Jakub Hrůša
Music Director Designate
Oliver Mears
Director of Opera
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.
The performance lasts approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes with no interval
A co-production with Finnish National Opera and Ballet
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Lee Hall
based on the Dogme film Festen by Thomas Vinterberg and Mogens Rukov
Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers
Edward Gardner
Richard Jones
Miriam Buether
Nicky Gillibrand
Lucy Carter
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
Allan Clayton
Stéphane Degout
Gerald Finley
Rosie Aldridge
replaces Eva-Maria Westbroek
Natalya Romaniw
Thomas Oliemans
Philippa Boyle
replaces Sophie Bevan
Susan Bickley
Peter Brathwaite
Marta Fontanals-Simmons
Aled Hall
Julian Hubbard
Clare Presland
John Tomlinson
Kitty Whately
Jeremy White
Ailish Tynan
Luke Price
Kiera Lyness
Andrew O'Connor
Miranda Westcott
Elizabeth Weisberg
Patrick Ashcroft
Eugene Dillon-Hooper
Dawid Kimberg
Nicholas Sharratt
Jonathan Fisher
Esther Mallett
Helen Withers
Andrea Hazell
Cari Searle
Richard Monk
Alex Haigh
Charbel Mattar
Olle Zetterström
Bibi Stockley-Webster
Edward Hickman
Kevin Tolbaru
Michael Barnes
Maddy Brennan
Alex Gotch
Anthony Kurt-Gabel
Caroline Lofthouse
Sam Morris
Luke Murphy
Davy Quistin
Suleiman Suleiman
Róisín Whelan
Royal Opera Chorus
William Spaulding
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Magnus Johnston
Tim Murray
Christopher Willis
Kate Golla
Richard Hetherington
Edward Reeve
Dan Dooner
Benjamin Davis
Felicity Palmer
Bret Yount
Róisín Whelan
Patricia Ojehonmon
Kathrine Quiller
Ingrid Mackinnon
Chris Fisher
HM The King
Jakub Hrůša
Oliver Mears
Peter Mario Katona
Netia Jones
Cormac Simms
The events take place in the summer of 1989, at a family-run hotel in the Danish countryside.
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.
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.
Coda: The next morning
Guests arrive for breakfast, greeting each other and Helge enters.
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.
Sung in English with English surtitles. Captions and translations in English will be displayed on screens above the stage and around the auditorium.
Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
With the generous support of Aline Foriel-Destezet Season Principal
Generous philanthropic support from Crevan O’Grady & Jane Mcclenahan and The Royal Opera House Endowment Fund
Supported by The London Community Foundation and Cockayne - Grants For The Arts
The role of Helena is generously supported by Malcolm Herring
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.
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.
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
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.
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation, a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales (Company number 480523) Charity Registered (Number 211775)