A profanation of holy and glorious antiquity. A desecration of the gods! That’s how one outraged critic greeted the first performance of Orphée aux Enfers in 1858. But Offenbach and his librettists were not so much desecrating ancient Greece as their own bourgeois society. All Paris flocked to the tiny Bouffes-Parisiens to see it. Its waltzes and galops were played constantly from the Tuileries to the smallest taverns; the infantry even marched to its tunes. And of course the Galop Infernal or Cancan became one of the most famous dance tunes ever-written.

For the last in their trilogy of operas comiques for Iford, Opera della Luna will assemble a company of multi-talented singers, comedians, and dancers to stage Offenbach’s most celebrated work, in a new translation by Jeff Clarke that will cast a satirical eye on our own society in much the same way that Offenbach’s original lambasted 2nd empire Paris.

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.

Following the huge success of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, Sir Thomas Allen and Simon Higlett return to take on the fantastical charms of Mozart’s most inventive opera. Set in a spectacular visual world inspired by ‘steam punk’ Victoriana, this promises to be a stylish and imaginative telling of this much-loved piece.

A beguiling mix of comedy, fantasy and pantomime, The Magic Flute is also a profound story of the search for love, wisdom and truth. Mozart’s music effortlessly evokes the full gamut of emotions on stage – from heartfelt love songs and comic exchanges to explosive coloratura in the infamous Queen of the Night arias.

Concerts on July 3 (St. Mandrier), 4 (St. Maximin), 6 (Le  Muy), 7 (Le Cannet des Maures), and 16 (Ile de Porquerolles).

Suzanne’s program includes arias from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Die Entfhürung aus dem Serail and Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Alcina.

This concert will feature the Batavia Madrigal Singers, The Resonanz Children Choir, soloist ensemble of the Batavia Madrigal Singers. The concert will also feature soloist Rainier Revireino (bass), Farman Purnama (tenor) and special guest star, Suzanne Shakespeare.