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Swanhunter, a new co-production between Opera North and The Wrong Crowd
Suzanne performs the role of the Swan in Jonathan Dove’s family opera, Swanhunter. Opera North joins forces with acclaimed theatre company The Wrong Crowd in this new production, creating an inventive fusion of opera, puppetry and live action. Dove and his librettist Alasdair Middleton take their story from the Finnish folktale The Kalevala, weaving an enthralling musical adventure that builds on the tremendous success of their previous collaboration, The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Swanhunter is ingeniously scored for a cast of six singers. They are accompanied by a six-part band, which, as Dove explains, includes several instruments ‘you might expect to hear at a dance, like a ceilidh’. Dove and Middleton have made their opera a celebration of the power of song, through the magic spells sung by the hero and in the glorious coloratura writing for the Swan. Designed with a cross-generational audience in mind, Swanhunter is an ideal introduction to opera.
The production opens at the Linbury Studio, ROH and then performs in the Howard Assembly Room, Leeds followed by a regional tour.
Tags: Dove, Opera North, Royal Opera House, Swanhunter, Wrong Crowd