Unexpected Opera to Return to the St James Studio

Unexpected Opera returns to St James Studio this summer with more of its popular singing chat shows. The series will begin on 21st May with Traviata Tells All, in which high society courtesan Violetta Valery, heroine of Verdi's best-loved opera La Traviata, is a guest on Brooklyn mobster Tony LaScala's TV chat show. Arias and scenes from the opera are woven seamlessly into the conversations. All the familiar elements of chat shows will be there: topical humour, cheeky questions, confrontations and audience participation.

After the interval the singers return as themselves to talk about their experiences of singing opera and take questions from the audience before presenting their own favourite arias and explaining their passion for them.

Written and directed by Lynn Binstock with Tony Harris and accompanied by Musical Director Berrak Dyer, the show features soprano Joanna Weeks as Violetta, tenor Christopher Diffey as her lover Alfredo and actor and comic Tony Harris in the role of Tony LaScala.

Joanna Weeks toured with Unexpected Opera's Opera Naked last year. Christopher Diffey is presently rehearsing Swanhunter for Opera North, and later this summer will be singing Borsa Rigoletto for Longborough Festival Opera.

St. James Studio
12 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5JA
0844 264 2140
www.stjamestheatre.co.uk
Thursday 21 May 2015 at 8pm £20.00/£25.00