The Grimeborn Festival is the antidote to the elitism and expense of the Glyndebourne Opera Season after which it is (mis)named.
Swapping East Sussex for East London, the two studio spaces in Hackney's Arcola Theatre will house a 14–production opera season opening on 30 July.
Grimeborn has been running since 2007 and, as in previous years, the event showcases new operas, re-workings of established classics—and everything in between.
Mehmet Ergen, the Arcola's artistic director and curator of Grimeborn, said, “If you love opera, Grimeborn is definitely the place to see and hear—often for the very first time—the opera stars of tomorrow and the work of exciting new composers.”
This year's Festival includes Cosi Fan Tutte with a new libretto, The Magic Flute with a new English translation and orchestrations for a seven-piece orchestra, the world première of British opera The Miller's Wife with music and libretto by Mike Christie, and a newly-devised opera based on the tale of Ariadne.
The Grimeborn Festival runs from 30 July to 31 August at The Arcola Theatre. Some productions contain material of an adult nature.