The world premiere of composer George Benjamin and librettist Martin Crimp’s opera Lessons in Love and Violence opened at London’s Royal Opera House May 10. The production, directed by Katie Mitchell, runs through May 26.
In the opera, a king is forced to choose between love and political expediency, with his decisions allowing his country to slide into civil war and his family to turn against him. The cast includes Ocean Barrington-Cook, Samuel Boden, Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare, and Gyula Orendt.
Medici.tv will live-stream the final performance (video) on May 26 at 2:30PM ET.
Critics have begun filing their reviews; read them below.
The Arts Desk (Alexandra Coghlan)
Evening Standard (Barry Millington)
Financial Times (Richard Fairman)
The Guardian (Andrew Clements)
The New York Times (Anthony Tommasini)
The Sunday Times (Paul Driver)
Telegraph (Rupert Christiansen)
