Delius

A noir twist on the classic tragedy, set to sumptuous late romantic music

Delius’ A Village Romeo and Juliet is a darker re-telling of Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy.

That you first meet the ‘star-crossed lovers’ as childhood sweethearts adds to the poignancy of their plight; the character of the Dark Fiddler and the bitter feud over land ownership only adds to the forces of prejudice and ignorance ranged against them.

In dramatic terms, it’s a hard-hitting narrative of two young lovers who have no place to go – and it’s brought to the stage by Susannah Waters, whose production of ‘Lucky Star’ for NSO scored such a big success with audiences and reviewers alike.

Adding to the emotional impact is the music – dreamlike, achingly beautiful and with the much-loved ‘Walk to the Paradise Garden’ just one of many highlights. While the professional chemistry between Susannah and conductor Lee Reynolds has already proved itself at Glyndebourne, Lee conducts the 24 young professional musicians who make up his own Kantanti Ensemble in an exciting first for New Sussex Opera.

They hope that NSO’s hard-hitting, stripped-down production will move you and leave you feeling full of empathy with the lovers’ tragedy through the power of music and words. But it will certainly leave you knowing you’ve experienced a truly memorable musical and theatrical event.