Stories

Poseidon's avenging dragon

In return, he promises to sacrifice the first living creature he spies upon landing in Crete. That creature turns out to be his own son, Idamante, and the relieved king ignores his promise to Poseidon, in the hope that he will not be forced to kill his heir. 

King Idomeneo's sacrificial altar

Mozart in space

Mozart's music was once shot into space as part of an archive for extra terrestrials on NASA’s 1977 Voyager mission. As the Sherbourne Building in Ladywood’s Icknield Square echoes with the sound of cellos, trumpets, hammers and saws, in preparation for the opening night, and a chorus made up of members of the public jostle their way onto the shop floor between piles of rubble and diggers, one wonders what the composer would have thought if he could see his first major opera, which he wrote at just 24 years old, being staged on an artificial beach in an old rubber factory.

Chorus rehearsals

Re-writing the rules

The company has a reputation for opening opera out to a wider audience, by taking performances to unexpected venues, and casting members of the public in the acting and singing chorus. Colin Clapp is one of the chorus members, who got involved along with his local choir: "This is my very first time in an opera- in anything to tell the truth. We've had so many rehearsals, I don't feel nervous anymore, but who knows how it will be on the night?"

The enormous factory floor

Company Director Graham Vick has headed productions all over the world, from Milan to St. Petersburg, and he spent 8 years as Director of Productions at Glyndebourne.

Rehearsals on the factory floor

In the past, Vick has led productions in remote Highland communities, and staged West Side Story in an abandoned mill in Yorkshire, amongst other bizarre projects. The company has won several awards for its avant garde performances, and its version of Fidelio, set in a circus tent outside Villa Park, was filmed for BBC4.

King Idomeneo's Realm

Raising questions

At a time when some of Birmingham's finest old buildings are falling to make way for new apartments, this opera raises important questions about how disused spaces can be re-evaluated and appreciated after their 'useful' life is over. Its bid to combine the old and the contemporary in its choice of production, venue and staging, makes the point that cultural artefacts from our past, be they architectural, geographical or musical, are still very relevant and worth exploring today.