Mid Wales Opera were back at Hay Festival Winter Weekend on Thursday with their second SmallStages tour, Ravel’s exhilarating one-act bedroom farce, A Spanish Hour (L’heure espagnole).
First performed in Paris in 1911, L’heure espagnole is set in a clock shop in Toledo, central Spain. It follows the fortunes of Torquemada, the hardworking clockmaker, as, during the course of one hot afternoon, his young wife Concepción negotiates her way through her collection of ridiculous lovers.
An opera for everyone, Ravel’s music bursts with hummable melodies, lively habanera dances and other Spanish folk song elements that kept the audience buzzing long after the show's end.
Artistic Director Richard Studer and Music Director Jonathan Lyness both shared their thoughts on the new production over on our writers blog - do take a look here and here.
Explore the full Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2018 programme here.