The Dong with a Luminous Nose
This magical performance of Edward Lear’s complete poem is part of Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival 2022
With words by the author of ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’, ‘The Dong with a Luminous Nose’ is a fantastical tale about loneliness, love and loss now brought to life in music and dance.
A strange girl (‘Their hair is green and their hands are blue’) comes over the sea to the solitary Dong. They fall in love but after enchanting times together she leaves. Forever hopeful, he waits for her by the shore, lit by the luminous nose he makes as a lamp.
Tête à Tête Opera has supported more than 600 operas in its time and gives unique opportunities for new and experimental work. This performance uses just one voice, one clarinet and a mime/dancer.
The singer is Aidan Smith who has a passion for contemporary music and has collaborated on works with The Opera Group, Opera Holland Park and English Touring Opera. The clarinet will be played by Steve Dummer who is a conductor, clarinettist, educator and enthusiast for participation in music-making at every level. Composer John Hawkins’s previous opera ‘Echoes’ was part of Covent Gardens’ ‘Garden Venture’ series. BBC broadcasts include his ‘Sea Symphony’. Choreographer, dancer and mime, Eline Peres, is a graduate of Trinity Laban in contemporary dance and has performed this year at The Bomb Factory and at Larkhall Art Club in London.
‘The heartfelt and constantly inventive treatment of The Dong with a Luminous Nose’ is a superb example of Hawkins’s keen ear for setting texts.’
Musical Opinion
‘Hawkins writes in a sound-language which can be enjoyable and even compelling, ensuring communication at a first hearing’
Music and Musicians
Listings information:
Venue: The Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth St, London NW8 8EH
Tickets: http://www.thecockpit.org.uk/
full price £15.00; affordable £5.00
Date: 11th September 2022
Time: 19:00 (double bill with The Journey by Jeremy Gill)
Box Office: +44 20 7258 2925
Website: www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/event/the-dong-with-a-luminous-nose/
Recording: open.spotify.com/track/5cM403ioUtWvB9p7cuSsij?si=0e11053543af4c72
Eline Peres 365 Days Improvisation:
The performance will be part of a double bill with ‘The Journey’ by Jeremy Gill
https://www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/event/the-journey/
For further information please contact us via http://www.johnhawkinsmusic.co.uk/