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I’ve always loved the wittiness of the title of the Arcola’s opera festival, which returns for the 15th year with a baker’s dozen of operas, some new and some old. Look out for Baseless Fabric’s Carmen that reimagines Bizet’s story for today with supermarket checkout girl, Carmen, flirting with security guard, Don Jose. Dame Ethel Smyth’s The Boatswain’s Mate returns after its success at Grimeborn in 2018, and Bartok’s fabulous Bluebeard’s Castle is given a production by Green Opera with an eye to exploring male fantasy and the muse-artist relationship. I love the sound too of Red Gray and Sarah Nicolls’ new opera, The Unravelling Fantasia of Miss H, inspired by the defiant embroidery of Mary Frances Heaton who was held in Wakefield Asylum in the 19th century. There is much more so check out the website.
About The Boatswain’s Mate
“Fix a date for Dreamland Margate…” June 1953: peace reigns in Europe, and the waters of the English Channel are troubled only by holidaymakers, as Britain celebrates the coronation of its new Queen. Young and old alike have flocked to Margate for summer loving and strolls on the promenade. But at a quiet pub set back from the seafront, the landlady has a nuisance on her hands. She’s confronted with a suitor who simply won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. And, when he comes up with a last-ditch plan to win her heart, our formidable heroine gives him more than he’d bargained for… Spectra Ensemble returns to Grimeborn with its acclaimed revival of this 1914 opera by Suffragette composer Ethel Smyth, complete with all the quintessential sounds and sights of British summertime.