The Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera has been won by Thomas Adès and the Royal Opera House for the world premiere of The Tempest. The award was collected by Simon Keenlyside, who played Prospero in the production, and was presented by opera singer Rebecca Evans.
The music for The Tempest, based on the Shakespeare play, was composed by Adès, who established his international reputation through the huge success of his chamber opera Powder Her Face. Poet and playwright Meredith Oakes contributed the libretto while Tom Cairns made his directorial debut.
Other nominees were Ben Heppner for The Royal Opera’s Peter Grimes, John MacFarlane for his designs of Peter Grimes and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Royal Opera House, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House under the musical direction of Antonio Pappano for their season’s work.
