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Luke Bedford’s Opera Seven Angels Premieres in the UK

Jun. 01, 2011

Luke Bedford’s highly anticipated new opera Seven Angels receives its world premiere performances on June 7 and 8. Co-commissioned by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and The Opera Group, UK, the performances take place at the CBSO Centre, located in Birmingham, UK. Calling for a cast of seven singers and 12 instruments, and featuring a libretto by Glyn Maxwell, the two-act opera marks the young British composer’s first foray into the opera world.

Inspired by John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, the opera relates themes from the 17th-century poem to the environmental issues of today. Bedford makes good use of the low-register in the ensemble’s woodwind section, and four violas and a contrabass comprise the string section, resulting in a musical landscape of uniquely sinister character. Director John Fulljames describes Luke Bedford’s voice as one of “loss and decay,” which is visually perceivable through a post-apocalyptic landscape realized by the opera's set designer, Japanese artist Tadasu Takamine. This performance marks the first collaboration between the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the New Opera Group.

To learn more about Luke Bedford and his work visit: www.universaledition.com.

For information on the world premiere go to: www.bcmg.org.uk or www.theoperagroup.co.uk.

Luke Bedford
Seven Angels (2010)
chamber opera in two acts
libretto (En) by Glyn Maxwell
for soprano, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 2 tenors, baritone and bass-baritone
1(pic , afl).0.1(bcl, ratchet).1(cbsn, analogue radio)-0.1(flhn, maracas).1(rainstick).0-perc-pno-vla(4vn), db(rainstick)
95’

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