Thursday 16.04.2026 2.00pm BARTÓK, SHOSTAKOVICH & BRITTEN Afternoon Performances on sale from 15 May 2025 £17.50 (includes restoration fund) – Early Bird Rate £20.50 (includes restoration fund) – if bought less than 2 weeks before the concert BRITTEN - Four Sea Interludes from _Peter Grimes_ SHOSTAKOVICH - Suite from 'Hamlet' _interval_ BARTÓK - Bluebeard's Castle (one-act opera) ALICE COOTE mezzo-soprano GÁBOR BRETZ baritone ELIM CHAN conductor “In wars outside the blood runs red / Here is something far more deadly, ladies and gentlemen”. Duke Bluebeard’s castle has seven doors, and his new wife Judith is determined to open them all. But some questions are best left unanswered, and in Bartók’s gripping psychological thriller even the darkest secrets possess a terrible beauty. Today, soprano Alice Coote and baritone Gábor Bretz are the heroine and hero of this sinister fairytale – two world-class singers with an unrivalled sense of theatre, supported by guest conductor Elim Chan and all the glittering colours of the full BBC SSO. Add Britten’s storm-swept portrait of the North Sea, and Shostakovich’s delightfully irreverent encounter with Shakespeare, and this is a pulse-raising concert packed with drama. _Seating for Afternoon Performances is unreserved_