British composer Tom Green’s first chamber opera The World’s Wife, based on Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy’s 1999 collection of poems, will receive its world première at Wales Millennium Centre this month.
The first performance will be in WMC’s Weston Studio on Sunday October, 15 followed by a six-date Welsh tour stopping in Brecon, Swansea, Holyhead, Aberystwyth, Caernarfon, and Milford Haven.
The opera is a musical adaptation of Duffy’s poems that look at stories concerning famous men of history and myth told from their spouses’ perspectives. The score includes musical quotes of music by female composers.
Besides the traditional classical repertoire, Green’s mixed musical background encompasses jazz, pop, rock and choral music. He also makes frequent use of unconventional tools and instruments such as digital effects and electric guitars. In The World’s Wife, Green’s choice to feature loop pedals as part of the score enables a solo soprano to sing multiple characters at the same time. Female voices can duet with one another as their perspectives are digitally brought together on stage while elements of a universal nature are sung by a looped choir, summing up contributions by all the featured women of history and myth.
Bringing to life the many women of The World’s Wife is Australian-born, London-based soprano and actress Amanda Forbes. She is accompanied by Cardiff-based Mavron String Quartet.
The World’s Wife is a co-production by Welsh National Opera, Taliesin Arts Centre, Echo Forest and The Mavron Quartet. It is sung in English with surtitles in English of the words of Carol Ann Duffy.
The World’s Wife is sung in English with surtitles in English. Running time is 70 minutes with no interval.
Sun 15 Oct 15, 2017, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff,
Thursday, October 19, 2017, Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon
Saturday, 21 October 21, 2017, Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea
Saturday, October 28, 2017, Ucheldre, Holyhead
Wednesday, November 1, 2017, Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Thursday, November 2, 2017, Galeri, Caernarfon
Friday, November 3, 2017, Torch Theatre, Milford Haven