Director

Too operatic, too dramatic, not appropriate for the occasion – the worshippers at Leipzig's St. Nicholas Church were not enthusiastic on Good Friday in 1724 when Johann Sebastian Bach had his "St. John Passion" performed there for the first time. Indeed, Bach goes beyond a simple setting of the Passion of Jesus and fully exploits the dramatic potential inherent in the text of the Gospel of John, using all musical means at his disposal. The numerous choral scenes, in particular, lend the work an almost theatrical impact. And although it is a biblical story that is being told here, it is the great, universal human themes that are at stake: loyalty and betrayal, suffering and compassion, denial and forgiveness.

St. John Passion

Theater Aachen

Opera and dance combine in this story with a dark heart and strong contemporary resonance.

EPSG:4326

Opera North - Susanna

Theatre Royal Nottingham

Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snowmaiden is a classic coming of age tale packed with colour and folk melodies, vividly conjuring up the conflict between real and mythical worlds as the Snowmaiden falls under the spell of the mortal villagers living nearby.

The Snowmaiden

Buxton Opera House

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.

The Hawth Crawley

University of Exeter

Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts

Saffron Hall

Snape Maltings

Violetta, a high-spirited, popular courtesan. Alfredo, her devoted but naive lover. The rural bliss they choose is shattered by fear of scandal. When their love reasserts itself, she is already on her deathbed. Opera’s most moving reunion.

La traviata

Cork Opera House

The Gaiety Theatre

National Opera House

There are worse places to find yourself trapped than Club Amnesia. Here, Alcina – performance artist extraordinaire – captivates the men who swarm around her, bending their minds, and reality, to her will. But when she meets Ruggiero, her heart finally softens. Then Ruggiero’s fiancée – disguised as a man to rescue her lost lover – arrives, and a clash of head and heart threatens to shatter the magic, hedonism, and fantasy of Alcina’s illusions.

Alcina

Festival Theatre Edinburgh

Theatre Royal Glasgow

Olivia Fuchs, director of 2025’s five-star The Makropulos Affair, transports Handel’s romantic fantasy to the vibrant, flamboyant, all-intoxicating club scene, joyfully toying with opera’s power and gender dynamics.

Director

Olivia Fuchs

Events

Upcoming events

6 - 27 Feb, 2027

Alcina · Scottish Opera

25 - 27 Feb, 2027

Alcina · Capital Theatres

Past events

Mar 15, 2026

St. John Passion · Theater Aachen

Nov 21, 2025

Opera North - Susanna · Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall

About

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