Fulham Opera to Present U.K. Premiere of ‘Die Ägyptische Helena’

By David Salazar

Fulham Opera has announced the U.K. premiere of  Strauss’ “Die Ägyptische Helena” this October.

The showcase, which kicks off on Oct. 19 – 31, 2021, will take place at St. John’s Church, Fulham, London. The opera will be performed in a new orchestration by Paul Plummer, directed by Guido Martin-Brandis. Plummer’s orchestration will reduce Strauss’ original work to just six players, who will perform under Ben Woodward.

“’Die Ägyptische Helena’ is a fascinating piece not only for its dramatic complexity, but for the fact that it remains largely unknown despite containing one of Strauss’s best-known arias, ‘Zweite Brautnach,’” Fulham Opera’s Artistic Director, Ben Woodward, said in a press statement. “The cast and musical team we have for this production is a luxury, each of them bringing their vast experience and huge enthusiasm for the music. As with many of our previous productions, Helena is an absolutely massive undertaking, but this is what Fulham Opera does – we want to make the grandest works of opera accessible to people, and doing this piece with a new orchestration in a local venue does just that.”

The cast will be headlined by Justine Viani, Brian Smith-Walters, Luci Briginshaw, Oliver Gibbs, Dominic J. Walsh, Ingeborg Børch, Liza Graham, Christine Buras, Natasha Elliott, Liz Stock, Maggie Cooper, Rosalind O’Dowd, Corrine Hart, Rebecca Moulton, Donya Rafati, Kester Guy-Briscoe, Jack Stone, Robin Whitehouse, and Graham Wheeler.

 

 

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