Published on 01/05/20

 

Denis & Katya to be part of Opera Philadelphia's Digital Festival O

Published on 01/05/20

Music Theatre Wales is delighted that Denis & Katya, the new work we co-commissioned and co-produced with Opera Philadelphia and Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier (and which MTW performed in Wales and London just before the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown), will be streamed to North American audiences from May 1–8. The streaming launches a new digital series presented by Opera Philadelphia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic titled Digital Festival O.

Exploring the implications of the tragic story of two teenage lovers whose lives were tragically cut short after they began streaming from their hideaway, Denis & Katya not only demonstrated that opera can respond to current events and issues that affect all our lives, but also presented a new way of thinking about opera itself.

The production was a significant success for Music Theatre Wales, with its 5-star review in The Stage (“this haunting, powerful rumination on tragic real-life events”), Broadwayworld (“Always ahead of the game, the ever-enterprising Music Theatre Wales have shown us how it's done here”), and 4-star reviews in The Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian.

Sadly, the UK tour of Denis & Katya was cut short by the COVID-19 lockdown.

Michael McCarthy, Artistic Director of MTW said: “We are so proud that Denis & Katya proved to be such a ground-breaking work – in what it addressed and the way in which it did it. We congratulate our partners in Philadelphia on sharing this important work online and respect the fact that audiences in Europe are being asked to wait to see it live on stage as soon as the opportunity arises.”

David B. Devan, General Director & President of Opera Philadelphia, said: “The unprecedented social distancing necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has galvanized the performing arts community, sparking generous artist relief funds and online expressions of creativity as we all navigate this challenging time in our history, and look forward to once again gathering together for the shared experience of music and art.”