Press Release



Press Release

15 July 2015

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LATITUDE FESTIVAL 2015:

SURPRISES IN THE FOREST FOR FESTIVAL GOERS AS OPERA NORTH MAKES FIRST LATITUDE APPEARANCE

Opera North, England’s award-winning opera company in the north, travels to Henham Park in Suffolk on Thursday 16 July for the Company’s first performance at Latitude Festival. Joining a host of stellar acts across Latitude’s diverse multi-arts programme, Opera North continues to redefine the art form of opera for new audiences and new places.

The performance of ‘I am Yours, Yours am I’ will take place on a specially constructed outdoor stage in the Faraway Forest, from 8.00pm to midnight on Thursday 16 July, the opening night of the festival.

Commissioned and produced by Opera North Projects, the inspiration for this performance came directly from Opera North’s recent critically-acclaimed production of Monteverdi’s opera The Coronation of Poppea. It is based on the opera’s haunting and ethereal final love duet (‘Pur ti miro’) presented in lots of different ways, with changing combinations of male and female singers performing the roles of the lovers.

Jo Nockels, producer and Opera North Projects Manager, comments:

“One of the things that we are very keen to do as a Company is to explore different ways of presenting classical music – in a variety of unexpected spaces and contexts. We like to start from a point of real creative opportunity, where we just have this amazing music and the question ‘what on earth shall we do with it?’

“This particular piece of music has so many facets to it. In one sense, it is the most beautiful operatic love duet you could ever possibly imagine, set to swooningly gorgeous music. But it’s a tale very much about sexual passion, power and possession, not just about love. So there’s a darker layer running deep underneath it that we wanted to explore.

“At Latitude, we’ll be performing outside in the Faraway Forest, which will be a truly magical and inspiring setting: the perfect place to stumble upon one of the most beautiful and arresting pieces of music ever written!”

Performance information:

Opera North at Latitude Festival

‘I am Yours, Yours am I’

Thurs 16 July, 8pm - midnight

The Faraway Forest

Performance starts every ten minutes

Something strange has happened in the Faraway Forest. A garden has taken root in the middle of the woods and, as the clock strikes, singers and musicians appear around you, like a giant living automaton. Take a step into another world of music, light and performance and experience a moment of pure magic, where all is not as it seems.

Bringing to life one of the most achingly beautiful love songs ever written, this is opera for the 21st century, a celebration for all the senses. Produced by award-winning Opera North, this magical music box takes to the real outdoors, especially for the opening night of Latitude.

Performers:

Singer Frances Bourne

Singer Daniel Norman

Singer Bibi Heal

Singer Amy Freston

Singer William Purefoy

Singer Paula Sides

Harpsichord Timothy Burke

Theorbo Richard MacKenzie

Violin James O’Toole

Violin Elizabeth Skinner

Cello Tim Smedley

Musical Director Timothy Burke

For further information and images, please contact:

Julia Gregg, Press & Communications Manager

0113 223 3526 | 07956 647573 | julia.gregg@operanorth.co.uk

Sian Dudley, Press Officer

0113 223 3528 | sian.dudley@operanorth.co.uk

View the trailer for Opera North at Latitude Festival:

Notes to editors:

Opera North

Opera North is breathing new life into the Arts in the North of England, inspiring audiences, engaging communities and challenging preconceptions. We produce a busy programme of main stage productions, but also strive to create opportunities for everyone to engage with the arts, regardless of their social or economic circumstances.

Acclaimed for imaginative programming and innovative productions on the main stage, the Company also creates and commissions smaller-scale projects that bring together music, words and theatre in new combinations. Every year we collaborate with a vast array of artists, musicians and creatives who work with our dedicated chorus and orchestra to grow the art form.

The work of Opera North Projects crosses conventional boundaries, bringing classical and contemporary arts together in an eclectic year-round programme of performance, visual arts commissions, literary events and artistic development. Projects take apart the elements of opera: words, music, visual arts and theatre, and put them back together in new ways.

Opera North Projects produces small-scale touring shows, site specific performance and commissions, together with a rolling programme of artistic residencies. ‘Home’ is the beautifully restored Howard Assembly Room in Leeds, a captivating and flexible performance space whose public programme is curated by the Projects Department.

Work often has an emphasis on collaboration, with recent partners including The Royal Shakespeare Company, the Manchester International Festival, Kneehigh Theatre, The Opera Group and The Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

operanorth.co.uk

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