Company

Singer

Tenor

Steven van der Linden

Satyavān

Soprano

Louisa Stirland

The Bird

Bass-baritone

Emyr Lloyd Jones

Blond Eckbert

Jonah Halton

Waltherd

Hugo

Lorna McLean

Sāvitri

Die alte Frau

London

United Kingdom

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Timothy Redmond

Conductor

Stage director

Ashley Dean

Set designer

Anna Bonomelli

Lighting designer

Andrew May

Repetiteur

Aleksandra Myslek

Michael Rose

Yongqiu Yuan

GSMD Silk Street Theatre

Opera Double Bill: Sāvitri & Blond Eckbert

Opera Double Bill: Sāvitri & Blond Eckbert: Savîtrî Holst (+1 More)

Public

Opera

Savitri

Approved

German

Two imaginative and haunting British chamber operas from opposite ends of the 20th century feature in Guildhall School’s summer opera double bill., directed by Ashley Dean and conducted by Timothy Redmond.

Composed in 1916, Holst’s 35-minute opera Sāvitri tells the story of the title character’s devotion to her husband Satyavan in the face of Death. Based on an episode from a Sanskrit epic, Holst used his studies of this ancient language to translate the story into his own English libretto, which combines with colourful orchestration to explore the power of love and questions of mortality.

Judith Weir also wrote her own libretto for her 1993 work Blond Eckbert, taking inspiration from the dark fairy tale by Romantic German writer Ludwig Tieck. The eerie and captivating opera by the Master of the King’s Music tells the story of Eckbert and his wife Berthe, whose solitary life together in the forest unravels after a mysterious visitor opens up a disturbing door to the past. This Guildhall production offers the chance to hear the one-act, pocket version of the opera.

“One of the gems of early 20th-century British music” – The Guardian on Sāvitri

“Hauntingly beautiful” – The Telegraph on Blond Eckbert
 

Please note that this production contains adult content, including themes of violence, death, suicide and mental illness. Haze will be used.

Opera Double Bill: Sāvitri & Blond Eckbert by Gustav Holst, Judith Weir, From Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2023/2023), Directed by Ashley Dean,, Conductor Timothy Redmond

Credits (Cast & Crew)

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Timothy Redmond

Ashley Dean

Cast

Steven van der Linden

Lorna McLean

Crew

Anna Bonomelli

Andrew May

Aleksandra Myslek

Michael Rose

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos 1

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues 4