Pioneering opera company Tête à Tête is delighted to announce the full programme for its third and biggest Tête à Tête – The Opera Festival.   Some 400 artists from across the operatic spectrum will fill Riverside Studios to bursting point with a programme of entirely 21st century works.  

The Festival continues to grow apace, quenching the thirst of established stars and hot new talents from the world of opera, plus dance, pop, circus, theatre, literature and visual art, for a space to explore the possibilities of drama and storytelling led by music and the voice. Over an action-packed three weeks audiences can enjoy up to 6 shows a night and be welcomed into the creative process to become part of the most forward-looking opera happening today. First the three tenors put the opera into football; now Tête à Tête puts the kick back into opera.

Following the highlights announced in June, including Sally Burgess’ directorial debut (Ula), the London premiere of Opera North’s The Weatherman, Errollyn and Byron Wallen’s first artistic collaboration plus a weekend celebrating youth and community opera with Glyndebourne and Welsh National Opera, more fully staged performances and works-in-progress than ever before complete this year’s programme.

Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer The Opera/ BBC Kombat Operas) appears for one night only with The Emergency Recital, which will plumb the shallows of his cavernous X-rated song cycle, 1001 Songs About Anything: featuring Richard Thomas on the early consort spinnet, Loré Lixenberg on Howling and Adey Grummet on Wailing.

Beloved National Treasure and poet Ian McMillan joins charming composer Ben Park for First Law Of Motion as part of an evening which explores the possibilities of movement in opera, along with Medousa and Little Instruments of Apprehension.

As I Have Now Memoyre sees an extraordinary performance event where a sculptural work of art evolves in front of the audiences’ eyes, created by Nicholas Brown and featuring leading soprano Linda Hirst. 

Following the huge success of The Woman Who Liked To Be Thrown Around in 2007’s Festival, Madestrange invite audiences into their laboratory to be the first to see their latest show Songs of A Recollected Lover, while Impropera bring opera so new they make it up as they go along, in a kind of operatic Whose Line Is it Anyway.

Sneak previews of Tête à Tête’s future shows can also be seen across the Festival as works in progress.  Following the success of 2008’s brilliant Lite Bite Agony of the Knifethrower’s Assistant, Adey Grummet and Mike Henry have developed Circus Tricks, which sees three brilliantly executed vignettes about three circus performers desperate to break the daily cycle of their act. Similarly built on the success of their 2008 Lite Bite, Young composer Laura Bowler and librettist Alasdair Middleton also join forces for the dark re-telling of fairy tales in Far Away Long Ago.

A great hit in the 2008 Festival, Tête a Tête will again rehearse, develop and perform four brand new super-short operas all over Riverside Studios, in foyers, theatres, and public places across the borough including: Ravenscourt Park, Bishop’s Park, Lyric Square and Fulham Palace. 

This year’s Lite Bites include: Golden Years (music: Jordan Hunt, words: La JohnJoseph) which sees the Upper Clapton Senior Citizens Light Operatic Society back in town; Lear TV (music: Joanna Lee, words: Howard Skempton) winner of this year’s Stephen Oliver Award for her work with Tête à Tête, Joanna’s piece is inspired by Edward Lear’s The Duck and the Kangaroo and set in a US news channel; Toxic Assets (music: Joe Cutler, words: Peter Burt) a modern day parable based on our current credit crunch times and The Inventor... by Dominique Le Gendre.  With the crack Tête a Tête creative team and cast behind them, this year’s Lite Bites will be sure to delight everyone who comes across them.

As part of Tête à Tête’s celebration of the importance of community and family opera as among the most significant forums for new writing, this year’s festival presents the UK premiere of Piosenki, David Bruce’s (Push!) dramatic song cycle for children, following its recent Carnegie Hall debut given by Dawn Upshaw, together with the London premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s folk-fairytale one woman oratorio From Fair Eleanor to Sweet William, both performed by CHROMA.

Tête à Tête has a long history of creating inclusive experiences in opera and the Festival continues to welcome people from all cultures, genders and backgrounds on equal terms as valued and treasured artists:

“the festival is diverse in the genuine sense of the word: meaning that it engenders and fosters the creativity of people from different artistic, musical and theatrical idioms, inviting a surprisingly eclectic array of talented artists to enter what feels like an inclusive hot-house of possibilities and adventure. For my own part the festival embraced the unusual form of work I had created and provided me with a context in which to present the material prior to its premiere and to an audience I may never have anticipated encountering.” 
Christopher Simpson, (2008 Festival performer)