Lady in the Dark

The second production in the Kurt Weill double bill is this new staging of his dreamy 1941 opera about burnt-out fashion editor Liza, who finds herself on the psychiatrist’s couch. Written with Ira Gershwin and Moss Hart, it was Weill’s first Broadway hit, with moods both sweet and sweeping as the modern American woman relives the demands on her life. Underpinning the work is the familiar song “My Ship”, which has been covered by everyone from Judy Garland to Jessye Norman. This revival of Lady in the Dark is staged by up-and-coming British director Anna Pool who has worked with a series of innovative companies, including the UK’s Opera North and site-specific pioneers Slung Low. American conductor David Stern and the philharmonie zuidnederland are in the pit.