Orpha is interviewed for CSTV in association with The Arts Council of Ireland and Irish National Opera
November 2020
Orpha and her interviewer, Lauren, dispel many of the long-standing myths about opera, and get to grips with the process of creating an opera, from finding the balance between text and music on the opera stage to choosing design colleagues and working with singers to help them give their best.
Blue Electric Live Stream available to watch now
November 2020
The world premiere of Blue Electric took place at The Playground Theatre in West London on 27 October. Here you can see the live stream from 30 October, featuring Mimi Doulton and Jonathan Brown in the roles of Maya and Leon.
Orpha to return to Irish National Opera
October 2020
Following her tremendous success with La Cenerentola in Ireland last year, Irish National Opera has just announced Orpha's return to her home country. She will direct a new production of La Bohème in Spring 2021 with performances in Wexford, Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
Orpha Phelan to direct Blue Electric
September 2020
Based on Alba Arikha’s acclaimed memoir Major/Minor, Blue Electric is a collaboration between composer Tom Smail and librettist Arikha. This is an opera of juxtapositions - contemporary orchestral music and bursts of pop, adolescent preoccupations and concentration camps. It is about a father and daughter and the effect - years later - of the Holocaust on their relationship.
La Cenerentola is nominated in Irish Times Theatre Awards
January 2020
Orpha's production of La Cenerentola for Irish National Opera has just been nominated for Best Production and Best Set Design in the Irish Times Theatre Awards. The ceremony will take place at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on 5 April.
Dialogues des Carmelites opens to rapturous reviews in Manchester
December 2019
"A marvellous staging that theatre director Orpha Phelan deserves a thousand gold stars for" (Reviewer Number 9)
"Stage director Orpha Phelan and her design team have inspired a compelling performance of great energy and spirit" (Seen and Heard)
"This quality acting was a real testament to the work of Director Orpha Phelan" (North West End)
"A Cenerentola well deserving of its standing ovation"
November 2019
The five star reviews are just in
Phelan’s masterful direction...Outstanding performances...Irish National Opera’s "Cinderella/La Cenerentola" is utterly, utterly glorious.
An "eye catching production" of Wuthering Heights, by Orpha Phelan
May 2019
Great precision... supremely charming...in the best Anglo-Saxon theatrical tradition...Orpha Phelan is simply fantastic. The reviews are unanimous. Read more
Orpha to make her INO debut
May 2019
Orpha makes a happy return to her home country this Autumn with her debut production for Irish National Opera. La Cenerentola will open at the Bórd Gáis Energy Theatre on November 20th with Tara Erraught in the title role
I am Heathcliff!
May 2019
Orpha's production of Wuthering Heights, or Les Hauts de Hurlevent, opens at the Opéra National de Lorraine. In this French scenic premiere, opera and Hollywood combine seamlessly as one of Alfred Hitchcock's great collaborators, Bernard Hermann, draws on the seminal work of Emily Brontë.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
April 2019
Orpha teams up with composer Orlando Gough and librettist Timothy Knapman to propose a chamber opera adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel.
Video Production by Julian Langham
Read more here:
A Quiet Place - Best Opera 2018
January 2019
The coveted Place de l'Opera award of Best Opera 2018 has been awarded to A Quiet Place in The Netherlands. The finalists were nominated by critics, and the audiences picked the winner in late December.
New trailer just published
November 2018
Watch the latest trailer for A Quiet Place
Video production https://julianlangham.co.uk
Orpha Phelan is interviewed at Opera Zuid
November 2018
Watch an interview with Orpha about her latest production, A Quiet Place
Video production https://julianlangham.co.uk
A Quiet Place Promo just published
November 2018
Watch the new promotional video of A Quiet Place, produced by Opera Zuid in The Bernstein Centenary Year
Video production https://julianlangham.co.uk
November 2018
Unanimous reviews just in - A Quiet Place is hailed as Opera of The Year.
November 2018
Orpha is pictured here at the premiere with Stephen Wadsworth, librettist of A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place opens in two weeks
October 2018
Watch the behind the scenes trailer for Bernstein's masterpiece now. Premiere in Maastricht on 9 November followed by national tour.
Orpha to make Norwegian debut
April 2018
Orpha will make her Norwegian debut in the Autumn of 2020, bringing her award winning production of Dead Man Walking to the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo.
Orpha to direct the French scenic premeire of Wuthering Heights
December 2017
Orpha will make her French debut on 2 May 2019, directing the French scenic premiere of Bernard Hartmann's Wuthering Heights in Nancy, for Opéra National de Lorraine.
Orpha Phelan to direct A Quiet Place in the Berstein Centenary year
October 2017
Orpha will make her Dutch debut with Opera Zuid in 2018. She will direct A Quiet Place, with performances throughout The Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Fiddler on the Roof opens at Malmö Opera
September 2017
"Irish director Orpha Phelan's finest production at Malmö Opera"
Outstanding reviews just in for Fiddler on the Roof. Read more
Fiddler on the Roof is featured on Swedish TV
August 2017
Watch Philip Zandén (Tevye) and Orpha Phelan introduce Spelman på Taket on SVT.
A new production of Fidelio marks Orpha's debut at Longborough Festival Opera
June 2017
"A plucky and lively Fidelio that's filled with light and hope"...
"The concept proves quite gripping...Phelan draws persuasive performances from the cast..."
La Bohème is released by Naxos
June 2017
Malmö Opera and Naxos have released Orpha's acclaimed production of La Bohème starring Olesya Golovneva and Joachim Backström on DVD
Denmark's top arts prize goes to Orpha, two years in a row
June 2017
Dead Man Walking has won Best Opera Production in Denmark's most prestigious theatre award, the Reumert Prize 2017. This is Orpha's second year in a row to win the top prize. Last year her acclaimed production of Powder her Face also came first.
