A miniature masterpiece of love, loss and transformation.
Composed in 1718 for private performance in the gardens of the Duke of Chandos’s palace, and based on an episode in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Handel’s tragicomic serenata is a miniature masterpiece of love, loss and transformation.
Birdsong and murmuring waters weave through the music as the sea nymph Galatea and the shepherd Acis celebrate their mutual love, enraging the lustful cyclops, Polyphemus. When Polyphemus attacks Acis, the shepherd is transformed into a natural spring, forever at one with the idyllic landscape and the tears of his beloved nymph.
Louise Bakker directs Opera Holland Park’s first production of a Handel opera. Former Opera Holland Park Young Artist and alumnus of the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker scheme Michael Papadopoulos conducts, with Anthony Gregory and Elizabeth Karani as the lovers, Acis and Galatea. South African bass-baritone Chuma Sijeqa takes the role of Polyphemus, the cyclops driven mad by unrequited passion.
Every summer, the Opera Holland Park theatre is built on the terrace of the Grade I listed Holland House to accommodate an audience of over 800 from across the capital and beyond. Surrounded by the beautiful formal gardens and renowned Kyoto Garden of Holland Park, the theatre is a unique venue in which to enjoy critically acclaimed opera, welcoming over 30,000 visitors each summer for over 27 years.
Tickets from £24, Running time 2 hours 5 minutes including a 30-minute interval
£40 tickets (£15 tickets for Under 30s) will go on sale every Monday the week of the performance. Further Information: Monday Rush - Opera Holland Park
TICKETS: Book Online - Opera Holland Park