Paris and Calais head North

The Olivier Award-winning English Touring Opera (ETO) will perform a new season of fully-staged Italian opera at The Grand Theatre in Blackpool this May.
Puccinis masterpiece La BohèmePuccinis masterpiece La Bohème
Puccinis masterpiece La Bohème

On their first visit to the North West since 2009 the company will present Puccini’s masterpiece La Bohème and a rare Donizetti title The Siege of Calais.

Both are sung in full costume, in Italian with English surtitles, accompanied by ETO’s chorus and 25-piece orchestra.

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One of the greatest operas of all time, La Bohème is a story of young love, starting on Christmas Eve in a Parisian garret.

On this snowy night the lovers Mimi and Rodolfo draw close, but poverty and ill-health force them apart.

La Bohème is performed at The Grand at 7.30pm on Monday May 11.

Donizetti’s The Siege of Calais tells the story of the citizens of Calais who offer their lives to save their city from the besieging English army. Their sacrifice culminates in one of the most moving ensembles in all of opera, O sacra polve, o suol natio (O Sacred Earth).

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The opera combines Donizetti’s sparkling score with a gritty depiction of the harsh realities of a city gripped by siege.

ETO’s production was acclaimed as one of the company’s greatest achievements when it had its first ever UK professional tour in 2013, and is being performed in Blackpool this Spring for the first time.

The Siege of Calais is performed at The Grand at 7.30pm on Tuesday 12 May.

For booking information call 01253 290190 or see = www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk

Tickets: £32.50, £26.50, £22.50, £16.50, concs£3 off. U26s £10 tickets, Student Stampede offer £6 on the day (capped at 60 tickets). Book both shows, get 25% off.