GRIMEBORN 2009: GALA NIGHT

Love, sex, death, football, goddesses, clowns, faeries and drag queens. Yes, the Arcola is off to the opera again with GRIMEBORN 2009! Twenty-six fantastic companies from all over the world will rip apart classics, show raw new work and re-arrange modern music to really get to the heart of what opera can be about.



“A very hip party”
Domenic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph


This First Night Gala features work by the dynamic and visionary companies Opera Exchange and Aurelie to give a real taste of what contemporary opera can offer!

Please come and join us for a comlimentary glass of ‘bubbly’ and nibbles at the officical opening of Grimeborn 2009!











The Descent of Inanna: Bare Bones Version
Produced by: Opera Exchange
Composer: Jenni Roditi
Librettist: Lyn Gambles
Musical Preparation: Alex Ingram
Director/Choreographer/Dancer: Clare West
Cast: Sianed Jones, Vivien Ellis, Marie Angel, Steve Douse, Jenni Roditi
Musicians: Dominic Saunders (piano), Walter Fabeck (harmonium)
The Goddess Inanna has everything. How did she lose it all? She encounters her terrifying sister Ereshkigal in the Netherworld and receives the eyes of death. Will Inanna remember herself? Can she stop sacrifice and reverse revenge? Will she find mercy?
www.operaexchange.org

An Unorthodox 1-2
Produced by: Aurelie
Composers: Francis O’Donnell Smith, David Dhonau, Ola Szmidt, Euan Rodger, John Hall
Director: Glenn Boulter
Composed during a residency at Barrow AFC, An Unorthodox 1-2 combines spoken word, music and field recordings to explore the aural environment of a non-league football match from the physical sounds of the game to the emotional response of the crowd and the acoustics of the site.