Take three traditional, beloved operas. Add some punk, rap, rock and hip-hop, a touch of acrobatics, kung-fu, puppetry and breakdancing, and then blend with tap, ballet, salsa, Chinese lion wushu, and even parkour. Don’t try any of it at home. And you’ve got the intriguing premise of TriOperas, which makes its world premiere at the Peacock Theatre this Summer.
Such a show must need its cast members to have “Other Skills” sections on their CV longer than their arm, and TriOperas’ array of mind-blowing multi-talented performers have today been announced. The show brings together ten versatile male performers in Adam Corrigan, Llandyll Gove, Adam Margilewski, Matthew McCabe, Richard Munday, Daniel Slade are joined by award-winning Royal Opera House principal Yuriy Yurchuk, Wushu World Champions Cham Dong Ming and Toh Chin Xian, and the only actor in the world to have starred as Young Simba and Adult Simba in Disney’s The Lion King, Naoto Kaiho from Japan.
Lucy Aiston and Anastacia Quinton-Smith have also been announced to be joining the previously cast female performers – Sianna Bruce, Keedie Green, Sara Hamilton, Lucy Kay, Martina Mennell, Shoreina Pereira, and Chiara Vinci – forming an ensemble who will be challenged with fulfilling a whole range of colourful roles.
The show’s creators have promised that many of the roles will not be gender-specific, allowing cast members to interchange, understudy and double for each other. The performers will require superb vocals, dramatic authority and physical discipline – and all were on display in rehearsals, as the photos below demonstrate.
Richard Munday in TriOperas rehearsals (Photo: James Martin)
Richard Munday in TriOperas rehearsals (Photo: James Martin)
Keedie Green in TriOperas rehearsals (Photo: James Martin)
The creator of TriOperas, Pamela Tan-Nicholson, has said: “The spirit of sharing and learning among all these amazingly talented and motivated artists makes me both inspired and humbled. The team is diverse – some come from the world of classical opera, others from quite different artistic disciplines. What glues them together is a common ethos believing that music, opera included, exists for universal appreciation.
“My hope is that even people who don’t know or don’t like traditional opera will see the show and come away feeling that they have been properly entertained and emotionally touched by three stories told entirely through dramatic lyrics set to glorious music and performed with no-holds barred action. Opera should be like that – no more no less. Opera is for everyone- of any age – to love.”
Lucy Kay and Richard Munday in TriOperas rehearsals (Photo: James Martin)
Sara Hamilton and Adam Margilewski in TriOperas rehearsals (Photo: James Martin)
Shoreina Pereira, Lucy Aiston and Lucy Kay in TriOperas rehearsals (Photo: James Martin)
TriOperas’ stories will be brought to life by a stellar production team, including choreographers such as Royal Ballet Principal Steven McRae, Sadler’s Wells’ Breakin’ Convention Director Jonzi D, Masters Siow and Tang from Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon Dance Association (holders of 65 world titles and still counting), and music director Vasko Vassilev, the Royal Opera House’s concertmaster and creative producer.
Performances begin 23 May 2018, playing until 1 July.