Pulitzer-laden opera ‘Angel’s Bone’ makes its UK premiere at Factory International

English National Opera will bring ‘Angel’s Bone’ to Aviva Studios in Manchester next week, featuring a live orchestral performance from The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Kantos Chamber Choir.

Date published: 7th May 2026

A Pulitzer Prize-winning opera will premiere in Manchester next week. Angel’s Bone, a one act production by composer Du Yun and librettist Royce Vavrek, first premiered in Manhattan in 2016, and will run from Tuesday 12th to Saturday 16th May 2026 at Aviva Studios in what will be the opera’s UK premiere.

Angel’s Bone follows two angels brought back to Earth, who are taken in and exploited by a struggling couple. The Pulitzer board, who awarded Angel’s Bone with the 2017 prize for Music, described the opera as, “a bold operatic work that integrates vocal and instrumental elements and a wide range of styles into a harrowing allegory for human trafficking in the modern world.” Brought to the UK by the English National Opera, the production will fuse chamber music, cabaret, electronica, spoken word and punk with immersive staging and orchestral backing from both the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Kantos Chamber Choir. 

A fusion of numerous musical styles with orchestral sounds, designer Marg Horwell teased on social media the influence of Charli XCX on the Manchester production’s final scene. Factory International has additionally commissioned six emerging writers to imagine what it would mean for an angel to arrive on Earth for the very first time, which you can read on their website.

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