Of One Blood premieres at the Bayerische Staatsoper on 10 May 2026. The British premiere will take place at Garsington Opera in 2028. Commissioned by the Bayerische Staatsoper, Garsington Opera, The Santa Fe Opera and State Opera South Australia.
Garsington Opera is delighted to announce the co-commission of Australian composer Brett Dean’s new opera, following the worldwide success of Hamlet. The libretto, in English, is by Heather Betts based on texts by Mary Stuart, Elizabeth Tudor and other 16th century sources. Garsington Opera will present a new production directed by Lousia Muller, with Artistic Director Douglas Boyd conducting.
Douglas Boyd said: “Brett Dean’s Hamlet was one of the great operatic landmarks of the century. I am so delighted that Garsington Opera will present the UK premiere of his next work and play such an important part in its life. We look forward to presenting Of One Blood in 2028 in a bespoke production, made for our award-winning opera house.”
Two powerful women, whose graves now lie side by side in London’s Westminster Abbey, were “Of One Blood”, that is, they were cousins. Though their lives were inextricably linked together, they never met. Elizabeth I ruled as Queen of England while Mary Stuart reigned over Scotland in this famous chapter of Tudor history. A bitter power struggle between the Protestant hegemony and the Catholic opposition ultimately led to the English parliament forcing Queen Elizabeth to have Mary Stuart executed.
This story has been related in history books and many artforms – but now it comes to us in Brett Dean’s new opera. Librettist Heather Betts found what she needed for the text in the original letters penned by the two queens themselves and other 16th century sources. In shaping the narrative, she condenses the spiralling claims to power, intrigues, violence and aristocratic influence, peaking over several decades, into a captivating dramaturgy as a fertile structure for Brett Dean’s powerful and inventive music.
Full production and cast information will be released in autumn 2027.
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