Le Grand Macabre, Hungarian composer Ligeti’s only opera, is a dark surrealist farce set in an imagined world, which laughs in the face of death and champions the claim: eat, drink and make love for who knows when the world might end.

Written as a response to ‘anti-opera’, Le Grand Macabre covers both traditional forms of opera and criticism of the art form. Its score contains references to classical composers as well as the urban sounds of the bleak, litter-strewn skyscraper city in which the opera is set.

Originally given its UK premiere by the English National Opera in 1982, this new production is staged by the world renowned Catalan theatre company La Fura dels Baus, the team that created the famous opening ceremony for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. It is the revised version of Le Grand Macabre created by Ligeti in 1996.

Le Grand Macabre is conducted by ENO’s Laurence Olivier Award-winning Music Director Edward Gardner.

Learn more about London operas within the West End.