Irish National Opera presents Vivaldi L’Olimpiade at The Everyman Tuesday 23rd April

Irish National Opera presents

Vivaldi

L’Olimpiade

A co-production with Royal Opera House, London and Nouvel Opéra Fribourg

in partnership with Irish Baroque Orchestra.

 National Tour Saturday 20 April – Tuesday 7 May 

The Everyman on Tuesday, April 23^rd 

Royal Opera House, London (Sold Out)

Monday 13 May – Saturday 25 May

“With heart-on-sleeve emotions…Vivaldi grabs you by the heart!” Conductor Peter Whelan

 

Irish National Opera (INO) continues its award-winning exploration of Vivaldi’s operas with a fast and furious new production of L’Olimpiade, co-produced with the Royal Opera House, London and Nouvel Opéra Fribourg. Vivaldi’s fiery opera will tour nationally before traveling to London and Switzerland. The first performance of L’Olimpiade is in Siamsa Tíre Tralee on Saturday 20th April followed by the performances in The Everyman on April 23^rd followed by Waterford, Limerick, Letterkenny, Navan, and Dún Laoghaire.

Set against the backdrop of the ancient Olympic games, L’Olimpiade explores themes of love, rivalry, and sacrifice, offering singers super-human acrobatic challenges that showcase the composer’s unparalleled musical prowess. Fergus Sheil, artistic director of INO, remarks, “Vivaldi’s operas push the boundaries of vocal artistry, and L’Olimpiade is no exception. It’s a thrilling journey through passion and perseverance.”

The stellar cast features an array of Irish and international talent, including mezzo-soprano Gemma Ní Bhriain (Megacle), countertenor Meili Li (Licida), and mezzo-soprano Alexandra Urquiola (Aristea), mezzo-soprano Sarah Richmond (Argene), baritone Chuma Sijeqa (Clistene), soprano Rachel Redmond (Aminta) and baritone Seán Boylan (Alcandro). 

L’Olimpiade is the third Vivaldi opera from the Irish National Opera, and follows on from the resounding success of Griselda in 2019, and Bajazet in 2022 (a co-production with the Royal Opera House) for which Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra won an Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in opera.

Whelan says “Vivaldi draws on primary colours, with heart-on-sleeve emotions – his work is very special and really comes alive, especially in live performance. Vivaldi grabs you by the heart! L’Olimpiade has a love interest, family complications, intrigues, murders… you name it! It has a complex story, but the big themes are love and jealousy, and family pride versus love. Strong hints of Romeo and Juliet!”

L’Olimpiade is directed by Daisy Evans, with set and costume design by Molly O’Cathain and lighting design by Jake Wiltshire, and features the Irish Baroque Orchestra.

 

ANTONIO VIVALDI 

L’OLIMPIADE 

 

Sung in Italian with English surtitles 

Running time 3 hours with interval 

Co-production with Royal Opera House, London, and Nouvel Opéra Fribourg 

 

CAST 

Megacle                                    Gemma Ní Bhriain 

Licida                                        Meili Li 

Aristea                                     Alexandra Urquiola 

Argene                                     Sarah Richmond 

Clistene                                    Chuma Sijeqa 

Aminta                                     Rachel Redmond 

Alcandro                                   Seán Boylan

 

CREATIVE TEAM 

Conductor                                Peter Whelan 

Director                                   Daisy Evans 

Set & Costume Designer           Molly O’Cathain  

Lighting Designer                      Jake Wiltshire 

 

Irish Baroque Orchestra 

 

The Everyman

Tuesday 23rd April 2024

Time 8pm

Tickets €30/€27

Cork  The Everyman

https://everymancork.com