Opera buffs and novices alike are in for a treat with a series of three spectacular nights at the Liverpool Empire.
The trio of productions will be staged in a grand amphitheatre setting and performed by a large company starring international soloists alongside the full Chisinau National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.
The productions are directed by Ellen Kent with the amphitheatre set designed by London designer Will Bowen who founded the Almeida Theatre in 1979 with Pierre Audi and Chris Naylor.
Most recently Will has become a theatre consultant working with the Royal Albert Hall, Soho Theatre and National Theatre to name but a few and with such experience the set was destined to be impressive. The result is biioled as "the perfect setting" for the passion of Carmen, the tragedy of La Boheme and the fall of Tosca.
Carmen as you have never seen it before is staged in a bullring to add a new and spectacular twist to Bizet's famous and seductive opera. This performance of Carmen premiered at Leeds Castle, Kent, in front of an audience of 6000 people on Saturday 30th August.
Reminiscent of the real bullrings in Spain with international Flamenco dancer Sam Quy, bull fighters and a brass band are seen parading through the venue into the Seville bullring to start the performance. The libretto is sung in French with English subtitles.
In La Boheme the beautifully recreated amphitheatre set is converted to depict the attics and backstreets of Bohemian Paris and highlights the grandeur of Paris against the impressive Colosseum structure. With the most romantic music Puccini ever wrote, La Boheme will include the famous aria Your Tiny Hand is Frozen. It is sung in Italian with English subtitles.
Tosca is one of the most dramatic operas ever written and portrays true love, torture and treachery played against the backdrop of the Colosseum of Rome. Set in the era of the Napoleonic wars this spectacular amphitheatre structure heightens the corruption of the period with two of the best roles for tenor and soprano plus a truly blood-curdling villain for the baritone.
Tosca boasts the tender moving arias, "Recondita Armonia", "Vissi d'Arte" and "E Lucevan le Stelle". It is sung in Italian with English subtitles.
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