The Royal Opera
Music Director Designate
Jakub Hrůša
Director of Opera
Oliver Mears
Festen
OPERA IN THREE ACTS
Cast sheet
Thursday 27 February 2025
|
7.30pm
The 6th performance by The Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House.
Please note that casting is subject to change up until the start of the performance. Please continue to check the website for the most up-to-date information.
Generous support from
A co-production with Finnish National Opera and Ballet
Approximate timings
The performance lasts approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes with no interval
Credits
Music
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Libretto
based on the Dogme film Festen by Thomas Vinterberg and Mogens Rukov
Lee Hall
Performed by permission of
Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers
Conductor
Edward Gardner
Director
Richard Jones
Set designer
Miriam Buether
Costume designer
Nicky Gillibrand
Lighting designer
Lucy Carter
Movement Director
Lucy Burge
Festen is presented in arrangement with IPR Ltd, London in association with Nordiska ApS, Copenhagen and with kind permission of Marla Rubin Productions, producer of the original English language stage adaptation
Cast
Christian
Allan Clayton
Michael
Stéphane Degout
Helge
Gerald Finley
Else
Rosie Aldridge
replaces Eva-Maria Westbroek
Helena
Natalya Romaniw
Helmut
Thomas Oliemans
Mette
Philippa Boyle
replaces Sophie Bevan
Grandma
Susan Bickley
Gbatokai
Peter Brathwaite
Linda
Marta Fontanals-Simmons
Chef
Aled Hall
Lars
Julian Hubbard
Pia
Clare Presland
Grandpa
John Tomlinson
Michelle
Kitty Whately
Poul
Jeremy White
Christine
Ailish Tynan
Bent
Luke Price
Lene
Kiera Lyness
Stig
Andrew O'Connor
Trine
Miranda Westcott
Renée
Elizabeth Weisberg
Lasse
Patrick Ashcroft
Leif
Eugene Dillon-Hooper
Bjorn
Dawid Kimberg
Kitchen Porter 1
Alexander Baker
Kitchen Porter 2
Olle Zetterström
Solo voices
Esther Mallett, Helen Withers, Andrea Hazell, Cari Searle, Richard Monk, Alex Haigh, Charbel Mattar, Olle Zetterström
Children
Charlotte Rice-Foley, Cruz Fitz, Arthur Moffat
Actors
Michael Barnes, Maddy Brennan, Alex Gotch, Anthony Kurt-Gabel, Caroline Lofthouse, Sam Morris, Luke Murphy, Davy Quistin, Suleiman Suleiman, Róisín Whelan
Chorus and Orchestra
Chorus
Royal Opera Chorus
Chorus Director
William Spaulding
Orchestra
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Concert Master
Magnus Johnston
Production credits
Music preparation
Tim Murray, Christopher Willis, Kate Golla, Richard Hetherington, Edward Reeve
Assistant Directors
Dan Dooner, Benjamin Davis
Dialect Projection Coach
Felicity Palmer
Fight Director
Bret Yount
Assistant to the Movement Director
Róisín Whelan
Dramatherapists
Patricia Ojehonmon, Kathrine Quiller
Intimacy Coordinator
Ingrid Mackinnon
Illusions
Chris Fisher
The Royal Opera
Synopsis
The events take place in the summer of 1989, at a family-run hotel in the Danish countryside....
The events take place in the summer of 1989, at a family-run hotel in the Danish countryside.
ACT I
At Helge and Else Klingefeldt’s hotel, friends, business associates and family gather to celebrate Helge’s 60th birthday. The guests herald Helge’s arrival with a Danish birthday song. Helge asks his eldest son, Christian, to say a few words about his recently deceased sister, Linda, at the forthcoming dinner, Christian reassures Helge that he is prepared.
Christian and Pia go to his room before dinner. Michael and Mette get ready in their room. In the bathroom where Linda died, Helena and Lars find a hidden letter.
ACT II
At the dinner party, guests take their seats. Christian begins the evening’s toasts, but rather than honour his father, reveals shocking family secrets. More toasts are made by the family. Christian continues to make the guests confront the truth. Not believing him, Michael and others lock him in the wine cellar to silence him. Michael leads the guests in a song insulting Helena’s boyfriend, Gbatokai. Helena reads aloud the letter found in Linda’s room.
Helge hides in the kitchen. Michael finds him for a violent confrontation. Guests continue to party next door. Christian thinks about his dead sister.
ACT III
Guests arrive for breakfast, greeting each other and Helge enters.
Guidance
Suitable for ages 16+ The opera contains themes of child sexual abuse, suicide and addiction. There are depictions of racist behaviour, sex and violence. Strong language is used.
Language
Sung in English with English surtitles. Captions and translations in English will be displayed on screens above the stage and around the auditorium.
Further information
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