In a work which further showcases Conor Mitchell as one the UK and Ireland's most exciting composers, The Belfast Ensemble are presenting the first two-acts in concert of his major new work. This opportunity to hear his new queer opera Dublin Jack is first at Dublin Theatre Festival (Tuesday 7 October), with UK in concert premieres at Southbank Centre, London (Thursday 9 October) and Outburst Queer Arts Festival, Belfast (Friday 14 November).
Dublin Jack, which will be presented as an opera unwrapped this autumn, brings to life the notorious 19th century gay male sex worker Jack Saul, whose life spanned a famine, a colonial crisis and the birth of queer fear in the national press.
Conor Mitchell of The Belfast Ensemble said: “Jack Saul lived outrageously, defiantly, and on his own terms. His story is one that history has tried to erase – too queer, too loud, too complex. This opera is about resurrection: of a voice, a body, and a spirit. It's opera as confrontation, opera as celebration, opera as rebellion.”
Saul was embroiled in major queer scandals involving the British Government and aristocracy that triggered the gay witch hunts of the period and notoriously penned the first gay pornographic memoir. Despite his infamy, little evidence of his life remains: a life that pre-echoes the Irish queer exodus of the 1980's and the pull of London's relative freedom. Saul's story is one that Ireland and London have forgotten on purpose – but his outrageous existence has overtones of Leigh Bowery and Boy George, pre-dating them by a hundred years. These premieres are part of The Belfast Ensemble's vision to bring audiences into new opera at an earlier stage, presenting the score with orchestra and singers first in a more relaxed, conversational atmosphere prior to a full production in future seasons.
The Belfast Ensemble, which has showcased earlier works such as Abomination: A DUP Opera, continues to push boundaries and explore provocative themes through contemporary opera. Dublin Jack expertly navigates sex, power and class dynamics, against the backdrop of a shifting political landscape and strained Anglo-Irish relations.
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