Saturday, 3 August 2013

BARBARA DICKSON AND THE ALZHEIMER'S OPERA


Barbara Dickson is set to shine in The BargeeOn Sunday 4 August 2013, music and theatre lovers alike will be heading to Gloucester Cathedral for a musically motivated, off-beat take on the topics of aging, dementia and growing old gracefully, when The Bargee’s Wife opera makes its world premiere at the Three Choirs Festival.

Starring internationally renowned singer Barbara Dickson, supported by a cast of 160 amateur singers and featuring music performed by members of The Philharmonia Orchestra, The Bargee’s Wife is certainly something to sing about.
Using the words and memories of those suffering from dementia, it portrays the way in which time alters with the syndrome, as well as the way their grasp of the present fades whilst the past remains.
Taking almost two years to complete, this one-act opera promises to take the audience on an honest and open journey through the mindset of dementia, comprising contributions from Gloucester-based care home residents combined with a gentle blend of opera, choral and folk music.


Read on...


I was very touched by this. Alzheimer's is very close to me because my Mother had it, and other old people of whom I have been very fond have also suffered from it. So I decided to find out a little more about the project. So I telephoned Barbara, and you can listen to our conversation HERE

No comments:

Post a Comment

...BECAUSE SOME OF US THINK THAT THIS STUFF IS IMPORTANT
What happens when you mix what is - arguably - the world's most interesting record company, with an anarchist manic-depressive rock music historian polymath, and a method of dissemination which means that a daily rock-music magazine can be almost instantaneous?

Most of this blog is related in some way to the music, books and films produced by Gonzo Multimedia, but the editor has a grasshopper mind and so also writes about all sorts of cultural issues which interest him, and which he hopes will interest you as well.