The Duchess of Padua

Oscar Wilde’s epic tragedy of revenge and passion turned into a compact opera. An earnest young man falls for the browbeaten wife of the cruel and coercive Duke – with dreadful consequences for them all. At times melodramatic, at times sentimental, our adaptation of Wilde’s beautiful verse follows the twists and turns of this extraordinary Gothic drama in which the only murder is committed by a woman. With arias, choruses, a love-duet and a death scene, a quartet of fine singers brings to life the first performances of this ‘Italian-style’ opera for intimate spaces.