Performance

This is yet another of our operatic productions for young audiences (following, among others, Britten’s "The Little Sweep" and Humperdinck’s "Hansel and Gretel"). Collodi’s well-known fairy tale, set to music by Jonathan Dove, has found a vivid vocal and instrumental reflection of its storyline, while the characterisation of individual roles and dramatic situations has gained clarity and appeal precisely thanks to music that is immediately engaging to the ear. The score is full of lyricism and humour, vivid imagery, and surprising shifts of mood and sound in each successive scene of the opera.

This two-act opera was commissioned by Opera North together with Sadler’s Wells Theatre, and its premiere took place on December 21, 2007, at the Grand Theatre in Leeds. The production, directed by Martin Duncan and conducted by David Parry, was enthusiastically received by young audiences, while adults found in Dove’s music many phrases and vocal moments that satisfy even the most demanding opera lovers.

Director Robert Drobniuch expressed his hopes for this production in the following words: "I would like the audience to leave with an understanding of how important trust is between people, how vital closeness is, and what a great value it holds in the life of every one of us, both children and adults."