Wynne Evans

A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorises the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protégée whom he trains and loves. The 25th anniversary of the first public performance of Phantom of the Opera was celebrated with a grand performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The true story of Liz Evans, a hairdresser and leader of a youth theatre in Carmarthen, Wales, who began a campaign in 1993 to save the Lyric theatre from closure. Alongside then Mayor of Carmarthen Richard Goodridge, they enlisted the help of Steven Spielberg, securing a special premiere of Jurassic Park.

The farce Gianni Schicchi is the triptych’s third and final chapter. In 2012 at the Puccini Plus Festival, the Opéra de Lyon presented Puccini’s Il trittico over the course of several evenings. The plot is set in Florence in the 13th century. The elderly Buoso Donati has just died and willed all of his worldly goods to the clergy. His panic-stricken family calls on Gianni Schicchi, who decides to impersonate the deceased man in order to dictate a new will to the notary. Malicious and strategic, Schicchi takes advantage of the situation to steal the old man’s belongings for himself. The triptych's final installment, this unconventional operatic masterpiece closes on the radiant smiles of its comedic lovers.

A deeply-moving tragedy, Il Tabarro is the first chapter, a one-act opera that follows two lovers confronted by a violent, cuckolded husband. In 2012 at the Puccini Plus Festival, the Opéra de Lyon presented Puccini’s Il trittico over the course of several evenings.Carefully structured and with an action-packed plot, this first installment comes to life in a magnificent staging by David Pountney.