Blond Eckbert was a huge hit at this year's Festival, captivating the opening night audience with a hauntingly imaginative staging of Judith Weir's landmark work. Dark shadows threaten Eckbert and Berthe's woodland solitude; will they regret confiding in the mysterious Walther?

We're delighted to welcome English Touring Opera back for a second heartstopping performance, this time presented in a double bill with Do not take my story for a fairytale, a staging of song cycles and cantatas exploring love, isolation and the terrible wonder of the natural world. Featuring music from the same period that Ludwig Tieck’s story, Der Blonde Eckbert, was written, including Schubert's Prometheus and Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte as well as a cantata by Mariana Martines, Do not take my story for a fairytale explores the shaping of the Romantic imagination.

Do not take my story for a fairytale will be performed by a period-instrument chamber ensemble alongside soprano Abigail Kelly, mezzo-soprano Amy J Payne, tenor and 2024 Kathleen Ferrier Award-winner Matthew McKinney, and baritone Mark Nathan.

Both performances are helmed by ETO General Director Robin Norton Hale and Music Director Gerry Cornelius, with designs by the Linbury Prize-winning Eleanor Bull.

Sung in English with English surtitles.

Main image: Blond Eckbert © Richard Hubert Smith