Swanhunter

Premiered at Opera North in 2009 to enthusiastic reviews, Jonathan Dove’s 50-minute chamber opera for families, written with librettist Alasdair Middleton, returns in a new co-production with theatre company The Wrong Crowd at the Royal Opera’s Linbury Theatre.
Taking its story from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, it tells the story of the dashing Lemminkäinen, who travels to the far north to find a mythical bride whose beauty “makes the sun sigh”. En route he faces a series of adventurous challenges that – that, against the enforced happy endings of modern fairy tales – he fails. Dismemberment follows. Thankfully, his mother is on hand to magically sing him back to life.
A familiar tale to listeners of Sibelius' Lemminkäinen suite, Dove’s account is jauntier, accompanied by puppetry and energetic action. Scored for a modest force of six singers and a six-piece band, the music has a folky, dancing swing, replete with accordion. It's also a good introduction to the sounds of adult opera: the Swan, a part of coloratura soprano, sings with a sweeping vocalise. As with Dove's other works for the young, Swanhunter seems likely to be busy enough for a child's attention span yet substantial enough for an adult audience.
Swanhunter is suitable for ages seven and up.