Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2011 | Page 8

ISLAND LIFE

Bonchurch venue for
Opera in Space
The Semele Project, a
reinvention of Handel’s
masterpiece, Semele, is to
be performed at East Dene,
Bonchurch, by London's
Opera in Space on October 21
and 22.
The Marriage of Semele with
Athamis has been reduced
to just over an hour in
length, with specially-written
narrative verse and a cast
of just five performers. The
oratorio Semele is the story
of a beautiful but vain young
mistress who is deceived and
destroyed by a jealous and
powerful wife.
In the adaptable show the
performers take on multiple
roles, interacting with the
audience, which moves around
the venue with them; and
diverse story-telling techniques
are used, including elements
of puppetry, clowning

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and physical theatre. The
performers themselves play
instruments - in character; and
there is no theatrical set, rather
the performers make use of the
space in original ways. All of
our performers are professional
classical musicians and actors
dedicated to the highest
musical standards.
Opera in Space was founded
by Sylvie Gallant and Alice
De Ville with the aim of
rethinking the performance
of operatic repertory and
exploring new perspectives in
its realization on stage. The
ai