DESIRE, betrayal and revenge are promised by Opera North as it stages the Fatal Passions season in Leeds.

Tim Albery will direct the first-ever Opera North production of Un ballo in maschera with Richard Farnes returning to conduct. Whistle Stop Opera will take a bite-sized Don Giovanni into bars, cafés, community settings and schools.

Families can enjoy The Kingdom Under the Sea, an interactive performance inspired by Madama Butterfly and traditional Japanese tales. Italian Nights will celebrate the country’s classical music heritage while three films will reflect the season’s themes and locations.

The presentations will be in the Grand Theatre or the next-door Howard Assembly Rooms.

For its main productions, Opera North promises three passionate and powerful Italian greats, beginning its the critically-acclaimed production of Puccini’s much-loved Madama Butterfly.

Un ballo in maschera is Verdi’s insightful look at the tragic consequences of mixing politics and passion, while Don Giovanni is Mozart’s whirlwind of seduction on a grand, and intimately deadly, scale.

Richard Mantle, general director of Opera North, said: “Our winter season lays bare the fatal consequences of wayward passion.

The season runs in Leeds from January 19 until March 3. Visit operanorth.co.uk or call 0844 848 2720 to book tickets.