Music Theatre Wales

By Peter Eötvös

Based on the play by Roland Schimmelpfennig

Music Theatre Wales makes its first appearance at Hackney Empire with a thrilling new opera, brought to life with the company’s characteristic theatrical flair and musical virtuosity.

Based on the play of the same name by Roland Schimmelpfennig, Peter Eötvös’s brilliant new opera finds a whole world in a grain of egg fried rice.

Set in a Chinese restaurant found in any city anywhere, The Golden Dragon is a compelling fable of modern life. At the heart of this East-meets-West tale, is the discovery of a decayed tooth in a bowl of soup. It belongs to a kitchen boy, a long way from home and with no papers. He’s looking for his sister, but she’s been forced into a very different kind of service just next door….

Funny and shocking in equal measure, this brilliant new opera poignantly captures the horrors of too many lost lives.

“The pacing is masterly, as is the passage from two-dimensional cartoon-like farce to resonant human tragedy: I began being baffled and amused, but I ended up haunted and moved.” The Telegraph

“It’s a taut, impressive piece, brilliantly presented.” Guardian