New Music Director of The Royal Opera Jakub Hrůša leads the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in a rich programme of Czech and Hungarian music. From the hallucinatory orchestral colours of Béla Bartók’s scandalous Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, to Antonín Dvořák’s rarely-heard cantata for soloists and chorus, The Spectre’s Bride, an evening of extraordinary musical storytelling awaits. Don’t miss this chance to see the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House centre stage in a thrilling programme of concert works.  

Two macabre musical tales 

Shocking, scandalous, and a masterclass in orchestration, Béla Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin created a sensation when it was first performed as a ballet in 1926. A young woman dances in a window, luring men to a violent death. What begins as a sordid tale of sex and murder turns into something altogether more sinister, when her final victim demands satisfaction - from beyond the grave...  Arranged in 1928, this orchestral Suite condenses the ballet’s lurid tale, stopping short of the story’s bloody consummation, whilst still retaining the score’s hallucinogenic vividness.  

Antonín Dvořák’s cantata, The Spectre’s Bride, tells the macabre tale of a young bride-to-be who is kidnapped by a ghost she believes to be her lover. Composed in 1884, and based on a poem by Karel Jaromír Erben (whose folktales inspired Dvořák’s much-loved opera, Rusalka), this rarely-performed work for soloists, chorus and orchestra depicts the bride’s wild ride through a hellish night – but as dawn breaks, order is restored. Alongside the Royal Opera Chorus, a trio of Czech soloists (Kateřina Kněžíková and Pavol Kubáň in their Royal Opera debuts, and Pavel Černoch) bring this spectacular tale to life.