GREEK MYTH GETS A MULTI-CULTURAL SPIN

EARLY seventeenth century opera L’Orfeo has been given a multi-cultural spin with contemporary adaptation Orpheus, which recently premiered at Opera North in Leeds. The innovative production, combining western and Indian classical instruments, is sung in Italian and Urdu, with additional sections in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Bengali, with English subtitles. The famous Greek myth’s setting is relocated to a contemporary wedding party. The diverse cast is led by Nicholas Watts singing Orpheus and BritishTamil Carnatic singer Ashnaa Sasikaran as Eurydice. You can catch the show in November at Theatre Royal, Newcastle (5), Theatre Royal, Nottingham (12) and The Lowry, Salford Quays (19). www.operanorth.co.uk