La Sonnambula

When a story of innocence, love and marriage is matched with the appeal of Italian bel canto singing, it is a recipe for success. Bellini's La Sonnambula was an international hit of its time with music that encapsulates the thrill of the operatic voice at extremes - from the smoothly lyrical to the brilliantly virtuosic.

It returns to The Royal Opera for the first time since 2002 in a production that brings out a layer of pyschological richness that may surprise those who only know the stunning musical highlights. In a beautiful alpine setting that evokes the world of Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, it is not just Amina who has to prove her innocence after a compromising case of sleepwalking, but her fiance Elvino too, who must prove himself worthy to marry her. This is an opera for the very best of fine Italianate singing, and this revival is fortunate to have Eglise Gutierrez and Celso Albelo - both acclaimed in this repertory - as Amina and Elvino, the couple about to be married.

The entire Company and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House are under the baton of Daniel Oren, internationally known for his interpretations of Italian opera, and the final ingredient of a bel canto treat.