The Fall of the House of Usher

Fall of the House of Usher

Production photos

Leanne Benjamin & Steven McRea in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'(2006)©Karl Forster
Leanne Benjamin & Steven McRea in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'(2006)©Karl Forster
Leanne Benjamin & Steven McRea in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'(2006)©Karl Forster
Leanne Benjamin & Gary Avis in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'(2006)©Karl Forster

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premiere

August 7, 2006 Bregenz Festspielhaus, Bregenz Festival

Further Performances

August 8, 13, 2006

Also released on DVD-Video Capriccio NTSC CAP93517

Creative team

Producer

Bregenz Festival

Music

Claude Debussy: Jeux, L’après-midi d’une faune , The Fall of the House of Usher (unfinished opera, completed by Robert Orledge)

Director

Phyllida Lloyd

Choreographer and co-director

Kim Brandstrup

Designs

Richard Hudson

Lighting

Adam Silverman

Conductor

Lawrence Foster

Orchestra

Vienna Symphony Orchestra

dancers

Leanne Benjamin (Lady Madeleine)
Steven McRae (Roderick Usher)
Gary Avis (The Doctor)
Johannes Stepanek (Roderick’s Friend)

The Fall of the House of Usher

Bregenz Festival
Bregenz Festspielhaus , August 7 2006

Review Extracts

“A unique and bewitching experiment…Lloyd and Brandstrup work seamlessly with a superb cast of singers and dancers”

Rupert Christiansen, The Daily Telegraph

“The eminently lyrical style of Brandstrup’s choreography blended perfectly with Debussy’s musical musings. A great performance.”

Horst Koegler, Opera Magazine

“The symbiosis between the dancers and the orchestral score was, quite simply, perfect; every nuance of the music was expressed in gesture and movement”

Opera Now

Programme Note

The Fall of the House of Usher, conceived and directed by Brandstrup and Lloyd, used music by Debussy, including the scores of Jeux and L’après-midi d’une faune , and his unfinished opera, The Fall of the House of Usher (here completed by Robert Orledge). The show explored the characters in Poe’s psychological ghost story and imagined the events leading to its grisly dénouement. Dancers and singers were closely integrated throughout.

The cast featured four dancers from The Royal Ballet including Leanne Benjamin, Steven McRae, Gary Avis and Johannes Stepanek – and singers Scott Hendricks, John Graham-Hall and Nicholas Cavallier. Lawrence Foster conducted the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Design by Richard Hudson