A Midsummer Night's Dream - Livestream

Don’t miss the opportunity to watch the Adelaide Festival’s centrepiece opera, live as it’s performed in the Festival Theatre in Adelaide, from the comfort of your local theatre.

Benjamin Britten’s musical transformation of Shakespeare’s most loved comedy is something of a miracle: apart from a single short sentence, every word is that of England’s finest poet; every fibre and comic nuance of the play is preserved. And while a lesser composer might have merely adorned a masterpiece, he created a new one all its own: with its graceful haunting melodies, iridescent orchestration, headily perfumed harmony, and filigree-like vocal textures – there’s nothing in the repertoire like it.

Neil Armfield’s special affinity with Britten’s operas has been lauded worldwide. “Definitive” and “staggering” was the UK and US critical consensus for his multi-award-winning Billy Budd and audiences lucky enough to have experienced his Peter Grimes and Turn of the Screw rate them just as highly. Despite its proudly Australian creative team, this missing piece of the puzzle has been seen abroad but never at home. Magical, otherworldly and playful, it bears all the hallmarks of his exceptional craft: drawing subtle and truthful comedic performances, letting his fairies rip as real kids and, in the finale, delivering a belly laugh-inducing riot.