Organization

Lighting designer

Adam Silverman

Sound designer

Simon Hendry

Stage director

Ola Ince

Conductor

Jonathon Heyward

Video designer

Akhila Krishnan

Singer

Baritone

Peter Brathwaite

Martin Carter

Soprano

Nia Coleman

Soprano 1

Sarah Dacey

Soprano 2

Mezzo-soprano

Beth Moxon

Royal Opera House

English

New Dark Age

London

United Kingdom

Main Stage

The cast and creative team behind The Royal Opera's The Knife of Dawn discuss the process of creating this new opera.

Hannah Kendall’s one-act chamber opera The Knife of Dawn tells the gripping story of Guyanese political activist and poet Martin Carter as he reaches the 28th – and most critical – day of his hunger strike in protest at British rule. Will poetry or death be the most effective way to serve his country?

A one-man monologue performed by Peter Brathwaite, The Knife of Dawn swings from despair to hope and everything in between in an exhilaratingly intense depiction of the personal struggles and hallucinations of a politically-engaged artist.

Kendall and librettist Tessa McWatt, who share their Guyanese heritage with Carter, have created a chamber opera of great beauty and intricacy for small Orchestra – while break-through director Ola Ince creates a visionary, total theatre production for the Royal Opera House stage.

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Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew