Phaedra and Minotaur

Be a part of one of the most exclusive music events in Bath this summer, as only a few tickets remain for just ten performance of this exciting and evocative evening of music and dance. Taking place in the intimate surroundings of the Ustinov Studio, PHAEDRA & MINOTAUR is a sensational double bill from two masters of their art: composer Benjamin Britten and legendary choreographer Kim Brandstrup.

Benjamin Britten’s final vocal work is a cantata of powerfully intense and erotic drama. On the day of her wedding to Theseus, Phaedra catches sight of his young son Hippolytus. Consumed by lust and longing that she knows cannot be requited, death will be her only escape. The scalding power of Britten’s score pushes Phaedra towards her doom in a remarkable and thrilling drama.

Leading soprano Christine Rice reprises her Olivier Award-nominated performance which was a hit at the Royal Opera House in 2020, now re-imagined in a piano version, specially developed for the intimate space of the Ustinov Studio.

★★★★ “Performances are terrific. Rice’s Phaedra is powerhouse stuff, Richard Hetherington urgently propelling Britten’s score forward” Guardian

MINOTAUR is a thrilling and exciting new piece inspired by powerful Greek mythology, commissioned from Kim Brandstrup, renowned for his work over four decades with Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, English National Ballet and Rambert.

Brandstrup has taken inspiration from the Greek myth of the Minotaur, a creature of great strength and masculinity, but also trapped, isolated and abandoned. As Greek heroes journey into the labyrinth to face the monster, Ariadne, the lover of Theseus who intends to slay the Minotaur, stands by the entrance to the maze, wheeling out the thread that will secure, hopefully, a safe return…

The cast for MINOTAUR includes Laurel Dalley Smith, member of The Martha Graham Dance Company in New York and guest artist with UK and Los Angeles-based dance company, Yorke Dance Project; and Olivier Award nominees Jonathan Goddard (Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet, Rambert, Scottish Dance Theatre and Richard Alston Dance Company) and Tommy Franzen(BBC’s So You Think You Can Dance finalist, The Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells and the Russell Maliphant Company)