WORLD PREMIERE: LESSONS IN LOVE AND VIOLENCE (ROH)

George Benjamin’s & Martin Crimp’s “Lessons in Love and Violence” premieres at the Royal Opera House.

“Lessons in Love and Violence”, the new opera by composer George Benjamin and playwright Martin Crimp, two of Britain’s most celebrated artists, received a glowing reception from audiences and critics alike on its world premiere on 10th May 2018 at the Royal Opera House in London.

Stage director Katie Mitchell and designer Vicki Mortimer, the creative team behind “Written on Skin” (2012), chose a modern day setting for “Lessons in Love and Violence”, which tells the powerful and thrilling story of King Edward II whose romantic relationship with the Earl of Cornwall, Piers Gaveston, tears his country and his family apart.

The set of the “beautifully detailed production” (The Guardian) is an elegant bedroom, viewed from different sides in each scene. Barbara Hannigan, as “outstanding as ever” (The Financial Times) in her role as the King’s wife Isabel, leads the hand-picked cast that includes Stéphane Degout, who delivers a finely detailed performance as the King, and Gyula Orendt as Gaveston. Peter Hoare plays the henchman Mortimer with a fearsome authority. Benjamin’s fascinating score, performed by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, is “flawless” (The Daily Telegraph) in its pacing and balance and is conducted by the composer in “an outstanding performance” (The Stage). “George Benjamin and Martin Crimp have done it again!” (New York Times)

A production of Royal Opera House, BBC, François Roussillon et Associés, arte concert and medici.tv in cooperation with Unitel.