Details

An operatic divertissement to be performed in an abridged version of Moliere's comedy Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Both pignant and comic, Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera within an opera. The curtain opens on a Viennese salon where preparations are being made for a performance of an opera. There is consternation when the Major Domo (Chied Butler) announces that due to time pressure, a harlequin troupe will be performing comedy during the opera itself. The conflicting scenarios and contrasting characters reveal what happens when stand-up comedy meets Greek tragedy and music hall meets high art. Prologue in English with a new translation by Helen Cooper.

Cast/Performers

Mardi Byers (The Prima Donna / Ariadne), Kor-Jan Dusseljee (The Tenor / Bacchus), Jennifer France (Zerbinetta), Alex Otterburn (Harlequin), Daniel Norman (Scaramuccio), Lancelot Nomura (Truffaldino), Elgan Llyr Thomas), Eleanor Bron (The Party Planner), Stephen Gadd (The Professor Composition), Julia Sporsen (The Composer), Jamie MacDougall (The Producer), Elizabeth Cragg (Naiad), Laura Zigmantaite (Dryad), Lucy Hall (Echo), Thomas Humphreys (Wig Master), Trevor Bowes (Butler), Oliver Brignall (Officer)

Creatives/Company

Music: Strauss
Lyrics: Hofmannsthal
Producer(s): Opera Holland Park, Scottish Opera
Company: City of London Sinfonia
Conductor: Brad Cohen
Director(s): Antony McDonald, Joe Dieffenbacher (Circus Skills Director)
Design: Antony McDonald
Lighting: Wolfgang Gobbel
Choreographer: Lucy Burge
Translation: Helen Cooper (Prologue Translation)