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For immediate release as of 20 August 2007
Leading
physical theatre director Liam Steel makes opera debut with ETO’s Country Matters
Liam Steel, Artistic Director of
Stan Won’t Dance and one of the UK’s
leading physical theatre practitioners, will direct his first opera this autumn
with English Touring Opera. In spring
2008, another exciting young director will also make his opera directing debut,
when Jonathan Munby directs Mozart’s
Don Giovanni for ETO.
Liam
Steel has directed, choreographed or performed with all of the foremost
physical theatre companies in the UK – including Complicité, David Glass Ensemble,
DV8 and Frantic Assembly. He won a
Herald Angel Award at the 2004 Edinburgh International Festival for Strictly Dandia, and has worked with the
National Theatre, Royal Court,
and RSC.
Now
Liam will bring his experience in directing highly physical and imaginative
contemporary theatre to this witty comedy about two girls who turn the world
upside down in the pursuit of love. Country
Matters opens at the Hackney Empire Theatre on 13th October
then begins a national tour alongside ETO’s new production of Handel’s Teseo.
A witty English language version of Haydn’s finest opera, Country Matters promises to be one of
the most innovative and exciting productions of the year.
Jonathan
Munby recently directed the critically acclaimed Nakamitsu at the Gate Theatre; A
Number (Sheffield Crucible Studio and Minerva Studio, Chichester) with
Timothy and Samuel West; Tartuffe (no
1 tour/Watermill Theatre); and the RSC’s The
Canterbury Tales (West End, Stratford and Washington). He is currently working on Henry V for the Manchester Royal
Exchange.
ETO’s
General Director, James Conway, said
today: “Country Matters is a stylish English translation
of Haydn’s L’infedeltà delusa, arguably the finest opera staged at the
brilliant court of Esterhaza. It was a
favourite of no less a person than Empress Maria Theresia – and by all accounts
it took a lot to cheer her up! Country
Matters is the perfect introduction to opera, and this new production by
Liam Steel promises plenty of energy and wit.“
HAYDN’S “COUNTRY MATTERS”
(L’infedeltà delusa)
A
pacy Regency romp packed with charm and humour, Country Matters features some of Haydn’s most colourful arias and
ensembles, all accompanied by an orchestra playing early classical instruments.
Country Matters will be performed by
a cast of the UK’s
best young singers, including Lorina
Gore (Blonde in ETO’s The Seraglio)
and Charlotte Ellett (recently seen
as Musetta in La Bohème for both Welsh
National Opera and ETO). The role of
Nencio will be sung by emerging star tenor from the Royal College of Music Andrew Staples, who won the Song Prize
at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards in 2005 and recently made his Royal Opera House
debut as Jacquino in Fidelio. It will be conducted by Justin Doyle, who is Artistic Director of the Ryedale Festival and
was the first person to be awarded a Conductor Fellowship with the BBC
Singers.
Please
visit www.englishtouringopera.org.uk for audio and video samples, and full tour
schedule.
Press night
for Country Matters is at the Hackney
Empire Theatre on 13 October.
For
pictures, interviews or to attend a performance, please contact Chantelle
Staynings
Email:
chantelle.staynings@englishtouringopera.org.uk / Phone: 020 7833 2555
NOTES TO
EDITORS
LIAM STEEL
Co-artistic director of Stan Won’t
Dance, Liam Steel has gained an international reputation as one of Britain's
leading physical theatre practitioners.
Liam has directed, choreographed or performed with all of the foremost
physical theatre companies in this country, including Complicité, Volcano
Theatre Company, Nigel Charnock & Company and David Glass Ensemble. He is probably most widely recognized for his
work with Frantic Assembly — for whom he directed and choreographed four
productions — and with DV8 Physical Theatre, where he was a core member for
eight years, working as a performer, assistant director and designer. During
his time with DV8 he worked on five international tours and the Emmy-winning
film Enter Achilles.
Liam also has extensive experience
as a director and choreographer in the repertory sector. His experience
includes work with the Royal National Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham
Rep, Northampton Theatre Royal, The Royal Court, Manchester Royal Exchange, The
RSC, and five productions at the Library Theatre, Manchester.
He won a Herald Angel Award for Outstanding Achievement, 2004 Edinburgh
International Festival, for Strictly
Dandia and was awarded Best Production, 2005 Dublin International Theatre
Fesival, for his production of Knots
for CoisCeim Dance Theatre.
ENGLISH
TOURING OPERA
In spring 2008, English Touring Opera
will tour new productions of Don Giovanni,
Anna Bolena and Carlisle Floyd’s lyric American opera Susannah. ETO’s production
of Susannah will be the first
professional UK
touring production, with Donna Bateman (who played another Susanna for ETO in The Marriage of Figaro, 2004) singing
the title role. The tour will open at
the Hackney Empire from 14 to 17 March 2008.
ETO aims to present vibrant,
innovative high-quality opera to existing and new audiences in communities
across England.
Every year it gives about 100 performances to nearly 50,000 people across the
country. ETO visits 22 regional venues where arts provision, especially opera
of such quality, is limited - more than any other national opera company in Britain.
ETO has frequently led the way in
developing new opera that engages with fresh audiences. In 2004 ETO teamed up
with the Young Vic to present a new touring production of Jonathan Dove’s opera
Tobias and the Angel. In June 2007
ETO performed A House on the Moon, a
community opera involving nearly two hundred participants, including musicians
from the UK, Afghanistan, Iraq
and India and local
communities around Wolverhampton.
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