Thomas Adès: Powder Her Face, ENO

As composers of contemporary music go, Thomas Adès is probably the most household of

household names on these shores. Since he burst onto the scene as a precocious young talent during 

the 1990s, an enviable array of commissions have been tossed his way, including commissions from 

the Royal Opera House, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the City of 

Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and numerous commissions for the BBC Proms. Considering 

the sheer volume of work he has produced, it is astonishing to think that he has only just celebrated 

his fortieth birthday. This season, the English National Opera present the 1995 chamber opera that 

kick-started his career, Powder Her Face. 

Playfully realised and immaculately scored, Powder Her Face tells the story of Margaret Campbell, 

The Duchess of Argyll, otherwise known as “The Dirty Duchess”, who rose to fame during a 

prominent scandal as a result of her divorce proceedings during the early 1960s. This naughty little 

piece achieved almost instant notoriety because it contained the first ever on-stage depiction of 

fellatio in opera, or as we like to call it, “the opera blow job that sparked a thousand opera 

blow jobs”. As you can guess, this piece isn't for everyone - it has been contrarily described as “the 

music of the future” by esteemed writer Paul Griffiths and as an “arid little piece of superannuated 

adolescent exhibitionism” by Time Out. We’ll leave you to make your mind up about that one.

We are particularly excited to see Joe Hill-Gibbins make his opera debut as director. Like Adès was 

once, Gibbins is an exciting young prospect for the arts, and his impressive roster of productions 

includes last year’s Edward II at the National Theatre, and productions at the Royal Court and the 

Young Vic. Hill-Gibbins is taking this production to Ambika P3, an enormous industrial space 

adapted from a disused concrete construction hall in Baker Street, so expect a hip young crowd of 

opera-goers. Although the space is positively cavernous, due to the popularity of the work and its 

director, we expect tickets will sell out quickly - so get booking!

• NB This performance takes place at ENO's Ambika P3 venue near Baker Street, not at the London Coliseum.