A Visit to Friends is an opera about love. Or, more accurately, about love’s frustrations. Drawing on Anton Chekhov’s short story and William Boyd’s Chekhovian play Longing, Colin Matthews’ opera (with libretto written by William Boyd) is, beguilingly, an opera within an opera, with music strongly influenced by Scriabin.

Aldeburgh Festival Opera: A Visit To Friends

Snape Maltings

The Snowmaiden has lived her whole life under the watchful eye of her parents, Grandfather Frost and Spring Beauty, hidden from the heat of the sun. Jealous of the passionate lives of the mortal villagers living nearby, she begs her parents to let her join them – but discovers her heart of ice means she cannot fall in love. As the Snowmaiden becomes fascinated by a boy in the village, her wish to find true happiness comes with dire consequences.

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The Snowmaiden

Buxton Opera House

The Hawth Crawley

University of Exeter

Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts

Saffron Hall

Sherlock Holmes and The Sign of Four

Leeds Beckett University

Christian Curnyn conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales as they perform works by Rebel, Purcell and Haydn.

Haydn's Nelson Mass

Wales Millennium Centre

If your Christmas plans aren’t complete until you’ve got a performance of Handel’s Messiah in the diary then look no further than critically-acclaimed opera company Wild Arts (★★★★★ Opera Now, ★★★★ The Guardian) for this year’s festive fix.

Edward Hawkins

Events

Upcoming events

Dec 9, 2025

Handel’s Messiah · Sinfonia Smith Square

Past events

13 - 14 Jun, 2025

Aldeburgh Festival Opera: A Visit To Friends · Aurora Orchestra

Oct 12 - Nov 16, 2024

The Snowmaiden · English Touring Opera

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Messiah by Handel

Sinfonia Smith Square

Gregor in A Visit to Friends by Matthews

Aurora Orchestra

Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and The Sign of Four by Paterson

Northern Opera Group

About

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