Dead Man Walking is nominated for Denmark's prestigious arts prize, The Reumert Award
April 2017
Orpha's production of Dead Man Walking has been nominated for Best Opera Production in Denmark's most prestigious theatre award, the Reumert Prize 2017. The award ceremony will take place on 10 June.
Dead Man Walking opens at The Royal Danish Opera with outstanding reviews
January 2017
The audience is saved no details. Experiencing this production is like watching a film immersed in a large musical aquarium of emotions. Depicted vividly with cinematic accuracy... this is a sharply staged production. Read More
Billy Budd opens at Opera North to rapturous reviews
October 2016
Clarity and strength are the assets of Orpha Phelan's new production for Opera North: no gimmicks, superb company work and three principals for the battle of good and evil all equal to their dramatic challenges at a level I haven't seen for decades. Read more
Orpha Phelan has been invited to direct Malmö Opera's new musical for 2017, Fiddler on the Roof.
June 2016
Orpha Phelan has been invited to direct Malmö Opera's new musical for 2017, Fiddler on the Roof. With refugees displaced daily from their homes and lands, Fiddler on the Roof is as relevant and poignant today as when it was first created. This promises to be a moving production for cast and audiences alike.
Orpha Phelan's production of Powder Her Face wins prestigious Reumert Award
June 2016
Powder Her Face has just won a Reumert Award for Best Opera Production in Denmark's most prestigious theatre award, the Reumert Prize 2016.
Orpha is pictured here with Sven Muller, Artistic Director of The Royal Danish Opera.
Critical acclaim at the time was exceptional - Read reviews
Orpha Phelan to return to The Royal Danish Opera
May 2016
Following the success of Powder Her Face, The Royal Danish Opera has announced Orpha is to return to Copenhagen next season to direct a new production of Dead Man Walking. Performances are in January 2017. Nicky Shaw designs set and costumes and Mark Jonathan lights.
Orpha Phelan returns to Opera North
April 2016
After her acclaimed production of I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Opera North announces Orpha Phelan's new production of Billy Budd for their 2016-17 season. Roderick Williams, Alan Oke and Alastair Miles sing Billy, Vere and Claggart.
Performances at 7pm: Leeds Grand Theatre October 18, 21, 27, 29 Theatre Royal, Newcastle November 3 The Lowry, Salford Quays November 10 Theatre Royal, Nottingham November 17 Edinburgh Festival Theatre December 1, 3
Longborough Festival Opera announces Orpha Phelan's debut
May 2016
Longborough Festival Opera is pleased to announce Orpha Phelan's debut at the 2017 festival, with Fidelio. Madeleine Boyd designs.
Powder Her Face is nominated for Denmark's prestigious arts prize April 2016
April 2016
Powder Her Face has been nominated for Best Opera Production in Denmark's most prestigious theatre award, the Reumert Prize 2016. The award ceremony will be broadcast live on DRK on 12 June.
"Captivating, convincing, virtuosic"... Powder Her Face opens at The Royal Danish Opera to standing ovations and euphoric reviews
March 2016
'...Orpha Phelan's brilliant direction provides the perfect balance between the amusing and the tragic and is as fresh as at the premiere in 1995' ******
‘Bring me wine, bring me meat’ says the naughty Duchess, whose history is now told in a beautiful and intense way at the Royal Opera. Everything is finely tuned by the Irish woman Orpha Phelan, whose productions have been staged three times in Malmö before coming across the water to Denmark. One cannot believe that the opera runs only to 16 April - it is already sold out.”
Frederiksbog Amts Avis
Powder Her Face rehearsals begin at The Royal Danish Opera February 2016
February 2016
Rehearsals are well under way in Copenhagen for Orpha's new production of Powder Her Face at The Royal Danish Opera. Madeleine Boyd designs set and costumes, Anders Poll lights and Robert Houssart conducts. In a rare coup, mother and daughter team Anne Margrethe Dahl and Christine Dahl play the older and younger duchess, side by side.
Jenufa selected for another Theatre Exhibition
January 2015
Orpha Phelan's production of Jenufa at Malmö Opera has been selected for the National Theatre Design Exhibition 2015 Make Believe. The exhibition is held every four years. This year it is in Nottingham and it opens on 14 January.
La Bohème opens at Malmö Opera to outstanding reviews
March 2014
‘Defiant vitality’
'One of the most moving renditions of Puccini’s opera I have ever seen'
'Outstanding performances in both singing and acting'
Read More
Jenufa is selected to be part of prestigious design exhibition
May 2013
Orpha Phelan and Leslie Travers’ Jenůfa (Malmö Opera) has been selected to be part of the World Theatre Design Exhibition 2013 which takes place in Cardiff 5-15 September. It’s the first time the quadrenially occurring exhibition has taken place in Europe. The exhibition celebrates the ‘very best’ of global theatre design over the previous four years.
Orpha Phelan’s production of Jenůfa at Malmö Opera is released by Arthaus Musik to rapturous reviews.
Orpha Phelan to direct l'Orfeo at The Barbican
March 2013
Following her acclaimed production of Jonathan Harvey's Wagner Dream at The Barbican, Orpha Phelan returns to The Barbican in September 2013, with the birth of western opera. She will stage Monteverdi’s Orfeo, under the baton of Richard Egarr with The Academy of Ancient Music and with John Mark Ainsley in the title role.
Orpha Phelan’s debut in her native Ireland is met with superlative reviews
February 2013
“Alluring, spectacular, scintillating...” - tremendous reviews for Così Fan Tutte for Opera Theatre Company. Read More
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