A New Opera about the Refugee Experience
Marianna Suri and Jeremy Gill present The Journey
The staged premiere of The Journey, a new opera inspired by the ongoing refugee crisis, will take place on the final day of Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival 2022 on 11 September. The Journey was composed for the Citizens of the World Choir, an amateur choir of refugees and asylum seekers that hail from all over the world, current Jette Parker Young Artist Chuma Sijeqa, and soprano Marianna Suri.
The Journey is a new opera by composer Jeremy Gill to a libretto adapted from an original tale by Iranian-British author Michael Zand, originally published in Refugee Tales (Comma Press, 2016). It is is the story of ‘A Man’ who decides to escape the confines of his existence and travel in search of a better life.
The Journey is an operatic retelling of the refugee story, drawing on diverse traditions that include experimental theatre, operatic singing, and contemporary musical idioms. It is scored for a vibrant musical ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano.
The Journey features a multinational group of creatives and professional musicians. South African bass-baritone Chuma Sijeqa (‘A Man’) is a Jette Parker Young Artist with the Royal Opera House in London. Marianna Suri (‘Storyteller’) is a Cyprus-born soprano who has performed new and standard repertoire throughout the United States and the EU. Composer Jeremy Gill is an award-winning New York City-based composer and conductor, and British-born Rosie Kat is the founder of Squillo Opera and a rising star in the UK opera world.
This production of The Journey is supported by a grant from the Maria Björnson Memorial Fund and a gift from Lois Lehrman Grass.
‘Jette Parker Anniversary Company Artist Chuma Sijeqa impressed as the desperately fleeing Angelotti.’ Jim Pritchard, Seen and Heard International
‘Jeremy Gill has imagination, and his music is well worth hearing, reading about, and investigating.’ American Record Guide
Performance information:
Venue: The Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth St, London NW8 8EH, United Kingdom
Tickets: full price £16.45; affordable £6.15
Date: 11 September 2022
Time: 19:00 (double bill with The Dong with a Luminous Nose by John Hawkins)
Box Office: +44 20 7258 2925
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