WINNER of the 2014 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, English Touring Opera (ETO) returns to the Theatre Royal Bath with its Orchestra to perform two dramatic and passionate French operas, as the company presents brand new productions of Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy on Monday, November 9 and The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach on Tuesday, November 10.

Famous for Claude Debussy’s sensuous and captivating music, Pelléas et Mélisande is set in a remote castle by the sea, with echoes of Romeo and Juliet in its depiction of doomed romance. In this voyage of the imagination, the innocent ardour of the young hero, Pelléas, the elusive beauty of the young maiden, Mélisande, and the fatal jealously of her husband, King Golaud, forms the passionate heart of the opera and a tortured love triangle. For years Debussy searched for the perfect drama to set, and once he saw the compelling play by Maurice Maeterlinck he had no doubt that this was it. The resulting marriage of music and drama is sensuous and captivating.

Debussy’s only opera is a mysterious masterpiece like no other. In Pelléas et Mélisande what is unsaid is as important as what is said – and this is where Debussy’s wonderful score works its magic. Belgian composer Annelies Van Parys’s sensitive, transparent arrangement has been much praised on the continent, and receives its UK premiere in this production, directed by James Conway, with the central roles played by Jonathan McGovern as Pelléas, Susanna Hurrell as Mélisande and Stephan Loges as Golaud.

Conducted by Jonathan Berman, the cast is completed by Michael Druiett as Arkel, Helen Johnson as Genevieve and Lauren Zolezzi as Yniold. Pelléas et Mélisande is sung in French with English surtitles, and is performed at Theatre Royal on Monday 9th November at 7.30pm.

From the master of French operetta, who virtually reinvented comic opera in France, Jacques Offenbach’s work of genius, The Tales of Hoffmann, is studded with thrilling melodies like the Barcarolle, which was used in the Oscar-winning film Life is Beautiful (La vita è bella).

Late at night in a tavern, while waiting for his latest mistress, the penniless writer Hoffmann tells of his former loves, always shadowed by a dark adversary. Based on the same stories that also inspired two classic ballets, The Nutcracker and Coppélia, The Tales of Hoffmann is the story of a young poet’s romantic misadventures, which include a singer, a courtesan and a mechanical doll. Set during the birth of silent cinema, filled with melodies and Tim Burton-esque invention, this production treats familiar stories from the works of ETA Hoffmann with a mix of passion and darkly comic humour.

This new production of Offenbach’s masterpiece by director James Bonas matches the virtuoso talents of young tenor Sam Furness in the title role; ETO favourite Ilona Domnich as Hoffmann’s three heroines - Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta; Louise Mott as his friend and inspiration, Nicklausse and Muse; and Warwick Fyfe as the three villains, Lindorf, Coppélius and Miracle.

Conducted by Philip Sunderland, the cast is completed by Tim Dawkins as Luther and Crespel; Matt R J Ward as Andrès, Cochenille and Frantz; Adam Tunnicliffe as Nathanaël, Spalanzani and Pitichinaccio; and Ashley Mercer as Student and Schlémil. The Tales of Hoffmann is sung in English, and is performed at Theatre Royal on Tuesday, November 10 at 7.30pm.

ETO will host a Pre-Show Talk before both performances at the Theatre Royal Bath at 6.30pm. Tickets for the Pre-Show Talks, which are free of charge, can be booked via the Box Office. Visit www.theatreroyal.org.uk for more details