Every year an opera tours the Lille area and Hauts-de-France region so their residents can participate in the Opéra de Lille season. In May and June 2027, the immersive opera A Journey by Boat will set out to bring us close to one another!

Only forty kilometres separate Venice from Padua by car — a piddling distance by today’s standards. But in Adriano Banchieri’s madrigal comedy Barca di Venetia per Padova, we make the journey via the waters of the Brenta. The boat stops constantly and the countless passengers who come aboard and disembark in under an hour study one another with the cautious curiosity that invariably burgeons among strangers sharing the same space.

Composed in 1605, at a time when opera was only beginning to develop in northern Italy, the piece still relies on the madrigal genre, which Banchieri turns into irresistibly vibrant musical theatre. Through a series of short scenes, five voices sketch out landscapes, situations and picturesque characters.

So with Banchieri’s score in our luggage alongside a firm belief that travel can bring us closer together, the production will set out in turn! Franziska Kronfoth, who has been directing musical theatre in unexpected venues for years now, has created an immersive project focused on people who travel, the appeal of distant lands, and the urge to leave. Along the way, she works with the audience to create an emotional map of the region, its residents and their unique traits.

21 and 23 May at the Opéra de Lille (studio)
From 26 May to 4 July in the Lille area and the Hauts-de-France region

Price: €12 for performances at the Opéra de Lille · excluding subscriptions, on sale from 13 April at 1:30 pm
For off-site performances, ticket prices vary depending on the partner venue.