On October 3, 2020, Blackheath Halls Opera will release a 30-minute video of Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress,” in an accessible production by director James Hurley.

Filmed in Blackheath Halls and the homes of participants, this production features Nicky Spence as Tom Rakewell, Ashley Riches as Nick Shadow, and Francesca Chiejina as Anne Truelove. The cast includes Kitty Whately, James Way, and Carolyn Williamson.

Orchestral and choral parts were provided by the Blackheath Halls Opera Orchestra and Chorus, who recorded their individual parts from their homes, under the music direction of conductor Christopher Stark.

“As patron for Blackheath Halls Opera, I was especially pleased to be able to collaborate with our fantastic members of the community chorus and orchestra,” writes Nicky Spence in a press release.  “Our journey through ‘The Rake’s Progress promises to bring opera back to South East London in a really novel way and I’m thrilled that the team have seized the opportunity to create something from Blackheath Halls and for our own homes this autumn.”