| Longborough Festival Opera | ||
| Anthony Negus | Conductor | |
| Alan Privett | Director | |
| Faye Bradley | Set Designer | |
| Longborough Festival Opera Orchestra | ||
| Helena Dix | Soprano | The Primadonna (Ariadne) |
| Jonathan Stoughton | Tenor | The Tenor (Bacchus) |
| Robyn Allegra Parton | Soprano | Zerbinetta |
| Clare Presland | Mezzo-soprano | Composer |
| Alice Privett | Soprano | Echo |
| Suzanne Fischer | Soprano | Naiad |
| Flora McIntosh | Mezzo-soprano | Dryad |
| Harry Nicoll | Tenor | Dancing Master |
| Richard Roberts | Tenor | Scaramuccio |
| Darren Jeffery | Baritone | Music Master |
| Timothy Dawkins | Bass-baritone | Truffaldino |
| Aidan Coburn | Tenor | Brighella |
| David Padua | Tenor | Officer |
| Julien Van Mellaerts | Bass | Harlequin |
| Ricardo Panela | Baritone | Wigmaker |
| Samuel Oram | Bass | Lackey |
| Anthony Wise | Actor | The Major-Domo |
Ancient Greek myth is ingeniously interwoven with Commedia dell'arte, as the music of Richard Strauss comes to Longborough for the first time.
Musicians, singers and actors prepare for a serious opera, to be followed by a burlesque troupe. To avoid running late it is decided that the two entertainments be performed simultaneously, and the performers, tragic and comic alike, must tailor their efforts to their employer's requirements.
This absurd predicament is the setting for Strauss’s musical exploration of the bitter-sweet nature of love, culminating in a duet in which Hofmannsthal's magical idea of poetic transformation is perfectly allied to the sublimity of Strauss's music.
Longborough's Music Director Anthony Negus joins forces with Alan Privett, director of Tannhäuser in 2016 and Longborough’s monumental 2013 Ring cycle.
Sung in German with English surtitles.
Part of Longborough's 2018 season, which also includes Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, Verdi's La traviata, and Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea.
