Harrison Birtwistle's The Second Mrs Kong

Tickets On Sale: Thursday 14 May 2026, 10am

Birtwsitle's The Second Mrs Kong

An Opera in Two Acts (Semi Staged Concert Performance)

Free tickets: Reservation required (max. 4)

Duration: 2hrs 30mins (with 20 minute interval)

Did beauty really kill the beast? Enter the World of Shadows: a land beyond the living where the inhabitants are obsessed with King Kong. But the giant ape never lived, so how can he die? The painter Vermeer, his most famous model, a movie mogul and the demigod Orpheus all have a part to play, as composer Harrison Birtwistle and librettist Russell Hoban tip the whole of western culture into the blender. The result was The Second Mrs Kong - an opera like nothing else in British music.

Utterly bizarre and gloriously entertaining, it’s been described as “hypnotically beautiful”, but performances have been rare since its world premiere in 1994. With Martyn Brabbins conducting an all-star cast, you won’t want to miss this one.

Kong John Findon - tenor

Pearl Anna Dennis - soprano

Anubis/Death of Kong Sir John Tomlinson - bass-baritone

Vermeer Roderick Williams - baritone

Mirror Claire Booth - soprano

Inanna (Mrs Dollarama) Susan Bickley - mezzo-soprano

Mr Dollarama John Savournin - baritone

Swami Zumzum Tom Randle - tenor

Orpheus Alexander Chance - countertenor

Madame Lena Stephanie Wake-Edwards - alto

Mirror Echo/Eurydice Catriona Hewitson - soprano

Joe Shady/Messenger Edward Jowle - baritone

The Dead BBC Singers

Martyn Brabbins conductor

Victoria Newlyn director