Pop-up Opera: Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle

Following an amazing 2013 with over forty performances of three productions, talent-packed Pop-up Opera are back with their ingenious retelling of comic operetta Le Docteur Miracle. This is a rare chance to see Bizet’s gem with madcap laughs galore.

The Spring Season will see Pop-up Opera cross the country to various unusual and intimate venues including a return to the much-loved Thames Tunnel Shaft; I have seen L'Elisir d'Amore at Glyndebourne, at the ENO and at the ROH, and I have always loved it, but I think never as much as the way Pop-up Opera did it in Brunel's Tunnel Shaft… (The Daily Express).

At the age of eighteen, Bizet won a competition organised by Offenbach to write an operetta. It was to be based on a libretto, a French adaptation of Sheridan's St Patrick's Day. The result was Le Docteur Miracle where a young man, Silvio, comes to the mayor's house in various disguises in order to win the hand of his daughter, Laurette. As this is only a one act operetta, Pop-up Opera have extended the piece in their own inimitable style with extracts from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers and from Carmen. At the beginning of Le Docteur Miracle, Silvio is serenading Laurette but this does not feature in the original score. Here, Silvio will sing the tenor aria from The Pearl Fishers ‘Je crois entendre encore’. Prepare yourself for some surprises that perfectly complement the French bistro feel as Pop-up Opera give you a musical menu with a Pearl Fishers starter, a Docteur Miracle main course and a dessert of Carmen.

The production also gestures to Pop-up Opera’s previous version of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore and their forthcoming retelling of Mozart's Così fan tutte in which ‘medical miracles’ and disguise feature prominently for comic effect.

Pop-up Opera endeavours to make opera entertaining, without compromising quality – all operas are performed in their original language. Their intimate use of props, story-telling and

interaction makes audience members feel as if they have been given a backstage pass. Pop-up’s operas are skillfully adapted to each individual venue, making every performance unique, while always maintaining the highest standards. The combination of amazing venues, along with an informal atmosphere and engaging productions, offers a greater connection to the singers and the music, something even seasoned opera-goers often miss.

If Pop-up Opera pops up near you, do pop in.