Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park in a witty adaptation by renowned British composer Jonathan Dove and librettist Alastair Middleton; a thrilling enactment by Opera South, a professional ensemble of emerging operatic stars.

How do you set a classic novel to music? Indeed how do you set that most popular of English novelists, Jane Austen, to music? When first reading Mansfield Park, Jonathan Dove felt immediately that it was an opera, so when he was approached for a commission, he thought of staging it in a large drawing room, using 10 singers accompanied simply and strikingly by a piano duet. With talented librettist Alasdair Middleton, he set about adapting the novel, and from the first words sung by the whole company, “Mansfield Park, Chapter One”, there is a strong narrative drive, impeccable vocal writing and wonderful ensembles that sparkle with style and wit. Following the critical success of the first performances, Opera South is presenting two shows at Haslemere Hall, showing that the piece works well in small- to medium-size proscenium arch theatres and that it is the perfect work for young artists. Thomas Humphreys plays Sir Thomas Bertram

FESTIVAL CONCERTANDO ROMA – David Cohen will be performing chamber music, solo and teaching masterclasses at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music

FESTIVAL CONCERTANDO ROMA - David Cohen will be performing chamber music, solo and teaching masterclasses at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music

The first fully staged professional production Rossini’s opera Elizabeth I (Elisabetta) to tour the UK. The production features Mary Plazas in the title role and is directed by ETO’s General Director James Conway.

Rossini’s masterpiece about the woman behind the monarch The first fully staged professional production of Rossini’s opera Elizabeth I (Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra) to tour the UK since 1818. Director James Conway Conductor John Andrews Associate Director Rosie Purdie Designer Frankie Bradshaw Lighting Designer Rory Beaton TOURING DATES:- Hackney Empire 2nd Mar 2019 - 7:30 pm Buxton Opera House 23rd Mar 2019 - 7:30 pm Cambridge Arts Theatre 4th Apr 2019 - 7:30 pm Snape Maltings Concert Hall 11th Apr 2019 - 7:30 pm Curve, Leicester 23rd Apr 2019 - 7:30 pm Norwich Theatre Royal 25th Apr 2019 - 7:30 pm Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham 2nd May 2019 - 7:30 pm Churchill Theatre, Bromley 8th May 2019 - 7:30 pm Exeter Northcott Theatre 23rd May 2019 - 7:30 pm

Music of the Planets