Opera

Lessons in love and violence

GEORGE BENJAMIN / MARTIN CRIMP

30 Apr, 21 - 10 May, 21

Musical conductor: Josep Pons | Stage director: Katie Mitchell | Titular Orchestra of the Teatro Real

Lessons in love and violence
Premiere at the Teatro Real

10 DEC. 20

Start selling day

19 Mar 24

Premiere date

19 Mar 24

Last performance

6

Performances

The intense and longstanding relationship between Edward II and his favourite Piers Gaveston remains obscure and uncertain for historians, however there is no doubt that it provoked the monarch to neglect his state responsibilities. His excesses and a permanent confrontation with his court ended with the king being removed from the throne in violent circumstances. Christopher Marlowe gave credit to this dissolute portrait of Edward II in his drama of the same name. First staged in 1592, it was the point of departure for Lessons in Love and Violence, the opera premiered at the Royal Opera House of London. The libretto by Martin Crimp gives a prominent role to Isabel, his wife and queen, casting her as the instigator of the plot. After the international success of the opera Written on Skin (2012), heard at the Teatro Real four years ago, George Benjamin illuminates this sordid story with a concentrated and intense musical score at once innovative and rooted in a tradition resonating with Pelléas et Mélisande and Britten. The work was written as a co-commission and large co-production between the operas of London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Lyon and Chicago, as well as the Liceu of Barcelona and the Teatro Real.


Opera in two parts

Music by George Benjamin (1960)

Text by Martin Crimp, based on the work Edward II (1592) by Christopher Marlowe

Premiered at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden of London on the 10th of May, 2018

Premiere at the Teatro Real

Co-commission and new production of the Teatro Real, in co-production with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden of London, the Dutch National Opera of Amsterdam, the Hamburg Staatsoper, the Opéra National de Lyon, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona

Titular Orchestra of the Teatro Real
(Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid)


Artistic team

Conductor | Josep Pons

Stage Director | Katie Mitchell

Set and Costume Designer | Vicki Mortimer

Light Designer | James Farncombe

Choreographer | Joseph Alford

 

Cast

The King | Stéphane Degout

Gaveston / Stranger | Gyula Orendt

Isabel | Georgia Jarman

Mortimer | Peter Hoare

Boy / Young King | Samuel Boden

Girl | Ocean Barrington-Cook

Witness 1 / Singer 1 / Woman 1 | Isabella Gaudí

Witness 2 / Singer 2 / Woman 2 | Marta Fontanals-Simmons

Witness 3 / Madman | Toni Marsol

Language

English

Subtitles in

Spanish, English

Releases

Patron friends

09 December

2020

Subscribers friend

11 December

2020

Tickets on sale

15 December

2020

Performances

  • Date/hour
  • Space
  • Cast
  • Subscription ticket

30 April 2021

19:30

Main Auditorium

Stéphane Degout, Gyula Orendt, Georgia Jarman, Peter Hoare, Samuel Boden, Ocean Barrington-Cook, Isabella Gaudí, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Toni Marsol
Subscription tickets E

02 May 2021

18:00

Main Auditorium

Stéphane Degout, Gyula Orendt, Georgia Jarman, Peter Hoare, Samuel Boden, Ocean Barrington-Cook, Isabella Gaudí, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Toni Marsol
Subscription tickets A

04 May 2021

19:30

Main Auditorium

Stéphane Degout, Gyula Orendt, Georgia Jarman, Peter Hoare, Samuel Boden, Ocean Barrington-Cook, Isabella Gaudí, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Toni Marsol
Subscription tickets C

06 May 2021

19:30

Main Auditorium

Stéphane Degout, Gyula Orendt, Georgia Jarman, Peter Hoare, Samuel Boden, Ocean Barrington-Cook, Isabella Gaudí, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Toni Marsol
Subscription tickets X

08 May 2021

19:30

Main Auditorium

Stéphane Degout, Gyula Orendt, Georgia Jarman, Peter Hoare, Samuel Boden, Ocean Barrington-Cook, Isabella Gaudí, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Toni Marsol
Subscription tickets G

10 May 2021

19:30

Main Auditorium

Stéphane Degout, Gyula Orendt, Georgia Jarman, Peter Hoare, Samuel Boden, Ocean Barrington-Cook, Isabella Gaudí, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Toni Marsol
Subscription tickets B

Parallel activities

Curso de formación

What's OnTeatro Real

Comprender a Benjamin Britten. Cuatro sesiones para conocer a fondo la obra del compositor. Fechas por determinar.

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Los domingos de cámara

What's OnMain Auditorium

Concierto a cargo de los solistas de la Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real. 7 de marzo, 12:00 h.

07

March

2021

12:00

Curso de formación

What's OnTeatro Real

'Lessons in Love' al descubierto. Taller práctico para conocer desde dentro la producción. Abril.

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Videoentrevista

What's On​​British Council

George Benjamin participará en la serie It's time to talk con una charla para hablar de Lessons in Love and Violence en su trayectoria profesional. Abril. Actividad gratuita.

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Muestra

What's OnThyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Una explicación en el museo de la obra Retrato de George Dyer en un espejo, de Francis Bacon, protagonista en la producción. Abril.

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00

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Enfoques

What's OnTeatro Real

Enfoques 20/21. Encuentro con los artistas de la producción. 22 de abril, 20:15 h. Actividad gratuita.

22

April

2021

20:15

Charla

What's OnGayarre Hall

Las charlas de Téllez. El musicógrafo José Luis Téllez ofrece, 45 minutos antes de cada función, las claves para disfrutar de un día de ópera. Sala Gayarre.

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Curso

What's OnBiblioteca Regional de Madrid

Curso de iniciación al guion de cine. Clases teórico-prácticas impartidas por Arturo Ruiz Serrano para aprender a realizar guiones de cine. Del 30 de abril al 10 de mayo. Actividad gratuita.

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Visita guiada

What's OnMuseo Arqueológico Nacional

Tronos, coronas y casas reales. Un recorrido por las salas de los reinos cristianos del mundo medieval para conocer fantásticas historias sobre tronos, coronas y casas reales. 5 de mayo, 17:30 h. Actividad gratuita.

05

May

2021

17:30

Visita guiada

What's OnMuseo Lázaro Galdiano

Los guías del museo nos descubrirán los tesoros del arte inglés que hay en sus salas. Pintura, armas, platería, relojes... 5 y 6 de mayo, 17:30 h.

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Encuentro

What's OnResidencia de Estudiantes

Charla con el compositor George Benjamin, gran amigo de la Residencia, para conocer de primera mano su trabajo e inquietudes artísticas. Mayo. Actividad gratuita.

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