Paul Whelan

A team of scientists becomes trapped in the frozen Arctic wastelands. Tensions rise and relationships crumble, and then something appears, out of the ice. This fourth collaboration between composer Stuart MacRae and librettist Louise Welsh is their most ambitious to date. With unrelenting drama and superb storytelling, Anthropocene engages with the crucial issues of our time – climate change, sacrifice and our ceaseless quest for knowledge.

Mythology goes to church in New Zealand Opera's unique, site-specific staging of Handel's baroque masterpiece. This sensual story explores a love triangle between Jupiter, King of the Gods, his wife, the goddess Juno, and his lover, the mortal but overly ambitious princess Semele. This engrossing film of an in-the-round live performance showcases Handel's exquisitely lyrical music and presents a powerful story of ambition that is as relevant today as it was when written nearly three centuries ago.

When a spirited peasant girl is promised to a stranger, she uses every last ounce of cunning and charm to thwart her parents’ plans and get the man she actually loves. From the vibrant overture to the riotous polka, Smetana places dance at the heart of his sparkling work. This festive celebration of Czech culture and identity is re-imagined into the heart of the English countryside with this new production at Garsington Opera.