Tete a Tete: The Opera Festival on the move

Tete a Tete: The Opera Festival has been an exciting fixture on the London opera scene for a number of years. It is a festival like no other, with a bewildering array of new work. What you might see can vary from traditional opera to music theatre to drama which seems hardly opera at all, but it is all challenging and all exciting. Opera at the cutting edge. This year, the festival moves from the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, to Central St. Martins (24/7 - 3/8) and King's Place (7/8-10/8). There are over 30 world premieres with over 100 performances not only at Central St. Martins and Kings Place, but also on the streets and public spaces.

This year there are 12 new works by women composers, including Errolyn Warren's Anon (a WNO commission based on interviews with sex workers). Lore Lixenberg presents a one woman show April in the Amazon with music by Laurence Osborn. Leo Geyer returns to the festival (see my review of his previous opera, The Mermaid of Zennor) with Sideshows, Edward Lambert presents Catfish Conundrum (see Jill Barlow's review of his previous opera, Six Characters in Search of a Stage), Edward Henderson's Manspangled makes an appearance after its try-out at Second Movement's Rough for Opera, Stephen Crow presents his song cycle The Dorty Letters of James Joyce and English Touring Opera brings their family opera Rumbled.

Full information from the festival website.