{{Short description|2018 opera by Giorgio Battistelli}} {{italic title}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Infobox opera | name = Wake | composer = Giorgio Battistelli | image = | librettist = Sarah Woods | language = English | premiere_date = 14 March 2018 | premiere_location = Birmingham | website = {{URL|https://www.birminghamopera.org.uk/wake-a-new-opera-for-birmingham}} }}
'''''Wake''''' is an opera with music by Giorgio Battistelli to a libretto by Sarah Woods. It was premiered on 14 March 2018 by Birmingham Opera Company, in a production by Graham Vick.<ref>[https://www.birminghamopera.org.uk/wake-a-new-opera-for-birmingham Wake: A New Opera for Birmingham], Birmingham Opera Company website, accessed 16 March 2018.</ref>
The opera, which lasts about 80 minutes, is based on the story of the raising of Lazarus. The production involved participation by non-professionals and audience, who were asked on entry to don veils in mourning for the deceased Lazarus.<ref name=Stage>George Hall, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180315191231/https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2018/wake-review-b12-warehouse-birmingham/ "Wake review at B12 Warehouse, Birmingham"], 15 March 2018, ''The Stage'' website, accessed 16 March 2018.</ref>
Reviews of the opera were mixed. ''The Stage'' described the work as an "ambitious immersive opera that lacks clarity" in which the audience is steered around four trailer platforms to be confronted with a variety of scenes including police violence and gay exclusion.<ref name=Stage /> ''The Times'' found Batistelli's score "diffuse, [with] dated and forgettable avante-garde effects that Penderecki and Berio were doing better half a century ago", and concluded that "unlike Lazarus, it's not likely to be revived."<ref>Richard Morrison, "I prayed for the end", ''The Times'', 16 March 2018, Times 2 section, p. 15.</ref> However, it received five stars from the Birmingham Post, who described it as "a sold out success" and stated that "Wake continues BOC's record of combining innovation and engagement with sheer quality". The Arts Desk also wrote an enthusiastic review, describing the piece as "a musical-dramatic experience that leaves you with ears buzzing, mind racing, and ready to reassess everything you thought you knew about opera".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theartsdesk.com/opera/wake-birmingham-opera-company-review-power-people|title=Wake, Birmingham Opera Company review - power to the people|website=theartsdesk.com|date=15 March 2018|language=en|access-date=2018-04-14}}</ref>
==Roles== {| class="wikitable" !Role !Voice type !Premiere <br />14 March 2018<br />Birmingham Opera Company at B12 Warehouse, Birmingham<br />Conductor: Jonathon Heyward |- |Lazarus||tenor||Joshua Stewart |- |Jesus||baritone||Elliott Carlton Hines |- |Martha||soprano||Nardus Williams |- |Mary||soprano||Mimi Doulton |}
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Operas Category:2018 operas Category:English-language operas Category:Operas based on the Bible Category:Operas set in the 1st century Category:Operas by Giorgio Battistelli