 Festival production. Sung in English with supertitles.
Creative team
Conductor
Dalia Stasevska
Director
Peter Hall
Revival Director and Original Choreographer
Lynne Hockney
Designer
John Bury
Revival Choreographer
Lauren Poulton
Assistant to the Revival Choreographer
Luke Murphy
Lighting Designer
Paul Pyant
Fight Consultant
Luke Murphy
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Leader
Pieter Schoeman
Trinity Boys Choir
Director of Music
David Swinson
Assistant Conductor
Benedict Kearns
Music Preparation
Andrew Smith
Henry Websdale
Angus Webster
Assistant Directors
Laura Attridge
Ian Rutherford
Performers
Lucy Burns, Maddy Brennan, Bianca Hopkins, Emily Piercy, Chloe Dowell, Andrew Hayler, Luke Murphy, Edward Stevens, Malachi Briant, Donny Ferris, Ashton Hall, Nick Frentz, Philip Ticehurst, Gowan Hewlett, Philip Dew, Adrian Bowd, Eddie Fownes, Spencer Nash
Fairies
Zak Adjepong*, Alan Bernstein*, Bacchus Christie, Edith Christie, Freddie Dawe*, Sebastian Heitz*, Oliver Hull*, Sam Jackman*, Dennis Lalic*, Jonah Newlands*, Savith Peiris*, James Roberts*, Josh Webb*, Alex Wright*, Eden Namvar, Lyla Namvar
* Member of Trinity Boys Choir
Cast includes
Cobweb
Ben Fletcher*
Peaseblossom
Arlo Murray*
Mustardseed
Benjy Gilbert*
Moth
Freddie Balcombe*
Puck
Oliver Barlow*
Sebastian Selwood (16 July)
Oberon
Tim Mead
Tytania
Liv Redpath
Soraya Mafi (22, 27, 30 July)
Lysander
Caspar Singh
Frederick Jones (16 July)
Hermia
Rachael Wilson
Demetrius
Samuel Dale Johnson
Helena
Lauren Fagan
Quince
Henry Waddington
Snug
Patrick Guetti
Starveling
Alex Otterburn
Flute
James Way
Snout
Alasdair Elliott
Bottom
Brandon Cedel
Theseus
Dingle Yandell
Hippolyta
Rosie Aldridge
Anna Cooper (17 August)
Photos
To find out more about production support for Festival 2023 click here
or contact our Director of Development, Helen McCarthy for an informal chat:
call 01273 815 032 or email helen.mccarthy@glyndebourne.com
Illustration © Katie Ponder