Constella Ballet and Orchestra's latest collaboration: a fusion of opera, ballet and theatre

[Blaiklm]

Constella and Helios join forces for a thrilling fusion of opera, ballet and theatre at Bloomsbury Theatre on 31 March and 1 April

 

Constella Ballet and Orchestra, the trailblazing company founded to showcase young artists, are teaming up with the equally adventurous Helios Collective for a thrilling evening which fuses opera, ballet and theatre. Both companies are dedicated to exploring new, cutting-edge work that pushes classical art forms into new realms, and the all Stravinsky programme they present at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London, on Tuesday 31 March, and Wednesday 1 April is no exception.

 

The production comprises a loose revival of Constella’s Soldier’s Tale with choreography by Jaerad Glavin  (first presented to acclaim in 2013), and the première of a new production of Stravinsky’s less well-known opera-ballet Renard – a bizarre farmyard tale – with new choreography by Erico Montes of the Royal Ballet.

The works, which involve six dancers, two actors, four singers, and an orchestra, are directed by Helios Collective’s Artistic Director Ella Marchment and conducted by Leo Geyer.  For Renard the orchestra will include a Hungarian folk instrument, the cimbalom, and all the performers – singers, dancers and musicians – will be on stage as the fantastical tale unfolds.

 

Leo Geyer, the founding Artistic Director of Constella who is conducting the show, explains why he is so keen to put his musicians on stage:

 

“This production highlights both Constella’s and Helios’s emphasis on collaboration. All the performers, including the orchestra, will be active in the storytelling. This collection of performing art forms working together, makes for an exhilarating   performance; a true spectacle for the eyes and ears!”  

 

All the dancers, singers and actors are young freelance performers many of whom work with major companies in the UK and abroad including The Royal Ballet, Glyndebourne and Scottish Opera. They include the tenors Leonel Pinheiro and Daniel Joy, and the dancers Matt Petty and Michael Walters.

 

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Notes 

1.    A Soldier’s Tale and Renard will be performed at the Bloomsbury Theatre,
15 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AH at 7.30pm on Tuesday 31 March and Wednesday 1 April 2015. Tickets, £10 Full Price. £8 Concessions (booking fee £2.50 per transaction) are available via this link https://www.thebloomsbury.com/event/run/14166#book .

 

2.    For more information about Constella Ballet and Orchestra visit  http://www.constella.org.uk, and about the Helios Collective visit http://www.helioscollective.co.uk/

 

3.    Leo Geyer is a 23-year-old London born composer and conductor. He currently works at The Royal Opera House as a cover conductor for The Royal Ballet as well as holding conducting positions with the Settle Orchestra and Khymerikal (contemporary chamber ensemble). He is also the Artistic Director and co-founder of Constella Ballet & Orchestra, whose performances have received critical acclaim including the production of Leo’s opera The Mermaid of Zennor, which was hailed by The Times as “imaginative and beautifully shaped”. Upcoming conducting engagements include covering La Fille Mal Gardèe with The Royal Ballet, US premiere of Leo’s Clowns with Ensemble 212 in New York and a concert of 20^th century American music with the English Chamber Orchestra.  www.leogeyer.co.uk.

 

4.    Ella Marchment, the Helios Collective’s founding Artistic Director, is a director and designer who has worked on over 50 productions in England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Russia. Ella's directing credits include: Façade and Eight Songs For a Mad King (Arcola Theatre, Rose Theatre Kingston, and St Petersburg Philharmonia Concert Hall), Cinderella (Pimlico Town Hall), Il Re Pastore (King's College London), Bare, Red as Blood, and The Bear(Rose Theatre Kingston, Sage Gateshead, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and St Cyprian’s, London), Aleko (St John’s Smith Square, London), The Jacobin cover show (Buxton Festival), Otello (Buxton Opera House), The Beggar’s Opera (Brixton JAMM), A Last Farewell, Flush, Rock Tosca and When I’m Jumping (Toi Toi 2015), Robbie’s Date (Courtyard Theatre), Stand and Deliver (King’s Head Theatre).Design credits include: The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Tutu's Nightclub, London), The Fairy Queen (Renate, Berlin), Bare, Red as Blood, and The Bear (Rose Theatre Kingston, Sage Gateshead, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and St Cyprian’s, London), The Beggar’s Opera (Brixton JAMM). For more information visit http://www.ellamarchment.co.uk/

 

 

5.    After graduating from the Royal Ballet School, Jaered Glaved danced with the Royal New Zealand Ballet from September 2008 - 2012. Here he performed the works of many different choreographers including Christopher Hampson, Javier de Frutos, Didy Veldman, David Dawson, Cameron Macmillan, Larry Keigwin, George Balanchine, Benjamin Millepied and Jorma Elo amongst others. His choreographic work included the critically acclaimed Feral , developed  in collaboration with composer Robbie Ellis and the Royal New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Jaered is now based back in the the UK and is working as a freelance dancer and choreographer. For more information visit http://www.jaeredglavin.com

 

 

6.    Brazilian dancer and choreographer Erico Montes is a First Artist of The Royal Ballet. He trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined the Company in 2004, promoted to First Artist in 2011. Montes is a keen choreographer and has created a number of works for The Royal Ballet's Draft Works in the Linbury Studio Theatre, and a production of The Secret Garden for the London Children’s Ballet (2013). For more information visit http://www.roh.org.uk/people/erico-montes

 

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For more information contact

•           Marian Blaikley: marian@blaikley.co.uk; 0161 446 2225; 07932 069862 or

•           Leo Geyer leo.geyer@constella.org.uk; 07981 299065

[chiarabeebe]

So exciting to see Constella growing and putting on productions like this! Will be great to see how the varying elements come together - love Stravinsky! Would be interested to hear any other thoughts on the programme and company... 

Edited March 24, 2015 by chiarabeebe