Grimeborn to stage Wagner in Hackney
Hackney Empire (photo: David Monteith-Hodge)
Grimeborn Opera Festival, produced by Dalston-based powerhouse Arcola, returns for its 14th year with a new staging of Die Walküre at Hackney Empire.
The festival is renowned for showcasing new and experimental works alongside radical productions of classic opera.
Named in reference to the world-famous Glyndebourne Opera Festival, the ‘grime’ element symbolises the ‘dirtier’ backdrop of the Arcola Theatre, a converted textile factory just off the Kingsland Road, Dalston - as opposed to the lush scenic gardens of East Sussex.
Arcola Theatre, Ashwin Street
Following the festival’s thrilling version of Wagner's Das Rheingold in 2019, Arcola is producing the first London performances of Jonathan Dove’s acclaimed reduction of Die Walküre since its Birmingham premiere in the 1990s, when it caused a sensation.
18 musicians from the Orpheus Sinfonia will be conducted by Peter Selwyn, a Wagner specialist who has performed at opera houses and festivals including Covent Garden, Nuremberg, Strasbourg, Longborough, and Bayreuth, the home of Wagner himself.
Die Walküre will run for three performances at Hackney Empire from Wednesday 4 - Saturday 7 August. Tickets start at £15.
Find out more here.
