A Midsummer Night's Dream at Opera Holland Park

With Midsummer’s eve descending, four young lovers and a troupe of am-dram artisans venture into the woods, but little do they know of the amorous shenanigans about to ensue – or is it what they always dreamed of?

Returning to OHP after the success of their “fantastically detailed” (The Guardian) 2022 performance of Handel’s Serse (pictured), innovative historical performance ensemble Figure presents a highly-physical production of Shakespeare’s comedy, along with Mendelssohn’s beguiling incidental music. Beyond the famous Overture and ‘Wedding March’, this varied score also includes music for soloists and upper-voice chorus (performed by local children’s choirs, including Theatre Peckham), as well as filmic passages which sensitively underscore the dialogue.

Figure’s musicians will play on historical instruments, modelled on those from Mendelssohn’s time, including the rarely-heard ophicleide, an ancestor of the tuba. In sympathy with this mid-19th-century sound-world, the production is visually inspired by the world of Mendelssohn’s literary contemporaries, the Brothers Grimm, whose fairy tales became as widespread and popular as the composer’s tuneful melodies.

Authors

• Allen Shawn
• Caca Rosset
• Ellen Bower
• Ken Guilmartin
• Michael Philip Ward
• William Penn
• William Shakespeare

Tony Awards and Nominations for A Midsummer Night's Dream