Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Festival Season: "Voices Across The World" @ the Royal Opera House London

Orlando Gough, Royal Opera House Associate Artist, curates this year’s annual summer celebration of traditional and contemporary music from a variety of global cultures, with a focus on different singing traditions and the uniqueness of the human voice.

The Royal Opera House

Paul Hamlyn Hall 2pm - 6.30pm

July 31 2011, Covent Garden, London

Orlando has invited twelve of his favourite singers to perform at the Royal Opera House on one day. The singers will perform unplugged, either a cappella or with minimal accompaniment in the Paul Hamlyn Hall between 2pm and 6.30 pm. In Orlando’s words:

‘Each of them not only has an amazing voice but an original and radical attitude to singing’ :

Christian Zehnder is a spectacular yodeller and throat-singer.
John Tomlinson, the legendary opera singer with a seriously bass voice.
Mikhail Karikis is an eye-opening performer and ear-opening singer.
Erika Stucky sounds more like Tom Waits than any other female singer I know of.
Dessi Stefanova sings like a Bulgarian, which she is – enough said.
Clare Wilkinson sings early music as if it were brand new.
Manickam Yogeswaran is a Tamil from Sri Lanka with a voice of pure honey.
Phil Minton sings with a bravery verging on the heroic.
Loré Lixemberg is the most experimental opera singer I’ve ever come across.
Eska Mtungwazi sings jazz-soul-hip-hop-folk-African music with a friskiness verging on the ecstatic.
Talitha MacKenzie sings Gaelic music in a way that makes you understand Gaelic
Melanie Pappenheim has the voice of an angel and the sense of humour of the devil

Orlando Gough

There will also be surprise events in the other front-of-house spaces including an exclusive showing of the film Turbulent by artist Shirin Neshat and a chance to try out your own voice in an Extreme Karaoke – an aural playground created by composer Dominic Murcott.


Motor Mouth Music Linbury Studio Theatre 7pm - Unreserved standing only

A selection of the singers from the day will join electronic artist Andrew McDonnell in a thrilling improvised session. Expect looping, live sampling, duets, trios, choruses, transformations - experimentation and exhilaration!

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