Photo Flash: First Look at FAUST, ALBERTA at Opera in the City Festival

The world premiere of Faust, Alberta by Simone Spagnolo, starring Benjamin Bevan (Royal Opera House, Royal Danish Opera, Welsh National Opera), headlines this year's Opera in the City Festival.

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. Partly psychological study, partly a modern, decontextualised Western, Faust, Alberta offers a new perspective to a well-known story. The radical re-working of the classic by librettist Giordano Trischitta portrays Faust as a man who has lost his identity and the sense of his journey along the way, and is desperately trying to solve the jigsaw of his existence. Award-winning composer Simone Spagnolo brings the story to life with an eerie, at times frenzied score.

This piece is scored for one singer and four musicians, and demands of the performer to embody the three Faustian characters. Set in a distorted reality, the visual elements amplify the musical metaphors. Baritone 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, performs the operatic monologue.

The creative team includes director 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.

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