A new opera commission based on a work by Charles Causley will be performed at St Ives Guildhall this weekend.
The piece, by Stephen McNeff, will be a new opera oratorio based on The Burning Boy, a libretto written by the Cornish poet some years before his death that remains one of the most important, but as yet unperformed, Causley texts.
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra ensemble Kokoro, which specialises in promoting the works of twentieth and twenty-first century composers, will perform the new opera on 11 November, in partnership with Carn to Cove.
The performance will bring together both amateur and professional musicians, as well as local school children from the Cornish Community. BSO associate musicians Patrick Bailey and Matt Harrison will work with the children to form a chorus for the project, offering a once in a lifetime experience, and the BSO will also work with talented music students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Stephen McNeff has worked exclusively as a composer for over 40 years and is one of the UK’s most successful creators of music bringing professional and amateur talent together. He has produced more than 20 commissions and premieres with the orchestra and Kokoro, including the grand-scale opera oratorio The Chalk Legend commissioned for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
He said: “I am delighted to be working on The Burning Boy in Charles Causley’s centenary year, Charles and I had a long and fruitful working relationship over many years and The Burning Boy was a libretto he wrote especially for me. I am also thrilled to be working once again with the BSO and Kokoro, and am looking forward to another successful collaboration.”
Cornish performances of The Burning Boy mark the end of the BSO’s mini rural tour in Cornwall, which has seen it take its work beyond the concert hall, with engagement and activities in local communities.
The Burning Boy will be performed at St Ives Guildhall on Saturday, November 11, at 7:30pm.
Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for under-18s, available from BSOlive.com
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