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World Premiere of George Benjamin's Lessons in Love and Violence

May. 03, 2018

World Premiere of George Benjamin's <em>Lessons in Love and Violence</em>

On May 10, George Benjamin leads the world premiere performance of his third opera Lessons in Love and Violence at the Royal Opera House in London. Benjamin's new opera is once again the result of a collaboration with playwright Martin Crimp who supplied the text for the composer's remarkable second opera, Written on Skin, hailed immediately following its premiere as a masterwork of the 21st century. Director Katie Mitchell and designer Vicki Mortimer, the team behind the first production of Written on Skin, complete the creative team. Principal roles are sung by Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare, Gyula Orendt, Samuel Boden, Jennifer France, Andri Björn Róbertsson, and Krisztina Szabó.

Andrew Dickson of The New York Times notes, "...also like [Written on] Skin, while the setting may seem remote, the passions are anything but. Mr. Benjamin's music surges with volatile feeling; in Mr. Crimp's libretto, the relationship between the king and Gaveston, the favorite in question, is both heady and fraught with risk." To read the full article, please click here.

Lessons in Love and Violence is a co-commission and co-production by the Dutch National Opera (July 2018), Hamburg State Opera (April 2019), Opéra de Lyon (May 2019), Lyric Opera of Chicago (2020/21 Season), Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona (March 2021) and Teatro Real, Madrid (April/May 2021), with thanks to the generous philanthropic support from the Monument Trust.

Listen to an excerpt from George Benjamin’s Written on Skin (2012) here:


(Excerpt from Written on Skin/George Benjamin/Kungliga Operan/Lawrence Renes, conductor)


To learn more about George Benjamin, please visit fabermusic.com

George Benjamin
Lessons in Love and Violence (2017)
opera in two parts
text by Martin Crimp
100’

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