The Olivier Award-winning English Touring Opera (ETO) will open its autumn programme by performing two operas at the Hackney Empire from 4-8 October.
The first is a period production of Mozart’s The Seraglio. Set in 16th century Turkey, the show centres around the hero’s comic attempts to rescue his love from the control of a high-ranking Ottoman Pasha. The opera is considered to be Mozart’s first commercially successful production.
The company will also perform Kurt Weill’s The Silver Lake, the first performance of the opera in the UK for 20 years. The Silver Lake was written as a satire of the economic and political turmoil of 1930s Germany, premiering in Leipzig in 1933. The original production was swiftly closed and the work banned by the Nazi government for its content.
Their performance of The Silver Lake will feature actors from Streetwise Opera London, a performing arts charity for people affected by homelessness. The charity’s workshop participants in Nottingham and Newcastle will join ETO in other tour performances later this month.
ETO have been running since 1979, and tour across the UK over their summer and autumn season. The company aims to deliver “impactful outreach”, working with schools and local communities, as well as touring to parts of the UK which have little access to live theatre.
