| Welsh National Opera | ||
| Leo Hussain | Direction | |
| Olivia Fuchs | Mise en scène | |
| Nicola Turner | Décors, Costumes | |
| Robbie Butler | Lumières | |
| Orchestra of Welsh National Opera | ||
| Chorus of Welsh National Opera | ||
| Sam Sharples | Vidéaste | |
| Riccardo Saggese | Circus artist | Jaschiu |
| Firenza Guidi | Circus director | |
| Mark Le Brocq | Ténor | Gustav von Aschenbach |
| Roderick Williams | Baryton | Le Voyageur, le Vieux Dandy, le Vieux Gondolier, le Directeur de l’hôtel, le Barbier de l’hôtel, le Chef des baladins, la Voix de Dionysos |
| Alexander Chance | Contre-ténor | La Voix d’Apollon |
| Carolyn Jackson | Soprano | La Femme danoise |
| Meriel Andrew | Soprano | La Femme anglaise, La Vendeuse de dentelle |
| Angharad Morgan | Soprano | La Marchande de journaux |
| Fiona Harrison-Wolfe | Soprano | La Mère russe |
| Helen Greenaway | Mezzo-soprano | La Nourrice russe |
| Emily Christina Loftus | Soprano | La Vendeuse de fraises |
| Stella Woodman | Mezzo-soprano | La Mère allemande |
| Claire Hampton | Soprano | La Baladine |
| Alun Rhys-Jenkins | Ténor | Le Souffleur de verre |
| Peter Van Hulle | Ténor | Le Portier |
| Rhodri Prys-Jones | Ténor | Le Baladin |
| Stephen Wells | Basse | Le Guide |
| Gareth Brynmor John | Baryton | L'Agent de voyage anglais |
| Martin Lloyd | Basse | Le Serveur |
| Alastair Moore | Baryton | Le Père russe |
| Antony César | Danse | Tadzio |
In the search for beauty and meaning, the renowned author Gustav von Aschenbach travels to Venice on a whim. In the sultry atmosphere of a cholera epidemic, with the scirocco blowing, he falls in love with Tadzio, a youthful aristocrat who is staying in the same hotel with his family. As Aschenbach projects his loneliness and desire on him, fantasy and imagination intermingle with existence. His obsession progresses to a fever pitch as he becomes increasingly divorced from reality.
Inspired by the original Thomas Mann novella, Britten’s magnificently atmospheric opera comes to life in this new production from WNO, creating images of ravishing beauty, as well as exploring the grotesque hidden beneath the search for the sublime. As poetic worlds of the imagination collide with reality, the early 20th century acts as a mirror to our times.