Telemann comes to Covent Garden for the first time

The Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) is set to welcome the first performance of a work by German Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann to take place at the Covent Garden venue. Next month, RBO’s Jette Parker Artists (JPAs) will present Georg Philipp Telemann’s subversive Pimpinone (2-17 May) 300 years after it was first written.

The opera’s direction, conducting and performance will be undertaken by participants on the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists Programme, a two-year programme which aims to nurture the next generation of conductors, directors, répétiteurs and singers with opportunities across the Royal Ballet and Opera stages. The production is directed by Sophie Gilpin and stars Grisha Martirosyan and Isabela Díaz as Pimpinone and Vespetta respectively. They are accompanied by the Orchestra of English National Opera conducted by Peggy Wu.

Gilpin said: ‘I'm thrilled to be directing Telemann’s sparkling comedy, Pimpinone. Alongside its lighthearted humour, this rarely performed gem grapples with profound issues of power, class, and gender. Vespetta’s journey speaks to a timeless struggle for empowerment and autonomy, while Pimpinone experiences the discomfort of losing control in a world that’s shifting beneath his feet. It's exciting to find such contemporary relevance in the delightful absurdity of a 300-year-old opera, allowing us to laugh while reflecting on how much – and how little – has changed.’

The rarely-performed opera was originally performed as an interlude between the acts of George Handel’s opera seria, Tamerlano, and opens on 2 May in the Linbury Theatre in an expanded version with additional musical material in the form of the three movements from Telemann’s Sinfonia Spirituosa in D major (TWV 44:1). The production’s staging, designed by Anna Yates is inspired by 1960s London and the boundary-breaking women who occupied it, in a reflection of Pimpinone as a story of social ascension.

Head of the Jette Parker Artists Programme Elaine Kidd said: ‘Telemann features regularly in orchestral programmes, but is rarely brought to life for the opera-going public. The 300th anniversary of the piece offers a great opportunity to hear both Pimpinone and other extracts of his music that we have included as interludes between the scenes. Our Artists can bring their full creativity to bear on neglected pieces, free from the ghosts of interpretations past that hover over more regularly performed repertoire.’