Northern Ireland Opera is set to celebrate the return of live performances with a new staging of “La bohème” in September.

The production will be the first to be done by Cameron Menzies since he joined as NIO’s new Artistic Director in February. Menzies is known for his work spanning opera, musical theatre, cabaret, and filmmaking, and has been seen in countries such as Australia, U.K., Japan, South Africa, and more. As a director, he has worked with Shakespeare’s Globe, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Diva Opera UK, Opera Australia, and Victorian Opera, among others.

The performance will take place inside the Carlisle Memorial Church in Belfast over four evenings, running September 18, 20, 23, and 25, 2021. Full details on the cast will be announced at a future date.

“The themes of youthful hope, the pursuit of connection, love and the very real and human desire for relationships, paired with some of the most stunning composition in the history of opera, seems to be what our audiences need right now both in terms of relevance and potency,” Menzies said in a press release. “We are so fortunate to be able to create this new socially-distanced production inside a building that has had a rather varied and bohemian existence of its own. I already feel that the power of the building and how it stands in its own slightly broken and faded beauty is the absolute perfect grasp to safely and lovingly hold this opera.”