Wounding Song
Wednesday 4 – Saturday 7 June 2008
Composed by Jeff Galea to a libretto by Bonny Cassidy
Directed by Janys Hayes with Musical Direction by Houston Dunleavy
Featuring third year Performance students from the Faculty of Creative Arts
Wounding Song, is the haunting new opera composed by Jeff Galea, a Doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Creative Arts, to a libretto by Bonny Cassidy, a Creative Writing graduate and Lecturer.
This new opera has developed in collaboration with highly skilled staff working across the areas of singing, composition, writing and orchestration in tandem with the rehearsal process. An innovative design by recent graduate Toby Knyvett, incorporating video projection and lighting, lends an epic dimension to this contemporary opera.
Set in medieval Malta during the famous Ottoman siege, the villagers of Birgu, face a night in which secrets are revealed and courage tested.
Birgu, a walled maritime city, is the oldest of the settlements on the shore of the Grand Harbour in Malta. The Great Siege of Malta took place in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire invaded the island, then held by the Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem (also known as the Knights of Malta). This siege, one of the bloodiest and most fiercely contested in history, was won by the Knights, and became one of the most celebrated events of the sixteenth century, putting an end to European perceptions of Ottoman invincibility and marking a new phase in Spanish domination of the Mediterranean.
Wounding Song sings a tale of the fruitlessness of war. Combining the exciting new vocal talents of the graduating Performance students from the Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong, with a live ensemble of musicians featuring strings, wind instruments, keyboard and percussion, and innovative design this startling new work is a must see for all music and theatre lovers.
Season: Thursday 5 – Saturday 7 June @ 8pm
Half-price preview: Wednesday 4 June @ 8pm
Venue: Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC),
32 Burelli Street, Wollongong
Bookings: 02 4226 3366, or online at http://www.ipac.org.au/
Tickets: Full $20 / Concession $15 / Students $10 /
Groups (10 or more) $15
 
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