Opera Holland Park’s 2024 Season opens to press and public on 28 May with a revival of Stephen
Barlow’s sharp and seductive 2008 production of Tosca, new productions of The Barber of Seville
(sponsored by Viking) and Acis and Galatea, three semi-staged performances of Puccini’s early
romance, Edgar, a sensational double bill contrasting John Wilkie’s stylish 2019 staging of Wolf-Ferrari’s
honeymoon comedy Il segreto di Susanna, pictured, with Martin Lloyd-Evans’s new production of Leoncavallo’s
true crime tragedy, Pagliacci, and a co-production with Charles Court Opera of The Yeomen of the
Guard.
The City of London Sinfonia returns for its twentieth year as resident orchestra. The Barber of
Seville will also be performed by the 2024 cohort of Opera Holland Park Young Artists on 14 and 16 June.
The performances of Tosca and Edgar follow February’s performance of the Messa da Gloria by Opera
Holland Park and City of London Sinfonia in marking the centenary of Puccini’s death, and continue the
company’s tradition of exploring the composer’s least well-known works, most recently in the 2022
production of Le Villi, alongside those of enduring popularity.
Casting highlights include the return of soprano Amanda Echalaz as Tosca in the production that
launched her international career, and tenor David Butt Philip’s highly anticipated role debut as Canio in
Pagliacci, conducted by Francesco Cilluffo. José de Eca, Morgan Pearse, Paul Grant and Chiuma
Sijeqa make their company debuts, while alumni of the Opera Holland Park Young Artists scheme to
return in senior roles range from those in the earliest intake (conductor Matthew Kofi Waldren, 2012) to
those in the most recent cohort (conductor Charlotte Corderoy, 2023). Company favourites also feature
throughout the season, including Anne Sophie Duprels and Alison Langer, while the 2024 cohort of
Young Artists will give two public performances and one Schools Matinee performance of The Barber of
Sevile (sung in Italian), in addition to performing as part of the Opera in Song series. Further casting
information on all productions can be found below.
Curated by baritone Julien Van Mellaerts and pianist Dylan Perez, the Opera in Song recital series
returns from 20 June to 21 July, with three recitals from established and emerging singers and pianists, a
public masterclass with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and a concert in celebration of Dame Kiri’s 80th birthday
with performances by artists who have been supported by the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation since its
creation in 2004. Featured artists in the series include Benjamin Appl, Helen Charlston and Nicky Spence.
Songs on the Steps, a series of free lunchtime recitals for picnickers and passers by, returns for a third
season. Featuring artists from the company, the fortnightly concerts will be held on Fridays at 1pm, from
10 May.
The Royal Ballet School also returns to Opera Holland Park in June. Featuring dancers ranging in age
from 11 to 19, this is a rare opportunity to glimpse the rising ballet stars of the future. Beginning with
excerpts from Petipa’s Paquita, the programme will also include two works by Frederick Ashton, the
charming pas de quatre from Swan Lake and the decadent La Valse. The School will also present
Concerto Grosso by Helgi Tómasson and Didy Veldman’s playful TooT. There will be Jerome Robbins’s
satirical Mistake Waltz and new works by Gemma Bond and Ashley Page. Following a triumph in last
year’s performances, Tom Bosma returns to coach White Lodge students in a spectacular folk display.
