BREAKING THE WAVES

About the show

In sickness and in health… This hauntingly beautiful opera explores faith, heartbreak and loss with unflinching emotional intensity. Emerging as one of the most powerful contemporary operas of our time and adapted from Lars von Trier’s critically acclaimed film, Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves comes to ENO in a striking new production for 2026/27. On a remote Scottish island, within a strict religious community, Bess meets oil rig worker Jan, and they fall in love. They are happily married, until a terrible accident leaves Jan paralysed and no longer able to have a sexual relationship with his wife. He asks Bess to have sex with other men and describe her experiences to him; convincing her that this will help him to heal. Bess, a deeply devout woman, believing it’s God’s will, reluctantly embarks upon a series of increasingly dangerous encounters with strangers. Will her sacrifice save the man she loves? Or will she be left the tragic victim of a system indifferent to her suffering? Find out what depths humanity is willing to go to in this ultimate test of faith.