When a Russian dissident is released after 20 years of imprisonment, he finds his wife in despair, his son estranged and the world outside sinking into racial violence. As events get out of hand, the rivalry between blacks and whites turns into a murderous mob riot. Birmingham Opera’s artistic director Graham Vick takes up the challenging of mounting Tippett’s both visionary and eccentric opera, that has remained unstaged since its premiere in 1977. An unused warehouse is transformed into an airport terminal, through which the audience enters a participatory experience, ushered by the chorus.
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