Nevill Holt Opera’s summer festival features two outstanding female directors, Anna Morrissey and Adele Thomas, at the forefront of the exciting 2019 programme.
The festival will open with a new production of Britten’s magical masterpiece A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Anna Morrissey, who has worked on over 40 productions with companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House, The National Theatre, The Old Vic, and Manchester Royal Exchange.
Additionally, Adele Thomas will take the helm of an elegant art-deco staging of Cosi Fan Tutte – Mozart’s high energy tale of love, temptation and partner-swapping.
Nevill Holt Opera’s Summer Festival runs 12th June – 2nd July.
You’re both directing at Nevill Holt Opera’s Summer Festival, what can you tell us about the season?
Anna: For A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I feel that the production and vision is encapsulated in the three words of its title: midsummer, night and dream. It’s a midsummer festival; night time which Britten was obsessed with; and dream which exposes the hinterland of our subconscious where repressed emotions, thoughts and feelings surface.
Adele: Cosi fan Tutte is a living silent movie; It’s funny, wild and in the second act it’s unexpectedly moving. The opera is about four young lovers who are almost playing musical chairs as their love is tested. As the characters are really young so it’s a brilliant opera to showcase young emerging singers.
There’s no shortage of male directors in opera, how does it feel having two female directors in this season?
Anna: Yes it’s great that women are directing and coming into opera – it’s fantastic. I’m truly thrilled to be doing it as a women and as an artist.
Adele: It feels normal. This should be completely normal.
Do you think opera in general is starting to realise the importance of having female directors to curate these stories? What more do you think opera and the arts could do improve female representation?
Adele: Opera is such a female dominated world in many respects, as so much of the canon is written for sopranos. I come from theatre in which the landscape is dominated by the influence of Shakespeare, who wrote exclusively for a male company. What is sad and strange about opera is that the women who are the eponymous characters in many operas, have traditionally been curated by male directors’ voices. With Così fan tutte, when I was researching it the first time round, I spoke to a lot of male directors to find out the challenges and they said is that no women have characteristics in the opera! It’s been my mission to change that perception; they’re full of character and as a woman I’m not going to let that happen.
What do you think you can bring to your respective pieces that a male director may not have been able to?
Anna: As a woman I’m trying to foreground the experiences of the female characters that are sometimes overlooked or minimised.
Both your backgrounds are predominantly in theatre direction, and even choreography. How do you feel about directing an opera?
Adele: I always wanted to be an opera director and the first time walked into rehearsal room I felt like I had come home. It’s where my heart and art is. Every play I’ve worked on there’s always been live music. I’ve worked with groups in past such from rock bands to choirs, so this feels like the natural thing for me.
Anna: I’ve had extensive experience in theatre and choreography but this is my first opera that I’m directing. I’m absolutely thrilled to have this experience and we are having great fun in the rehearsal room. The cast are extremely strong and excellent movers and I’m really excited to making something that feels very live and dynamic. I love making work with Nic Chalmers and so although it’s my first opera as director it feels like home.
