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Opera acrobatics as ENO looks to the circus
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent24 Nov 2008
THE excitement of the big top will come to the Coliseum when circus director Daniele Finzi Pasca takes over in the summer.
English National Opera today announced that Finzi Pasca is to direct the British premiere of L'Amour de loin by Kaija Saariaho.
The director has been a pioneer of the circus entertainment revolution.
His interest in clowning led him to found the Teatro Sunil in Switzerland; he has worked with companies such as the Canadian troupes Cirque Eloize and Cirque du Soleil; and created the closing ceremony for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
But it will be the first time he has directed an opera - and the first time ENO has used circus in a production.
Acrobatics were a feature of the Damon Albarn opera, Monkey: Journey To The West, which was seen at the Royal Opera House. L'Amour de loin is a tragic story about a medieval French prince and a pilgrim from the East, based on song texts by 12th century French troubadour Jaufré Rudel.
It tells of a dream of ideal love focused on an unattainable object of desire that becomes an obsession.
Pasca said: "In dreams, we see reality in strange forms. With L'Amour de loin, I will try to create that same magic on stage."
John Berry, artistic director, said the opera was a "classic piece for the 21st century" and would be a "wonderful way to end our 2008/09 season".
The work was premiered in 2000 at the Salzburg Festival and has since been performed in America.
The British premiere will be sung by Roderick Williams, Joan Rodgers and Diana Montague. They will be directed by Edward Gardner, ENO's music director.
It will open on 3 July next year and run for four performances.
