Regents Opera performs 'Mahler 2'
Regents Opera performs
Mahler Symphony no.2
‘Resurrection’
And Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll
Conducted by: Ben Woodward
Soloists: Catharine Woodward and Mae Heydorn
Great Hall, Blackheath Halls
Sunday, 5 October 2025, 7.00pm
Following their critically acclaimed Ring Cycle earlier this year, the boundary-pushing Regents Opera will open their 2025-26 season at Blackheath Halls on 5 October with two late Romantic masterpieces – Gustav Mahler’s towering Symphony no.2 ‘Resurrection’ and Richard Wagner’s tender Siegfried Idyll.
Regents Opera, the largest and most ambitious fringe opera company in the UK, has forged a reputation for performing grand operatic works that aren’t bound by history, length or location. Artistic Director Ben Woodward, to much acclaim, adapted Wagner’s colossal Ring Cycle into a work for just 18 musicians. It was performed in a boxing ring in London’s East End.
Acclaimed stars of the Ring Cycle, Catharine Woodward and Mae Heydorn, will join an expanded Regents Opera orchestra and a chorus of 100 singers from across the South East, including members of the English Arts Chorale, to perform the titanic ‘Mahler 2’, which was inspired when the composer attended the funeral of a friend and which delivers a breathtaking journey from the stillness of the grave to a blazing affirmation of eternal life. The concert will come to life under the baton of Ben Woodward whose work has once been described as having “flair, insight and the fluency of a page-turner.”
The evening will open with Richard Wagner’s delicate Siegfried Idyll performed by 23 players. Originally written as a gift to his wife and first performed in 1870 by a group of musicians at the bottom of their stairs at home on the morning of her birthday, also Christmas Day, the Idyll contains a lullaby motif that it was believed Wagner would often hum to their son, Siegfried.
On programming, and conducting, what is considered one of the greatest symphonic works ever written, Woodward says, “It’s been a dream of mine to conduct the Mahler 2. It is the ideal piece to showcase Regents Opera’s rebirth after our celebrated Ring Cycle – with its theme of resurrection, opening our new season feels like the perfect time and occasion to take on this spectacular work.”
ENDS.
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Tickets and more information https://www.blackheathhalls.com/whats-on/regents-opera-mahler/
Conducted by: Ben Woodward
Soloists: Catharine Woodward and Mae Heydorn
Musicians: The Regents Opera Orchestra and chorus, including the English Arts Chorale
Tickets are on sale here.
Running time: Approximately two hours with a short pause between pieces.
“[Catherine] Woodward…was an immensely sympathetic and committed Brünnhilde throughout, and she saved her best till last in a Götterdämmerung immolation scene of vocal distinction and probing understanding.” – The Guardian
“Catharine Woodward’s Brünnhilde was often superb – her voice a tremendous instrument of consummate power and beauty, a not inconsiderable virtue for this role in this particular Ring opera.... It is as much the impact of her stage presence which works in her favour as it is her rich tone… As powerful a final scene as I have heard in recent performances of Götterdämmerung.”— Opera Today
“...a gorgeously sung Erda from Mae Heydorn” – The Guardian
“But almost the most beautiful singing of the whole evening, and the most magical touch, comes from the Erda, Mae Heydorn.” – The Arts Desk
About Regents Opera
“Fringe Opera at its greatest” — Opera Now
Regents Opera (est. 2011) is a leading fringe opera company specialising in the larger works of the 19th & 20th centuries. With a focus on offering emerging and established singers a platform to perform major repertoire not often staged outside the major houses, Regent Opera’s critically acclaimed, immersive productions include Wagner’s complete Der Ring des Nibelungen and Der fliegende Holländer, Verdi’s Falstaff, Simon Boccanegra and Don Carlo, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus.
www.regentsopera.com | @RegentsOpera
About Blackheath Halls
Built in 1895 thanks to the vision of William Webster and other local enthusiasts, Blackheath Halls is a Grade II listed building and part of the oldest surviving purpose-built cultural complex in London, offering spaces to hire for performances, recordings, private events and rehearsals.
www.blackheathhalls.com | @BlackheathHalls