This year they will be hosting 290 artists and presenting over 30 world premières from new and tiny companies, larger, long-established ones and everything in between.  The one thing all companies have in common is experiment: 'exploring the edges and tickling the boundaries of the most sensual of art forms' as Artistic Director Bill Bankes-Jones puts it.  The programme ranges from Lite Bites -- super-short new commissioned operas as curtain raisers and spontaneous performances around Hammersmith; through developed works -- some of which were in progress last year and have now become fully-fledged shows like Sharpwire/Tête à Tête's Johnny's Midnight Goggles; to high profile material from Scottish Opera.  Five:15, five fifteen-minute operas from contributors such as Suhayl Saadi, Nigel Osborne and Wajahat Khan (The Queens of Govan); Ian Rankin and Craig Armstrong (Gesualdo); and Alexander McCall Smith and Stephen Deazley (Dream Angus) is part of Scottish Opera's new project exploring the possibilities of opera with the aim of developing some of them into longer works and hopefully one into a full-length opera. 

To round it all off nicely and cater for all appetites there are even some serious discussion sessions about the future of opera (August 2 and 9) and a party (August 17).

Catch the Tête à Tête Opera Festival in full flood at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London, from July 31 to August 17.

Events Calendar