The Marriage of Figaro Purists beware. This uncompromising rethink dares to play fast and loose with one of the great icons of the operatic repertoire, courtesy of Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s fast-paced staging making its first visit to the UK from Berlin’s Komische Oper. Serebrennikov is as determined and single-minded in real life as he is in his productions: he stood up to charges of embezzlement in Putin’s Russia (dropped after international condemnation of his case) and now lives in Germany.
Likewise, his upstairs-downstairs production offers a literal separation of the opera’s aristocracy and servants, as well as inviting in tunes from elsewhere in Mozart’s output and even inventing new characters. Conductor James Gaffigan has a top-class cast of soloists direct from Berlin. Serebrennikov’s production is clearly conceived to prod and provoke, and will no doubt do just that in August – but whether audiences clutch their pearls or grin knowingly at its audacity, it’s sure to leave quite an impression.
Festival Theatre, 16-18 August Oedipus Rex Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. From hot-headed excess to cool detachment: Stravinsky’s 1927 Oedipux .