Opera for the Unknown Woman


Opera for the Unknown Woman is an opera poem, created by Melanie Wilson (UK) with co-composer Katarina Glowicka (PL) and projection designer Will Duke (UK). It is an epic science-fiction dream of Earth in the 21st and 22nd centuries, seen through the eyes of its women and visitors from the far future, fusing contemporary classical and electronic music, choral singing, film and choreography.


Commissioned by Wales Millennium Centre for Festival of Voice and Yorkshire Festival in association with Warwick Arts Centre. Funded by Arts Council England & Arts Council Wales. Supported by the Fidelio Trust and Hinrichsen Foundation. Development commissioned by Warwick Arts Centre and funded by Arts Council England & PRSF for Music Foundation. Developed in association with Opera North Projects.




Credits:

Written, directed and co-composed by Melanie Wilson
Co-composed by Katarina Glowicka
Projection design by Will Duke
Set and costume design by Fly Davis
Lighting by Kristina Hjelm
Movement direction by Carolina Valdes


Cast:

Abigail Kelly
Adey Grummet
Alexia McIntosh
Calie Hough
Eugenia Georgieva
Kate Huggett
Miriam Gould
Patricia Rozario
Peyee Chen
Sophie Gledhill
Wendy Woon
Yael Clare Shahmoon



‘Demanding work is seen as anathema to the accessibility, entertainment and instant gratification deemed necessary to attract and placate audiences. But I resist that, and so does Melanie, committing herself instead to sculpting new forms for performance, and creating space for different stories about women. It's certainly a song for action, though, for global feminism to unify against the patriarchal structures that are relentlessly destroying life on earth.' 
Maddy Costa, journalist and blogger on Opera for the Unknown Woman




    

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