The opera is based on Brian Merriman’s wildly famous Irish epic poem The Midnight Court – Cúirt an Mheán-Oíche. A comic and erotic masterpiece, this rambunctious earthy tale includes themes of clerical celibacy, free love and the misery of a young woman married to a withered old man. After a critically acclaimed Toronto premiere in 2005, the production made its international debut in June 2006 at the invitation of the prestigious Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London, England.

Music – ANA SOKOLOVIC
Libretto – PAUL BENTLEY
Adapted from the English translation by
FRANK O’CONNER
Director – MICHAEL CAVANAGH
Designer – MICHAEL GIANFRANCESCO
Lighting – PAUL MATHIESEN

Forces – 10 SINGERS, 6 INSTRUMENTALISTS

“The production was dazzling, its verbal, visual and musical wit unfailingly exuberant and its stunning cast fully in command of the vocal pyrotechnics Sokolovic demands.”
         Opera News, New York

 

“Irish fairies can be malign spirits, but they’ve done nothing but good for Queen of Puddings Music Theatre. This small Toronto company launched its only production of the season at Harbourfront Centre on Saturday, and a scant hour later had scored its biggest artistic success ever.”
         The Globe and Mail

 
 

“The direction was pacy, and there was much high-quality singing and playing under the direction of Dáirine Ní Mheadhra (…)

The sounds themselves … are constantly being deconstructed and recomposed by the other performers. This is a technique that harks back at least as far as Stockhausen in the Sixties, and it is often used today in the esoteric branch of composition known as “spectral music”. But I have rarely heard it applied so entertainingly and resourcefully in a stage work.”
         The Times, London