Sally Burgess Directs Verdi, UK Premiere of Lord Berners Comedy, and More at Dorset Opera Festival, 25-28 July

The Dorset Opera Festival expands its programme to three productions this year. Its annual festival again features an international line-up of opera stars in the stately surroundings of Bryanston's glorious 400 acres near Blandford Forum in the heart of Dorset.

Acclaimed mezzo-soprano-turned-director Sally Burgess takes the helm of Verdi's Il trovatore, and Paul Carr directs a double-bill of one-act operas: Puccini's tragedy Suor Angelica and the UK premiere of eccentric polymath Lord Berners' comedy Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement.

Based on the same play by Prosper Mérimée as Offenbach's LaPérichole, LE CARROSSE DU SAINT-SACREMENT was composed by the English polymath Lord Berners. Berners - who was William Walton’s patron and one of the most idiosyncratic and fascinating personalities in British music - was notorious for his eccentricity, dyeing pigeons at his Faringdon house in vibrant colours and at one point having a giraffe as a pet. His Rolls-Royce contained a small clavichord which could be stored beneath the front seat. He appears in many books and biographies of the period, notably portrayed as Lord Merlin in Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love. He was a friend of the Mitford family and close to Diana Guinness.

His one-act comic opera is set in the Peruvian capital of Lima and tells the story of a Viceroy who rashly gives his mistress an extravagantly luxurious new carriage, with unexpected consequences. Berners supplies a wonderfully atmospheric score filled with typically South American colours, sounds and rhythms. Its 1924 premiere in Paris was extremely well received. Immediate plans for a London transfer failed, Berners moved on to ballet and then film scores, and 90 years later his only opera finally receives its UK premiere, using Adam Pollock's 1983 English libretto translated from its original French. It is directed by Paul Carr and conducted by St Gallen's Jeremy Carnall, who is also music director of Dorset Opera.

Olivier Award-nominated Sally Burgess makes her Dorset Opera debut this year with IL TROVATORE. A distinguished mezzo-soprano, her recent move into directing has proven equally successful, with critically acclaimed productions Ula and Sonya's Story (both for Tête-à-Tête) and Così fan tutte for English Chamber Opera. ConductorPhillip Thomas, one of the UK's foremost musicians and voice coaches, returns after last year's triumphant Tosca.

The Dorset Opera Festival consistently features high-profile international casts. In 2011 renowned tenor Ian Storey made his UK debut in the title role of Verdi's Otello. Lead casting for 2012 is being confirmed and will be announced shortly by further press release.

SCHEDULE:

IL TROVATORE

25, 27 July 2012... 7.00pm
28 July 2012... 2.00pm

Il trovatore & Suor Angelica in Italian with English surtitles

SUOR ANGELICA + LE CARROSSE DU SAINT-SACREMENT

26, 28 July 2011... 7.00pm

Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement in English

Performances take place at Dorset Opera's Coade Theatre, Bryanston, Blandford Forum, DT11 0PX. Tickets are £31 - £62. To book, phone 01202 499 199 or visit www.dorsetopera.com.