From the 9th to the 12th May, Bristol Opera (www.bristolopera.org.uk) is performing The Vampire and Matthew is lucky enough to be playing in it. This is a little known piece by Heinrich Marschner which some may remember was serialized on the BBC as ‘The Vampire – A Soap Opera’ some twenty years ago in a production by Janet Street-Porter!
This is not that version. Rather, it is the original from 1828 but with a translation specifically for Bristol Opera by the Bradford based director and actor Graham Billing. Its plot could easily be the basis for a blockbuster movie. A vampire is given 24 hours to suck the blood from 3 women in order to live for another year. Two women are quickly found and killed, a third one in a thrilling sequence of events manages to keep alive. If you like the sound of that, maybe you’re a fan of the Vampire Diaries with all its romance, then a night out at one of the shows is a must. It has all the dark atmospherics of Bram Stokers Dracula and pre-dates it by nearly 80 years! The music sits somewhere between Weber and early (Flying Dutchman) Wagner and what with all the high drama and tension that this brings, it makes it the perfect accompaniment to the drama on stage.
This is the first time Matthew has worked with Bristol Opera and he is very much looking forward to it!