Margot la Rouge / Le Villi | Opera Holland Park, London, 2019
A double bill of one-act operas: Frederick Delius’s Margot la Rouge and Giacomo Puccini’s Le Villi, both composed for the Sonzogno opera competition but never winning. This Opera Holland Park production closed the 2019 season, directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans with designs by takis. Conductor Timothy Myers led the City of London Sinfonia.
takis’ design unified the contrasting works—Delius’s Parisian tragedy and Puccini’s Black Forest supernatural tale—creating visual worlds for both the decadent Parisian demi-monde and the Germanic folklore of vengeful spirits. The production demonstrated how these compositional “failures” contain remarkable music worthy of revival.
Creative Team: Director: Martin Lloyd-Evans | Designer: takis | Conductor: Timothy Myers | Composers: Frederick Delius & Giacomo Puccini