Smetana 200 Did you know there’s a Birmingham version of Smetana’s comic opera Two Widows? The Birmingham version was created by Graham Vick and Christopher Willis, with sung text translated by David Pountney. Birmingham Opera Company is supporting the development of a new production, which will touch down in 2024 in Birmingham, Litomyšl, Prague and Lviv. In summer 2023, Birmingham Opera Company hosted the 13th European Opera Directing Prize. The €25,000 prize was awarded by Camerata Nuova. That prize is enabling the winning team to create their new production of the Birmingham Two Widows to mark the bicentenary of the Smetana’s birth. Leading the winning team is stage director Lorenzo Ponte from Milan. He’s working with choreographer Livia Bartolucci, set designer Alice Benazzi and costume designer Giulia Rossena. The team returned to Birmingham in autumn 2023 to work on their concept, which sees the action transferred to a retirement home, as part of The Opera Lab. They’ll be back in Birmingham in May 2024 to develop the project with BOC, with a cast of professional singers alongside volunteer performers. Two Widows will be premiered in English as part of Smetana 200 Festival in the composer’s home town of Litomyšl, Czech Republic, in summer 2024, then goes on to Prague in autumn 2024. A collaboration with the Lviv National Opera will see the production developed with Ukranian artists, in the original Czech with Ukranian dialogue. They will visit the Czech Republic for a rehearsal period prior to the production being staged at Lviv Opera House in winter 2024. Wherever the production goes, it will feature volunteer performers alongside the professional cast, as per the Birmingham Opera Company model. With Two Widows, we’re opening up Birmingham Opera Company to new talent and flying the flag for Brum on the international stage. New talent and new partners take ownership of the BOC model in three countries. Image shows (left to right) Giulia Rossena, Alice Benazzi and Lorenzo Ponte outside Birmingham Library on the day of the European Opera Directing Prize finals. Photo: Hannah Hogben. Manage Cookie Preferences