From the New Theatre, Cardiff, Peter Maxwell Davies 's new opera, commissioned from Welsh National Opera and produced by its librettist, David Pountney. The work is set in a chillingly envisioned European superstate in the near future. The Doctor, a man of integrity and the descendant of a long line of legendary healers, journeys to the centre of the state to find the cause of a mysterious disease affecting his patients. Faced by a hostile bureaucracy, he at length gains access to the Ruler, only to find himself corrupted by the very power that he blames for his people's suffering. Introduced by Nicola Heywood Thomas. Act 1
Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, conductor Richard Armstrong