Opera Idaho presents: "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim • Book by Hugh Wheeler
From an adaptation by Christopher Bond

Featuring Baritone Jeffrey Mattsey

https://operaidaho.org/the-season/sweeney/

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📆 Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 2:30 PM
📌 The Egyptian Theatre, 700 W Main St, Boise, ID 83702
⏰ Run Time: 2 hours and 45 minutes, including intermission

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🎟 TICKETS & INFO: operaidaho.org or call 208.345.3531 ext. 2 or aW5mbyB8IG9wZXJhaWRhaG8gISBvcmc=

⭐️ Diamond: ADULT $125.72 / Senior (65+) $113.11 / Youth (18 & Under) $82.79 / Student (with ID) $59.06

⭐️ Platinum: ADULT $108.82 / Senior (65+) $88.26 / Youth (18 & Under) $864.53 / Student (with ID) $46.13

⭐️ Gold: ADULT $85.50 / Senior (65+) $68.80 / Youth (18 & Under) $52.70 / Student (with ID) $35.80

⭐️ Silver: ADULT $64.36 / Senior (65+) $53.49 / Youth (18 & Under) $41.77 / Student (with ID) $26.74

⭐️ Bronze: ADULT $41.10 / Senior (65+) $32.68 / Youth (18 & Under) $29.50 / Student (with ID) $16.84

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Program Notes:
Sweeney Todd has evolved dramatically since his first appearance in Victorian-era fiction, growing from a sensational character in penny dreadfuls (a type of horror periodical from the era) into the complex antihero of modern musical theater. The story originated in The String of Pearls, serialized during the winter of 1846–47. Set in 1785, it featured Sweeney Todd as its principal villain and included many of the plot elements used in later versions. The tale was so popular that a stage adaptation appeared before the final installment was even printed. By the 1870s, after multiple editions and adaptations, Sweeney Todd had become a familiar figure to most Victorians.

Nearly a century later, playwright Christopher Bond reimagined the character in his 1970 play, adding a psychological backstory and tragic motivation. In this version, Todd is a victim of a corrupt judge who exiles him and assaults his wife, setting the stage for Todd’s descent into revenge. Stephen Sondheim saw Bond’s play in 1973 and immediately began developing it into a musical. Originally, Sondheim envisioned the show in an intimate, shadowy space where audiences would feel directly implicated in the horror. But over time, the piece has proven its strength across a wide range of productions—from chamber stagings to grand-scale revivals—each highlighting different facets of its psychological depth.

Sondheim’s adaptation didn’t just bring Bond’s version to the stage, it used music to deepen the psychological weight and intensity of the story. Over 80 percent of the production is sung or underscored, with each musical element intricately tied to the next. Sondheim’s score functions like a tightly engineered machine, advancing character and plot with precision. Nowhere else in his body of work is music used so thoroughly to drive the drama forward.

Content Warning:
This show features depictions of death, graphic violence, rape, suicidal ideation, death by suicide, animal death, and cursing.

You may also like the following events from Opera Idaho:

• Next month, 29th August, 07:30 pm, Mariposa Que Vuela: Un Recital Autobiográfico in Boise
• This September, 4th September, 08:00 pm, Operatini: Autumn Leaves in Garden City

Also check out other Arts events in Boise, Theatre events in Boise, Entertainment events in Boise.