A Swallow does make a Summer

British Youth Opera's Summer season this year gives us the chance to hear Jonathan Dove's first full length opera. The Little Green Swallow was written in 1994 and has a text based on the 18th century writer Carlo Gozzi's tale which was a sequel to The Love of Three Oranges. Setting an English translation of Gozzi by Adam Pollock, Dove gives us a fairytale world of singing apples, talking statues and dangerous quests which picks up 18 years after Prokofiev's opera. BYO's production is directed by Stuart Barker and conducted by Lionel Friend. It runs at the Peacock Theatre on 8, 11 and 13 September and uses a cast of 14.

Dove's The Little Green Swallow was commissioned by the Batignano Festival and premiered there in 1994. It received its UK premiere 2005 when it was performed by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (who recently performed Dove's Pinocchio). BYO have already performed Dove's opera Flight, giving the third UK production of the opera in 2008 (Flight was premiered at Glyndebourne). You can see part of BYO's production of Jonathan Dove's Flight on YouTube.

BYO is all about giving young singers opportunities and help, so the season also includes three public masterclasses, with Susan Bullock (7/9/2014), Edward Gardner (7/9/2014), and Diana Montague and David Rendall (9/9/2014). Full information on all the events from the British Youth Opera website.