Parthenogenesis at ROH: last two performances

'...but most of MacMillan’s score, which is superbly played by the Britten Sinfonia under the composer’s direction, is much more jolting, visceral and jittery: harsh, quickfire bursts of instrumental dissonance, or sweet, smeary consonances that are, if anything, even more disconcerting.' Richard Morrison in the Times on James MacMillan's Parthenogenesis (you can read his full review here). It is a dark tale, but with those searing moments which MacMillan creates with such intensity. Some critics have suggested the work is not really an opera; I disagree - it is certainly cerebral, but Katie Mitchell's production unpicks an 'unrealistic' story to make you think carefully about its central issues: the conflict between genetic science and virgin birth, what is a contemporary angel, and the uncomfortable mother-daughter relationship.
Amy Freston and Stephan Loges are the singers, and James MacMillan conducts.

Some tickets are still available for tonight and for the final performance tomorrow, 18 June.

Katie Mitchell talks to Andrew Marr

Katie Mitchell joined Andrew Marr on his 'Start the Week' programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning to discuss her production of James MacMillan's Parthenogenesis. This opens on Wednesday at the Linbury Theatre in our co-production with ROH2. Listen again on iPlayer. Tickets for some performances are still available.

The Traveller in Lichfield

'The literary patchwork was fluently stitched together, and Roth's score, which had both Brittenesque moments, and highly accessible anthem-like choral writing, nicely varied the pace'. So wrote Andrew Clements in today's Guardian of the last of the performances of Alec Roth's The Traveller which we have been giving at the festivals in Salisbury, Chelsea and Lichfield.

For the texts, Vikram Seth wrote six new poems and translated some 25 Indian texts from a rich variety of traditions and languages, including Sanskrit, Pali, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and Tamil. Here is an extract:

Child of son, of daughter,
Tombed and wombed in water,
Flesh to bind and bound me,
Darkness all around me,
Neither seen nor seeing,
Being and not being,
In my world's cessation
Lies my re-creation.
© Vikram Seth

Mark Padmore was the tenor soloist, in what was the last concert project of our season. He joins us again in the first tour of next season in October, in an enticing project with Katie Mitchell: Night Music.