Olivier Award-Winning Opera Company Returns to Blackpool in May 2015

English Touring Opera (ETO), the 2014 Olivier Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, is returning to The Grand Theatre, Blackpool, in May 2015, for its first performances at the theatre in ten years.

The company is performing a new Italian-language production of one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, Puccini's La bohème (Mon 11 May). This is paired with Donizetti's The Siege of Calais, a thrilling and heartbreaking opera based on a story from the reign of Edward III and the Hundred Years' War (Tue 12 May).

ETO has not visited the North West region since 2009, and Blackpool since 2005. It has recognised a need to address this as part of its mission to offer a varied repertoire of high-quality opera productions to audiences across the whole country. The return to Blackpool comes after several years of searching for an appropriate partner venue.

ETO's Head of Marketing, John Holmes, who was born and raised in Lancashire, said,

"In the years we've not been coming to the North West, we've always felt it was a big gap in our touring schedule, especially as several of the ETO team are from the North West, and dearly wanted to bring our operas back to the region. The Grand is as beautiful theatre as we'll ever get to play, and it's a perfect environment for all the thrills, sensations and intensity of a top class opera performance."

Ruth Eastwood, Chief Executive of The Grand Theatre, Blackpool, said,

"It's our mission to give audiences a wide range of experiences to enjoy in the theatre, and opera is very much part of that. I'm delighted to welcome English Touring Opera, so that people from Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre can enjoy Olivier Award-winning opera without having to go all the way to Manchester orLondon to see it."

Listings information

La bohème

Monday 11 May, 2015, 7.30pm

Music by Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

New production, sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Conducted by Michael Rosewell, directed by James Conway.

The Siege of Calais (L'assedio di Calais)

Tuesday 12 May, 2015, 7.30pm

Music by Gaetano Donizetti, words by Salvatore Cammarano.

Revival of ETO's 2013 production, sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Conducted by Jeremy Silver, directed by James Conway.

Tickets for both performances will go on sale in September 2015.

For more information on ETO's Spring 2015 season, please see the season announcement press releasehere

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