MICHAEL BALL TO STAR IN ENO’S NEW PRODUCTION OF KISMET

English National Opera announces that Michael Ball will perform the role of Hajj/Poet in the new production of Robert Wright & George Forrest’s KISMET. Based on themes of Alexander Borodin and the play by Edward Knoblock, the book is by Charles Lederer & Luther Davies. This is the first new West End production for almost 30 years.

Michael Ball is Britain’s foremost musical performer and has won acclaim for his numerous starring roles on Broadway, London’s West End as well as on stage, screen and television. Productions include Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love and Passion. He has performed with Kiri Te Kanawa, Lesley Garrett and New York City Opera.

This new production of Kismet will be conceived in collaboration with an inspired group comprising Luther Davis (one of the original team for Kismet), director Gary Griffin and writer and performer Kit Hesketh-Harvey. Kismet premièred in 1953 and was a hit on Broadway and an even bigger hit in London, where it played at the Stoll Theatre.

ENO welcomes Gary Griffin, Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Company, Chicago and of the Lincoln Center’s ‘Encore’ Series.  His production of Pacific Overtures at London’s Donmar Warehouse received the Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production. He made his Broadway debut in 2005 with the musical version of The Color Purple.

Wright & Forrest’s Kismet is an eclectic choice to suit ENO’s abilities and resources, with special emphasis on the Chorus. Based on themes including Borodin’s Prince Igor, the symphonic score incorporates a string of great numbers, a major dance element and requires a blend of performance styles from musicals and opera to carry off its stratospheric vocal demands.  This makes Kismet ideally suited to an opera ensemble and to a stage such as that of the London Coliseum, the premier venue for big American musicals in the 1940s and 1950s.

To meet the specific demands of the score with its mix of classical and Broadway styles, ENO has engaged two conductors, Richard Hickox, Music Director Opera Australia and, as Musical Associate, Simon Lee, conductor of On the Town.

The designer is Ultz, who created the stunning set for The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, which opened ENO’s 2005/06 Sky & Artsworld Season.

For the first time ENO has scheduled a consecutive run of performances.

Further casting will be announced later in the year.

19 PERFORMANCES ONLY:  Reduced price previews 25, 26 June. Performances 27 June - 14 July 2007.