TÊTE À TÊTE Opera Festival to Mark 30th Anniversary at The Cockpit

Rapidly approaching their 30th anniversary season, Tête à Tête's flagship annual Opera Festival will present over two dozen new and pathfinding operas, each pushing at the boundaries of what the art form can be and say. Together, they explore the multicultural fabric of our modern world, bringing a wide range of voices, traditions, and stories into vivid new operatic form.

Tête à Tête is the UK's home of daring contemporary opera, creating space for artists to add their threads to the tapestry of theatrical storytelling in London and beyond.

The Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival will return to London from 8-20 September at the Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone. The company's flagship festival will once again showcase bold, original works from across the UK and around the world.

Some highlights from this year's festival include a new take on the classic tale Frankenstein (CN Lester/ ILĀ / Jamie Hale), The Trial of the Four, by composer Anna Vienna Ho and Arlodhes a Shallott, a Cornish-language setting of a popular Lord Tennyson poem by Matthew Thomason.

On 13 September, the Eunoia Trio presents Making Europe Audible, highlighting the festival's international line-up.

Speaking on Tête à Tête's mission, Artistic Director Bill Bankes-Jones wrote in a recent blog post, 'what we love about theatre is coming together, not being apart.'

Since its inception, the Opera Festival has hosted, mentored, and empowered others to make almost 600 new operas.

In a recent ICAREIFYOULISTEN review of Fantasy & Fairytales, Caroline Potter wrote: 'In the UK, the value of opera is currently contested and public funding has been sharply reduced. But the indefatigable Tête à Tête and the marvellous RCM students show that opera is alive, kicking and able to appeal to a broad contemporary audience. In the hands of these creative artists, I feel confident that the genre will find a way to survive and indeed thrive.'

Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival gives its artists mentorship, support, and a platform to share their latest creations with opportunities for live audience feedback. They go on to write for everywhere from the Royal Opera House to the Southbank Skatepark.

PROGRAMME

A Catalan Fairytale - Produced and presented by Caitlin Redding

Eight Days - The Last Days of Mary, Queen of Scots - Presented by Cantata Dramatica

The History of Mr Polly - Produced and presented by Two-Wheeler Opera Productions

Orpheus and Euridice - Produced and presented by Vertebra Theatre CIC / Mayra Stergiou

The Dunwich Horror: An Opera - Produced and presented by Vulcanello Productions

The Rag Animals - Produced and presented by Rowan Lark

The Trial of the Four - Produced and presented by Anna Vienna Ho

Making Europe Audible - Produced and presented by Eunoia Trio

From The Edda - Produced and presented by Max Mitchell

Of Earth and Quill 2 - Produced and presented by The Venus Bushfires

A Different Kind of Heartbreak - Produced and presented by Athanasia Kontou

Arlodhes a Shalott - Produced and presented by Matthew Thomason

Dreva - Produced and presented by Skarb Project

Emma or Emily - Produced and presented by Moon Kim Theatre Company

Androida (or Robots have no Feelings) - Produced and presented by Cohen Ensemble

Fort - Produced and presented by The Music Troupe

Azovstal - Produced and presented by Alla Sirenko, in association with The Ukrainian Cultural Association in the UK

Broken Ivy/Fence Off - Produced and presented by Young Opera Makers & the Royal Academy of Music

Sing4 Nok6/Meet the Philips - Produced and presented by Young Opera Makers & the Royal Academy of Music

Frankenstein - Produced and presented by CN Lester/ ILĀ / Jamie Hale

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