Waterperry Opera Festival returns for an enchanting family adventure, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf,
after sell-out performances in 2021 and 2022. This production will introduce children to classical music
and instruments through vibrant storytelling, d
Opera Holland Park’s 2024 Season
Tosca (Puccini)
Sung in Italian. Revival of the 2008 OHP production
Private view for OHP Ambassadors, Benefactors and Jubilee Society on 26 May at 7.30pm
Evening performances on 28 (opening night), 30 May, 1, 7, 12, 15, 18 and 22 June at 7.30pm
Discovery Matinee on 9 June at 2pm
Tickets from £24-£175
Conductor Matthew Kofi Waldren (all ex. 9 June)
Conductor Gabriella Teychenné (9 June)
Director Stephen Barlow
Designer Yannis Thavoris
Lighting Designer Tim van ‘t Hof
Fight Director Alison de Burgh
Chorus Master Dominic Ellis-Peckham
Tosca Amanda Echalaz (all ex. 12 June)
Tosca Anna Patalong (12 June)
Cavaradossi José de Eça
Scarpia Morgan Pearse
Angelotti Edwin Kaye
A Sacristan Ross Ramgobin
Spoletta Phillip Costovski
Sciarrone Alex Jones
A Jailer Jack Holton
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The Barber of Seville (Rossini)
Sung in Italian
Evening performances on 4 (opening night), 6, 8, 11, 13, 19 and 21 June at 7.30pm
Young Artists Performance on 14 June at 7.30pm
Discovery Matinee on 16 June at 2pm and Schools Matinee on 19 June at 12pm with the OHP Young Artists
This production is generously supported by Viking
Tickets from £24-£175
Conductor Charlotte Corderoy
Director Cecilia Stinton
Designer Neil Irish
Lighting Designer Robert Price
Chorus Master Dominic Ellis-Peckham
Figaro Paul Grant
Count Almaviva Elgan Llŷr Thomas
Rosina Heather Lowe
Doctor Bartolo Stephen Gadd
Don Basilio Jihoon Kim
Fiorello Jack Holton
Berta Janis Kelly
Young Artists
Conductor Anna Castro Grinstein
Director Lysanne van Overbeek
Répétiteur Aya Robertson
Figaro Daniel Barrett
Count Almaviva Marcus Swietlicki
Rosina Ellen Pearson
Doctor Bartolo Samuel Snowden
Don Basilio Masimba Ushe
Fiorello Einar Stefánsson
Berta Faryl Smith
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Edgar (Puccini)
Sung in Italian. Semi-staged concert performances
2 (opening night), 4 and 6 July at 8pm
Tickets from £24-£175
Director Ruth Knight
Lighting Designer Mark Jonathan
Chorus Master Dominic Ellis-Peckham
Edgar Peter Auty
Fidelia Anne Sophie Duprels
Tigrana Gweneth Ann Rand
Frank Julien Van Mellaerts
Gualtiero James Cleverton
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A double bill of Il segreto di Susanna (Wolf-Ferrari) and Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
Both sung in Italian. Il segreto di Susanna is a revival of the 2019 OHP production
17 (opening night), 20, 23, 25, 27 and 30 July, 1 and 3 August at 7.30pm
Tickets from £24-£175
Il segreto di Susanna
Conductor John Andrews
Director John Wilkie
Designer takis
Lighting Designer Mark Jonathan
Countess Susanna Clare Presland
Count Gil Richard Burkhard
Sante John Savournin
Pagliacci
Conductor Francesco Cilluffo
Director Martin Lloyd-Evans
Designer Bridget Kimak
Lighting Designer Mark Jonathan
Chorus Master Richard Harker
Canio David Butt Philip
Nedda Alison Langer
Tonio Robert Hayward
Beppe Zwakele Tshabalala
Silvio Harry Thatcher
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Acis and Galatea (Handel)
Sung in English
19 (opening night), 24, 26, 31 July and 2 August at 7.30pm
Tickets from £24-£175
Conductor Michael Papadopoulos
Director Louise Bakker
Designer Alyson Cummins
Lighting Designer Johanne Jensen
Choreographer Merry Holden
Acis Anthony Gregory
Galatea Elizabeth Karani
Polyphemus Chuma Sijeqa
Damon Ruairi Bowen
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The Yeomen of the Guard (WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan)
Sung in English. Co-production with Charles Court Opera
7 (opening night), 8, 9 and 10 August at 7.30pm
Discovery Matinee on 10 August at 2pm
Tickets from £24-£175
Conductor David Eaton
Director John Savournin
Designer Alyson Cummins
Lighting Designer Jake Wiltshire
Choreographer Merry Holden
Chorus Master Richard Harker
Colonel Fairfax William Morgan
Jack Point Matthew Kellett
Sergeant Meryll Darren Jeffery
Elsie Maynard Llio Evans
Phoebe Meryll Samantha Price
Sir Richard Cholmondeley Stephen Gadd
Dame Carruthers Amy J Payne
Wilfred Shadbolt John Savournin
Leonard Meryll Jack Roberts
Kate Natasha Agarwal
First Yeoman Christopher Killerby
Second Yeoman Alistair Sutherland
First Citizen Ben Newhouse-Smith
Second Citizen Stuart McDermott
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Opera in Song
Tickets from £15-£65.
