Sondheim: Before and After

The National Opera Studio presents Sondheim: Before & After at Hoxton Hall in London on 14-15 June 2022.

Press release

Celebrated British opera director Keith Warner (who was a friend of Sondheim) and the Young Artists of the National Opera Studio come together to present a very special production celebrating the work of Stephen Sondheim. The show features some of his most celebrated works (Sweeney Todd, Company, Follies, Assassins, Sunday in the Park with George and A Little Night Music) alongside music by composers who he admired (Britten, Berg, Ravel) and by American composers who have learned from his legacy (Jake Heggie, Jeanine Tesori, Nico Muhly, Missy Mazzoli).

Warner’s semi-staged production – accompanied by NOS’s repetiteurs – weaves comedy, mystery and tragedy into one highly-entertaining performance.

Keith Warner is one of the most sought-after directors in the UK. His production of Berg’s Wozzeck at the London Royal Opera House was awarded the Olivier Award as “best opera production 2003“. The production had its revival in 2013. In the last couple of years he has staged at opera houses in Berlin, Vienna, London, Copenhagen, Brussels, Frankfurt, Dresden, Hamburg, Warsaw, Strasbourg and Tokyo, among others. His work also led him to major festivals as Bayreuth, Savonlinna and Bregenz, where he staged the new production of Umberto Giordano’s Andrea Chénier in 2011 as well as the world premiere of Tchaikowsky’s Der Kaufmann von Venedig in summer 2013.

Keith Warner Director

Andrew Griffiths Conductor

Programme

Berg Wozzeck, Act II, scene 1

Sung in German

Ravel L’enfant et les sortileges

Sung in French

Britten Peter Grimes

Sondheim Sunday in the Park with George

‘Finishing the Hat’

Sondheim Sunday in the Park with George

‘Sunday’ (Act I finale)