On Saturday July 8 at 6.30pm (GMT), the UK premiere of the opera Everest by composer Joby Talbot and librettist Gene Scheer will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The work received its UK premiere at the Barbican Centre in London on June 23, 2023.
Everest tells the story of four climbers ascending the summit of Mount Everest, as their plans disintegrate and a blizzard closes in, they face life-or-death choices. Based on a true story, the opera has a contemporary setting but an eternal theme: the limits of human courage, and the unbreakable power of nature.
BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers perform with Nicole Paiement conducting, Stephen Higgins as chorus master with semi staging by Leonard Foglia. View the full list of cast here.
Lucas Meachem as Jean-Dominique Bauby/Photo:Joe Mazza/BRAVELUX
On November 3, 2023 Talbot and Scheer come together again for the World Premiere of their second opera The Diving Bell and the Butterfly which receives its world premiere with the Dallas Opera who commissioned the work and directed by Leonard Foglia.
Based upon the novel by Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a massive stroke, which left him in a state of total paralysis but his mind is as sharp as ever. With the aid of his ex-partner and a brilliant young speech therapist, Jean Dominique miraculously writes a brilliant memoire by blinking out the text letter by letter.
A true story of strength, determination, and the desire for connection
