This week the Royal Opera House Covent Garden announced full details of their 2021/22 season, their first full season since 2018/19, and we are delighted that Rayfield Allied artists are featured in ten productions across the Main Stage, the Linbury Theatre and external venues.
The Royal Opera’s season on the Main Stage opens with a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto by Director of Opera Oliver Mears – this production is revived in February-March 2022 with Phillip Rhodes in the role of Count Monterone. The second new production of the season is Claus Guth’s long-awaited production of Janáček’s Jenůfa, cancelled just before its premiere in March 2021, in which David Stout sings the role of Stárek, the mill foreman. Jette Parker Link Artist Thando Mjandana appears as the Messenger in Katie Mitchell’s new production of Handel’s Theodora, and as the Philistine Messenger in Richard Jones’s new production of Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila.
Richard Eyre’s production of La traviata, with movement direction by Jane Gibson, has been a mainstay of The Royal Opera’s repertoire since its premiere in 1994 and this season is no exception, with 27 performances across the season. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Yuriy Yurchuk (2014-16) and David Shipley (2015-17) return to the Royal Opera House as part of the celebrations of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme’s 20th anniversary, and sing the roles of Baron Douphol and Doctor Grenvil respectively. Thando Mjandana also appears as Gastone de Letorières.
Other revivals on the Main Stage include Jan Phillip Gloger’s production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Jonathan Kent’s production of Tosca. Julia Jones returns to conduct Così fan tutte, the work which first launched her relationship with the ROH in 2012 (“A remarkable performance” – The Guardian), leading to a number of reinvitations, including Die Zauberflöte (“a performance that stands out for its verve and clarity” – Financial Times) and Carmen (“worth fighting a bull for” – The Observer). Yuriy Yurchuk reprises the role of Angelotti in Tosca, which he first sang for the company in 2016 (“Uktrainian baritone Yuriy Yurchuk was especially convincing as the anxious Angelotti, using his lovely tone to garner our sympathy” – Opera Today).
The Linbury Theatre season includes the world premiere of Laura Bowler’s latest opera The Blue Woman, a co-commission between the Royal Opera House and Britten Pears Arts which tackles the subject of violence against women. Playwright Laura Lomas joins the project as librettist, and the production will be directed by award-winning director Katie Mitchell. Also in the Linbury Theatre, The Royal Opera and Irish National Opera join forces for Adele Thomas’s new production of Vivaldi’s Bajazet, featuring Irish soprano Aoife Miskelly as Idaspe, which will be presented in February 2022 following a tour to Ireland. Outside the ROH, Elizabeth Atherton sings the title role in Tom Coult’s Violet at the Hackney Empire, alongside performances at Snape Maltings, the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff and the Buxton Festival, in a co-commission and co-production by Music Theatre Wales, Britten Pears Arts and The Royal Opera.
Read full details of the Royal Opera House 2021/22 season here.
