Opera North’s eagerly-anticipated staging of Wagner's last great opera, Parsifal, will tour to concert halls across the country after opening in the company’s home city of Leeds from June 1-10.
The tour includes stops at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall (June 12), Nottingham (June 15) and Sage Gateshead (June 18) before closing at London's Royal Festival Hall on June 26.
Parsifal is the latest of Opera North’s adaptations of large-scale music works into concert-hall productions. The performances include minimal props and costumes and concentrate on fine singing and the sound of the 90-piece orchestra.
The performances will mark the return to the company of conductor Richard Farnes, who led the company’s acclaimed concert staging of the Ring cycle in 2016: "I’m delighted to be working with such a terrific cast, many of whom are fresh to the piece, and to be returning to the wonderful chorus and orchestra of Opera North,” he said.
Making their role debuts in this production will be Brindley Sherratt as Gurnemanz and Toby Spence as Parsifal, joined by Katarina Karneus as Kundry, Robert Hayward as Amfortas and Derek Welton as Klingsor.
Following successful trials over the last two years, pre-recorded audio description will be broadcast to mobile devices at all performances, ensuring that people can enjoy the opera even if they are unable to read the surtitles.