Margaret Thatcher Opera announced

Holly Baker
Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Sections will be showcased this autumn in London

Historian and podcaster Dominic Sandbrook is taking his first step into opera (Photo: John Carns)
Historian and podcaster Dominic Sandbrook is taking his first step into opera (Photo: John Carns)

To mark the centenary of Margaret Thatcher, historian, columnist, and podcaster Dominic Sandbrook and composer Joseph Phibbs are teaming up to write the first ever opera about the UK’s first female Prime Minister. The work titled Mrs T will focus on Thatcher’s 11 years in office (1979-1990) and will be an intimate exploration of one of the most polarising figures in British politics.

Sections from Mrs T will be showcased this autumn in London directed by Lucy Bradley, with mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer in the title role. Additional roles include Geoffrey Howe and Ronald Reagan, to be announced. Author, journalist, and radio presenter Libby Purves will feature as the Newsreader.

Sandbrook, who co-hosts the popular podcast The Rest is History, will write the libretto for Mrs T, marking his first foray into opera. Phibbs, whose work has been featured at the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival and Tanglewood, premiered his first opera, Juliana, in 2018 at Cheltenham Music Festival.

Further details will be announced in Spring 2025.

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