A Masterclass with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa – 20 June at 3.30pm
Celebrated for her luminous portrayals of Mozart, Strauss and Verdi heroines across a nearly fifty year career, the legendary lyric soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa shares a lifetime of experience in opera and concert with members of the 2024 cohort of Opera Holland Park Young Artists, working on repertoire of their choice. This public masterclass offers a fascinating insight into the private discipline of preparing to perform in public, addressing technical and interpretive questions and building the resilience needed by those at the start of their careers.
A Gala Concert for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa – 20 June at 7.30pm
With anecdotes and reflections on her career from the Dame herself, we celebrate her 80th birthday in a Gala Concert featuring performances by alumni of the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation who have been so generously supported over the years. Artists include Thomas Atkins (last seen at Opera Holland Park as Lensky in Eugene Onegin, 2022), Julieth Lozano, Madison Nonoa, Phillip Rhodes, Madeleine Boreham (Opera Holland Park Young Artist, 2023), Samson Setu and Julien Van Mellaerts, with Gary Matthewman on the piano. £125 tickets include entrance to a post-show drinks reception with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.
Ballads and Legends – 18 July at 7.30pm
Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, baritone Julien Van Mellaerts and pianist Dylan Perez explore the human relationship with the sea in songs and duets by Charles Stanford, Rebecca Clarke, Carl Loewe, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Paolo Tosti, and Haydn’s dramatic scena Arianna a Naxos. The programme includes the world premiere of Oded Zehavi’s Songs of the Sea, a sequence of songs commissioned by Julien Van Mellaerts, with lyrics by the New Zealand poet Bill Manhire, the British poet Laura Attridge, and the French poet Claire Simon.
Frauenliebe und -Leben – 20 July at 3pm
Internationally acclaimed as an art song recitalist, Benjamin Appl makes his Opera in Song debut in concert with soprano Harriet Burns and pianist Ian Tindale. In Robert Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und -Leben, written in 1830, voice and piano capture snapshots from the life of an unnamed woman from courtship to marriage, motherhood and widowhood. This programme adds other voices to her journey with duets, songs and folk songs in English and German by Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Liza Lehmann, Rebecca Clarke and others.
Comedy and Cabaret – 21 July at 6pm
Nicky Spence, Dylan Perez and the Opera Holland Park Young Artists invite you to join them at cocktail hour for an evening of words, music and satire by Noel Coward, Stephen Sondheim, Victoria Wood, Tom Lehrer and many more, to toast the close of the fourth series of Opera in Song in style.
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The Royal Ballet School Summer Performances
26, 27, 28 and 29 June at 7pm
29 June at 2pm
Tickets from £24-£70
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Waterperry Opera Festival presents Peter and the Wolf
Sunday 21 July at 10am and 1pm
Tickets £10 for children, £18 for adults
Booking information
Priority booking for Opera Holland Park Members and Supporters is now open.
General booking opens on Wednesday 6 March, 10am
INSPIRE £24 tickets go on sale on Wednesday 10 April, 10am
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Free Ticket Scheme
Applications for free tickets for Over 65s are now open. Deadline for applications is Monday 8 April.
Booking for Free Tickets for Under 18s opens on Thursday 11 April at 10am.
Since 2017 we have offered half price community tickets to staff of the NHS, London Ambulance Service, London Fire Service, Metropolitan Police and Armed Forces as well as teachers, social workers and carers from the Tri-Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster, and Kensington & Chelsea. Employees are eligible for half price or two-for-one tickets for all of our 2024 Season productions.
For more information visit www.operahollandpark.com
