BBC Four Slates “Immersive Opera”

LONDON: BBC Four is set to broadcast the “immersive opera” The Passion, which is being performed in Manchester on Good Friday and Easter Saturday.

Billed as a bold and contemporary retelling of the last days of Jesus’s life, the event is being staged by the charity Streetwise Opera and the ensemble The Sixteen in Manchester’s Victorian Campfield Market. BBC Four will screen the opera at 7 p.m. this Sunday. It is teaming with The Space to broadcast the event; they previously collaborated on airing Northern Ballet’s version of George Orwell’s 1984.

Cassian Harrison, channel editor of BBC Four, said, “I am delighted that this Easter, BBC Four and The Space will give audiences the opportunity to experience such an innovative production as Streetwise Opera’s The Passion. Creative partnerships like this allow us to bring the U.K.’s most exciting arts productions direct to people’s homes.”

Fiona Morris, creative director and CEO of The Space, added, “We’re delighted to be working with Streetwise Opera and BBC Four to bring this extraordinary re-imagining of Bach’s wonderful St Matthew Passion to audiences around the U.K. This promises to be a truly memorable center piece to the Easter weekend for the performers, audience members and viewers alike.”