Constella OperaBallet Return To Sadler's Well With SIDESHOWS

Constella OperaBallet return to the Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells this November with their award-winning Sideshows. An anarchic opera and ballet spectacular featuring dancing bears, mystical palm readers and explosive fire-eaters. Roll up! Roll up! For the most un-hinged circus show in town!

Staring life as a single song, morphing into a song cycle and now in its premiere production of the final and complete two act extravaganza! Throughout its development, Sideshows has been awarded the Lord Mayor's Composition Prize and the Philip Bates Prize. In various guises Sideshows has been performed over 60 times across the UK and US, including Constella's production which has been broadcast twice on BBC Radio 3 to critical acclaim.

Taking the format of a circus show with the Ringmaster (conductor) presenting acts which quickly spiral out of control to hilarious effect. The music, provided by an ensemble of clowns, explores the boundaries between jazz and contemporary classical music employing extended jazz harmony, limping grooves and wild improvisation. Some acts are sung whilst others are danced, warping the fundamentals of classical ballet technique to bring the freakish characters to life.

The creative team includes composer and conductor Leo Geyer, who has been awarded various accolades for composition including the RNCM Gold Medal Award, PRS / ESO Composition Competition and the Philip Bates Prize. He has had particular success with his theatrical works including his first opera which was hailed by The Times as "imaginative and beautifully shaped."

Librettist Martin Kratz, is a regular collaborator with Leo Geyer, He was awarded an MA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from MMU in 2013, and won an AHRC postgraduate studentship in 2012. Martin's poetry has been widely published in poetry magazines such as The Rialto, Magma, The Interpreter's House and The Moth.

Director Ella Marchment, has worked on over eighty opera and theatre productions, with directing credits including Alexander Goehr's Tryptich at Mariinsky II, an opera-ballet production of Stravinsky's Renard and an acclaimed international tour of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies's Eight Songs For A Mad King. Ella is also co-founder of Theatre N16, which promotes new plays and opera adaptations.

Choreographer Jaered Glavin was a dancer with the New Zealand Ballet where he performed the work of many choreographers including Christopher Hampson, Javier De Frutos, Didy Veldman, David Dawson, Cameron Macmillan, Larry Keigwin, George Balanchine, Benjamin Millepied and Jorma Elo. Jaered joined the Norwegian National Ballet in 2012. He is now a freelance choreographer based between the UK and Norway.

Performances take place on Sat 25 Nov 7.45pm, Sun 26 Nov 2pm & 7.45pm. Learn more at www.sadlerswells.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.