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The Royal Opera

  • Jakub Hrůša

    Music Director Designate

  • Oliver Mears

    Director of Opera

Festen

OPERA IN THREE ACTS

Tuesday 11 February 2025 7.30pm

The 1st performance by The Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House.

Please note that casting is subject to change up until the start of the performance. Please continue to check the website for the most up-to-date information.

Approximate Timings

The performance lasts approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes with no interval


‎ A co-production with Finnish National Opera and Ballet ‎

Credits

  • Music

    Mark-Anthony Turnage

  • Libretto

    Lee Hall

    based on the Dogme film Festen by Thomas Vinterberg and Mogens Rukov

  • Performed by permission of

    Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers

  • Conductor

    Edward Gardner

  • Director

    Richard Jones

  • Set designer

    Miriam Buether

  • Costume designer

    Nicky Gillibrand

  • Lighting designer

    Lucy Carter

  • Movement Director

    Lucy Burge

Festen is presented in arrangement with IPR Ltd, London in association with Nordiska ApS, Copenhagen and with kind permission of Marla Rubin Productions, producer of the original English language stage adaptation

Cast

  • Christian

    Allan Clayton

  • Michael

    Stéphane Degout

  • Helge

    Gerald Finley

  • Else

    Rosie Aldridge

    replaces Eva-Maria Westbroek 

  • Helena

    Natalya Romaniw

  • Helmut

    Thomas Oliemans

  • Mette

    Philippa Boyle

    replaces Sophie Bevan

  • Grandma

    Susan Bickley

  • Gbatokai

    Peter Brathwaite

  • Linda

    Marta Fontanals-Simmons

  • Chef

    Aled Hall

  • Lars

    Julian Hubbard

  • Pia

    Clare Presland

  • Grandpa

    John Tomlinson

  • Michelle

    Kitty Whately

  • Poul

    Jeremy White

  • Christine

    Ailish Tynan

  • Bent

    Luke Price

  • Lene

    Kiera Lyness

  • Stig

    Andrew O'Connor

  • Trine

    Miranda Westcott

  • Renée

    Elizabeth Weisberg

  • Lasse

    Patrick Ashcroft

  • Leif

    Eugene Dillon-Hooper

  • Bjorn

    Dawid Kimberg

  • Kitchen Porter 1

    Nicholas Sharratt

  • Kitchen Porter 2

    Jonathan Fisher

  • Solo voices

    Esther Mallett

    Helen Withers

    Andrea Hazell

    Cari Searle

    Richard Monk

    Alex Haigh

    Charbel Mattar

    Olle Zetterström

  • Children

    Bibi Stockley-Webster

    Edward Hickman

    Kevin Tolbaru

  • Actors

    Michael Barnes

    Maddy Brennan

    Alex Gotch

    Anthony Kurt-Gabel

    Caroline Lofthouse

    Sam Morris

    Luke Murphy

    Davy Quistin

    Suleiman Suleiman

    Róisín Whelan

Chorus and Orchestra

  • Chorus

    Royal Opera Chorus

  • Chorus Director

    William Spaulding

  • Orchestra

    Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

  • Concert Master

    Magnus Johnston

Production credits

  • Music preparation

    Tim Murray

    Christopher Willis

    Kate Golla

    Richard Hetherington

    Edward Reeve

  • Assistant Directors

    Dan Dooner

    Benjamin Davis

  • Dialect Projection Coach

    Felicity Palmer

  • Fight Director

    Bret Yount

  • Assistant to the Movement Director

    Róisín Whelan

  • Dramatherapists

    Patricia Ojehonmon

    Kathrine Quiller

  • Intimacy Coordinator

    Ingrid Mackinnon

  • Illusions

    Chris Fisher

The Royal Opera

  • Patron

    HM The King

  • Music Director Designate

    Jakub Hrůša

  • Director of Opera

    Oliver Mears

  • Director of Casting

    Peter Mario Katona

  • Associate Director

    Netia Jones

  • Administrative Director

    Cormac Simms

Synopsis

The events take place in the summer of 1989, at a family-run hotel in the Danish countryside.

ACT I

Scene 1: Arrivals

At Helge and Else Klingefeldt’s hotel, friends, business associates and family gather to celebrate Helge’s 60th birthday. The guests herald Helge’s arrival with a Danish birthday song. Helge asks his eldest son, Christian, to say a few words about his recently deceased sister, Linda, at the forthcoming dinner, Christian reassures Helge that he is prepared.

Scene II: Getting ready

Christian and Pia go to his room before dinner. Michael and Mette get ready in their room. In the bathroom where Linda died, Helena and Lars find a hidden letter.

ACT II

Scene 1: The party

At the dinner party, guests take their seats. Christian begins the evening’s toasts, but rather than honour his father, reveals shocking family secrets. More toasts are made by the family. Christian continues to make the guests confront the truth. Not believing him, Michael and others lock him in the wine cellar to silence him. Michael leads the guests in a song insulting Helena’s boyfriend, Gbatokai. Helena reads aloud the letter found in Linda’s room.

Scene 2

Helge hides in the kitchen. Michael finds him for a violent confrontation. Guests continue to party next door. Christian thinks about his dead sister.

ACT III

Coda: The next morning

Guests arrive for breakfast, greeting each other and Helge enters.

Guidance

Suitable for ages 16+ The opera contains themes of child sexual abuse, suicide and addiction. There are depictions of racist behaviour, sex and violence. Strong language is used.

Language

Sung in English with English surtitles. Captions and translations in English will be displayed on screens above the stage and around the auditorium.

Generous support from

Further information

Support

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in Festen, you could consider contacting:

NAPAC - National Association for People Abused in Childhood: by telephone on 0808 801 0331 (Monday to Thursday 10am–9pm, Friday 10am–6pm) or by email at support@napac.org.uk

Samaritans: by telephone on 116 123

The auditorium will stay open for 30 minutes after the end of the performance to allow for private reflection.

GUIDELINES

Photography and filming are prohibited during performances in any of our auditoriums. You are welcome to take pictures throughout the rest of the  building and before performances and share them with us through social media. Commercial photography and filming must be agreed in advance with our press team.

Larger bags and backpacks need to be check into our complimentary cloakrooms. Unattended bags may be removed.

Please do not place any personal belongings on the ledges in front of you. Mobile phones should be turned off and stored away safely during performances.

Only bottled water and ice cream purchased from the premises can be taken into the auditorium.

If you arrive late to the auditorium or leave during a performance, you will not be allowed back to your seat until the interval or a suitable break.

Smoking and vaping are not permitted anywhere on the premises.

The safety of our visitors, staff and artists is our priority. To help us provide a comfortable experience for everyone, please be mindful of others and their personal space.

Our staff are committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect and we ask that you show them and your fellow audience members respect too. We adopt a zero-tolerance approach in response to anyone who interacts with our staff or with fellow audience members in an intimidating, aggressive or threatening manner.

Support Us

We rely on your support to make world-class ballet and opera for everyone. With your donations we can ensure a bright future for the Royal Ballet and Opera, bringing communities together and inspiring future generations up and down the country.

For people, not profit.

rbo.org.uk/donate

DIGITAL CAST SHEETS

We are working hard on our commitment towards becoming more sustainable and are striving for our net zero goal of 2035. By using digital cast sheets and e-tickets, we have reduced our paper consumption by over five tonnes per year. You can view our digital cast sheets on a computer, tablet or smartphone by scanning the QR codes displayed around the building using your smartphone’s camera app. They are also displayed on screens outside the auditoria. Cast sheets are generously supported by the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund.

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