The Nightingale

The Nightingale, our first full puppet opera, directed by Artistic Director Mark Down, premiered at the the Bregenz Festival in 2014.

Cubist Puppets meet a bird with a beautiful voice in Blind Summit's daringly Dada-ist staging of Stravinsky's marvellous opera. Composed between 1912 and 1916 this opera literally straddles the birth of modernism. With seven singers, a 25 chorus, 11 puppeteers and a cast of life-sized puppets, Blind Summit create a visual wonderland for Hans Christian Anderssen's classic tale. 

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Originally produced as part of a double bill with L'Hirondelle Inattendu at Bregenz in 2014.

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Revived as part of a double bill with Bluebeard's Castle with Welsh National Opera for 2020.

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW - CLICK HERE

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"stunning puppetry... a great Cubist theatrical illusion."
 - Schwaebische - Original Review (in German)

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"the ingenious and subtle direction of Mark Down was a success across the board, making this show a delight. The chorus stood stage left while the soloists were seated stage right. Centre stage were the puppeteers who, using puppets and a wide variety of accessories, tell the story in a simple and understated way whilst very touching and naive, and not without a sense of humour, doing perfect justice to the tale that inspired the music of Stravinsky. Only the singer playing Rossignol was among the puppeteers: Kathryn Lewek offered a magnificent performance, both theatrically and vocally, with perfectly controlled voice and nuanced singing."

 - Concerto Net - Original Review (in French)

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