Trouble in Tahiti / A Quiet Place Tickets

Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), London, Great Britain

All photos (5)

1 / 5

Available Dates: 10 - 24 Oct, 2024 (9 events)

Important Info

Type: Opera

City: London, Great Britain

Duration: 2h 40min with 1 interval

Intervals: 1

Sung in: English

Titles in: English

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast

Performers

Choose the date to see the peformers

Creators

Composer: Leonard Bernstein

Librettist: Leonard Bernstein

Director: Oliver Mears

Librettist: Stephen Wadsworth

Overview

Portraits of a family, 30 years apart, in two Leonard Bernstein operas.

Oliver Mears directs a new production of Bernstein’s operas in which one family’s fate becomes a microcosm for the troubled soul of America.

With catchy tunes and show-stopping numbers, Leonard Bernstein’s musical theatre credentials shine through in Trouble in Tahiti. A Quiet Place marks a radical, daring departure. Oliver Mears brings Leonard Bernstein’s rarely-performed operas to the Linbury Theatre in a new production with a small ensemble arrangement, ideally suited to an intimate theatre space. Conductor Nicholas Chalmers makes his debut with The Royal Opera in both works, which star Henry Neill and Wallis Giunta – also debuting – in Trouble in Tahiti, and Grant Doyle, Henry Neill and Rowan Pierce in A Quiet Place.

LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Leonard Bernstein was a hugely influential figure of 20th-century musical and popular culture. A gifted conductor and a skilled music educator, he was responsible for introducing a new generation to classical music through his performances and televised musical lectures. As a composer, he found success in the world of musical theatre, composing the score of On the Town in 1944, and the award-winning music for West Side Story in 1957.

MUSIC OF SATIRE AND SYMPHONY
Bernstein satirises the American consumerist ideal in Trouble in Tahiti with a close-harmony trio who sing advertising slogans and jarringly jolly tunes, while Sam and Dinah struggle to find happiness. In A Quiet Place, the introspective instrumental sections contrast with the conflict-driven ensembles, where we see the family trading insults and accusations at breakneck speed.

ART IMITATING LIFE?
Bernstein wrote much of Trouble in Tahiti while on honeymoon with his wife, the actor Felicia Montealegre. Given that the opera is a study in marital discord, this an unusual choice. A Quiet Place was composed in the aftermath of Felicia's death from cancer and sees Bernstein pouring his grief into the music and the story. The opera also touches on themes of bisexuality – again, personal to Bernstein – through the character of François, who is married to Dede, but who has a romantic history with her brother, Junior.

History

Premiere of this production: 12 June 1952, Brandeis University

Trouble in Tahiti is a one-act opera in seven scenes composed by Leonard Bernstein with an English libretto by the composer. It is the darkest among Bernstein's "musicals", and one of only two for which he wrote the words and the music.

Premiere of this production: 17 June 1983, Houston Grand Opera

A Quiet Place is a 1983 American opera with music by Leonard Bernstein and a libretto by Stephen Wadsworth. It is a sequel to Bernstein's 1951 opera Trouble in Tahiti.

Venue Info

Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) - London
Bow St, Covent Garden

The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in London and Great Britain. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Originally called the Theatre Royal, it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, Handel's first season of operas began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there.

The current building is the third theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, but almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive reconstruction in the 1990s. The main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high. The main auditorium is a Grade I listed building.

The Royal Opera, under the direction of Antonio Pappano, is one of the world’s leading opera companies. Based in the iconic Covent Garden theatre, it is renowned both for its outstanding performances of traditional opera and for commissioning new works by today’s leading opera composers, such as Harrison Birtwistle, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Thomas Adès.

The Royal Ballet is one of the world’s greatest ballet companies. Under the directorship of Kevin O’Hare, the Company unites tradition and innovation in world-class performances at our Covent Garden home.

The Company’s extensive repertory embraces 19th-century classics, the singular legacy of works by Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton and Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan and a compelling new canon by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon.

The Orchestra performs in concerts of their own, including performances at the Royal Opera House with Antonio Pappano. They have also performed at venues worldwide including Symphony Hall (Birmingham), Cadogan Hall, the Vienna Konzerthaus and on tour with The Royal Opera.

Members of the Orchestra play an active role in events across the Royal Opera House, including working with the Learning and Participation teams. The Orchestra accompanies performances that are streamed all over the world, including through cinema screenings and broadcasts. They appear on many CDs and DVDs including Pappano’s acclaimed studio recording of Tristan und Isolde with Plácido Domingo and Nina Stemme.

The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House was founded in 1946 when the Royal Opera House reopened after World War II.