Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd February 2013 - Stockport Plaza
GRAND OPERA OF BELARUS. Accompanied by a large live orchestra, Puccini's tragic Madam Butterfly graces the stage of The Plaza as part of the latest international tour from The Grand Opera of Belarus.
Tue 12th March & Fri 15th March 2013 - The Lowry, Salford Quays
Lesley Garrett makes her return to the operatic stage in a work of stark emotional honesty. Through the lone voice of the woman, Poulenc expresses all the pain and fear of rejection.
Wed 13th March & Sat 16th March 2013 - The Lowry, Salford Quays
Verdi and his librettist Arrigo Boito transmute Shakespeare's great tragedy of a man who loved not wisely but too well into one of the crowning glories of Italian opera.
Directed by Ellen Kent, and starring the celebrated international soprano Elena Dee, this traditional production is a heady mixture of true love, torture and treachery, with two of the best roles for tenor and soprano, plus a truly blood curdling villain. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Saturday 27th April 2013 - Opera House, Manchester
Directed by Ellen Kent, this traditionally staged, dazzling new production set in Seville and reflecting a Goya painting, with fountains, flowers, orange trees and even a rescue donkey, guarantees an evening of passion and romance. Sung in French with English surtitles.
Tuesday 11th to Saturday 15th June 2013 - Opera House, Manchester
The Pirates Of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan as it's meant to be - pure, uncomplicated fun, performed to the highest of standards. Mercilessly parodying Victorian society and its very particular moral values, The Pirates of Penzance is exquisitely observed and wonderfully funny.
Friday 11th October 2013 - Opera House, Manchester
Verdi's Nabucco - with the famous Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves. Back with the very first opera she ever produced, Ellen Kent brings Nabucco to life in this lavish new production of Verdi's epic tale, starring international soloists.
Saturday 12th October 2013 - Opera House, Manchester
Verdi's Aida - the grandest of all operas. Directed by Ellen Kent, and starring international soloists, this brand new production brings the hot, dusty plains and dramatic grandeur of ancient Egypt to the stage in Verdi’s classic love story of war, jealousy and revenge.