Composer Nicholas Michael Smith OBE will be presenting the premier of his pioneering new opera, The Stone God.
At the Bloomsbury Theatre, on 1 and 2 November 2024 at 7:30pm, with an additional matinee on 3 November at 2:30pm.
The Stone God is a 90-minute one act opera in six scenes based on the children's story 'New Moon Rising' by renowned Chinese author & director Hong Ying, who collaborated with Smith to bring this tale to the stage. Smith will also be presenting The Girl From The French Fort, an orchestral illustration narrated by Tim Bentink (a.k.a Dave Archer).
With thrillingly melodic music by Smith, this opera captures the rhythms and flavours of riverside life in the old city of Chongqing, enchanting children, young adults and seasoned opera-goers with this fast-moving tale.
Set on the shores of the mighty Yangtze, we see a young boy, with courage and resourcefulness to match the sweeping currents of the huge river, engage with a colourful collection of characters: a wrathful warrior spirit imprisoned within a statue, a local sorceress with ancient powers, and a charming girl of his own age caught up in a primaeval quarrel.
The Girl From The French Fort, for narrator and orchestra, is from another of Hong Ying’s books in the same sequence, and sets the stage for the events of the opera, with both stories taking place in 1970s Chongqing, a river port on the Yangtze once part of the Kingdom of Ba.
In them, the magic of old China meets 20th century realism, exploring inevitable conflicts between old and new, supernatural and scientific; and inviting us to enter a shimmering realm of miracles.
Nicholas Michael Smith OBE biography - https://nicholasmichaelsmith.com/
Opera company - https://arcadianopera.com/about-us-2/