Time Zone Theatre Presents The World Premiere Of The Opera FAUST, ALBERTA By Simone Spagnolo

The operatic spectacle Faust, Alberta explores the tragic story of Doctor Faustus and his fatal deal with Mephistopheles from a contemporary angle. A Nameless Man finds himself in a remote cabin surrounded by frozen snowfields. He doesn't know who he is nor where he is from, only that something is after him - an unstoppable machine that hunts those who fell from grace. In nine scenes, he tries to collect his memory. Triggered by snippets from his past, he slowly starts to put the pieces together. The "music-theatre metaphysical western", as composer Simone Spagnolo and librettist Giordano Trischitta describe their new work, is scored as a mono-opera for one singer and four musicians, and inspired by Wim Wenders. It asks whether we can ever escape from our past, and how to find redemption.

The role of Doctor Faustus will be sung by Benjamin Bevan, whose engagements include Henry Cuffe in Britten's Gloriana and Der Sprecher in Zauberflöte (Royal Opera House), Lescaut in Boulevard Solitude by Henze (Royal Danish Opera and Welsh National Opera), and work with BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others.

This opera will be contrasted with a revival of Christoph Willibald Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice, which was composed roughly 250 years earlier in 1762. Gluck's opera is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus, who - unable to accept the death of his beloved wife Eurydice - descends into the Underworld to bring her back. Moved by his pleas, the Spirits grant him permission, but there is one condition: while leading her out of Hades, he must not turn around and face her. The timeless love story will be presented as a modern fairy-tale in a new, English translation and with a musical arrangement for piano, violin, flute and harp by musical director Andrew Charity.

Both productions of this season will be directed by Pamela Schermann (Mozart & Salieri at Arcola Theatre & UK/Denmark Tour, Raving Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Othello Rose Playhouse and NYC, among works in Germany and Austria), with a set and costume design by Cindy Lin (Linbury Prize Finalist / Royal Court Theatre and ROH Bursary recipient) and lighting by Petr Vocka.

These productions headline Opera in the City Festival 2018. Following a successful inaugural season last year, Time Zone Theatre Ltd teams up with the Bridewell Theatre once more to present innovative opera productions for affordable ticket prices. The productions are performed in English, and are suitable for opera lovers and those new to opera alike.

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