Organization

Singer

Baritone

Stéphane Degout

King

Soprano

Georgia Jarman

Isabel

Gyula Orendt

Gaveston

Traveler

Tenor

Peter Hoare

Mortimer

Samuel Boden

Young King

Isabella Gaudí

Witness 1

Singer 1

Woman 1

Mezzo-soprano

Marta Fontanals-Simmons

Witness 2

Singer 2

Woman 2

Bass-baritone

Toni Marsol

Witness 3

Madman

Silent

Ocean Barrington-Cook

Girl

Stage director

Katie Mitchell

Conductor

Josep Pons

Lighting designer

James Farncombe

Costume designer

Vicki Mortimer

Set designer

Choreographer

Joseph Alford

Teatro Real de Madrid

De Nationale Opera

Royal Opera House

Orchestra

Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid

English

Lessons in Love and Violence

Madrid

Spain

Teatro Real

Public

Private

Spanish

Approved

The intense and longstanding relationship between Edward II and his favourite Piers Gaveston remains obscure and uncertain for historians, however there is no doubt that it provoked the monarch to neglect his state responsibilities. His excesses and a permanent confrontation with his court ended with the king being removed from the throne in violent circumstances. Christopher Marlowe gave credit to this dissolute portrait of Edward II in his drama of the same name. First staged in 1592, it was the point of departure for Lessons in Love and Violence, the opera premiered at the Royal Opera House of London. The libretto by Martin Crimp gives a prominent role to Isabel, his wife and queen, casting her as the instigator of the plot. After the international success of the opera Written on Skin (2012), heard at the Teatro Real four years ago, George Benjamin illuminates this sordid story with a concentrated and intense musical score at once innovative and rooted in a tradition resonating with Pelléas et Mélisande and Britten. The work was written as a co-commission and large co-production between the operas of London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Lyon and Chicago, as well as the Liceu of Barcelona and the Teatro Real.

Lessons in Love and Violence by Benjamin, From (2021/2021), Directed by Katie Mitchell,, Conductor Josep Pons, Teatro Real, Madrid, Spain

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Co-Producer

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues