A Powerful Tale Of Dreams, Death & Distorted Reality

London Sinfonietta presents the world premiere of Portuguese composer Pedro Amaral's new chamber opera O Sonho (The Dream) at The Place on Sunday 25 April 2010 at 7.30pm.

Commissioned and supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Amaral reimagines the story of Salome, the fated biblical seductress whose sexual magnetism attracts the attention of King Herod and leads to the execution of John the Baptist.

Amaral's retelling is a powerful musical adaptation of an unfinished play from Fernando Pessoa, a towering figure in 20th century Portuguese literature. In this version of the story, Salome is entangled in a dangerous dream world, and, eventually unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality, she meets a tragic end.

Performed at the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, The Place's intimate studio normally reserved for contemporary dance events, this performance offers a rare opportunity to see and hear the remarkable London Sinfonietta musicians up close. With sparse instrumentation from an ensemble of just 17 London Sinfonietta players and 6 singers, O Sonho's lush, sensuous score will draw you into Salome's dangerous dream world.

A classic tale of tragedy, passion and desire.

Pedro Amaral
Pedro Amaral began studying composition seriously in his early teens, and was well on his way by the time he went to Paris, in 1994, to complete his training with Emmanuel Nunes. He also gained a doctorate for analytical work on Stockhausen, and studied conducting with Peter Eötvös and Emilio Pomarico.

Eötvös conducted the Sinfonietta in the first performance of Amaral's ebullient Paraphrase in February 2006, beginning an association that was continued later the same year when the composer himself came to London to record that work and three others for his first CD, Works for Ensemble (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation 2007), including his highly assured opus 1, ...Textos, Paráfrases, Perspectivas....

Compositions for ensemble form one thread in Amaral's output, along with large-scale orchestral scores and pieces for solo instrumentalist and electronics created at IRCAM (the iconic Parisian institute of experimental music), including most recently Script for a percussionist playing on marimba, crotales and gong.

Listings Information:
Pedro Amaral's O Sonho
Sunday 25 April 2010, 7.30pm
The Place: Robin Howard Dance Studio
Box Office: 020 7121 1100
Tickets: £15, £5 (students) other concessions available.
www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk/osonho

London Sinfonietta presents the world premiere of Pedro Amaral's chamber opera O Sonho, the story of Salome.

Notes to Editors:

London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta is one of the world's leading contemporary music ensembles with a reputation built on its virtuosity, ambitious programming and committment to placing new music at the heart of contemporary culture. Since 1968 it has commissioned almost 250 works from artists including Luciano Berio, and actively supports emerging talent. Its innovative Blue Touch Paper scheme gives today's composers the opportunity to develop ideas without the pressure of a public performance. The London Sinfonietta Academy provides young instrumentalists with the unparalleled experience of working and performing with some of the world's finest contemporary musicians. Its headquarters are at King's Place.
www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk
London Sinfonietta is kindly supported by Arts Council England.

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Pedro Amaral's O Sonho is commissioned and supported by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a charitable foundation established in Portugal in 1956 with cultural, educational, social and scientific interests. Its founder, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, was an Armenian born in Turkey. Multicultural and multilingual he spent his career bringing people from different cultures and nationalities together. The purpose of the UK Branch, based in London, is to help enrich and connect the experiences of people in the UK and Ireland and secure lasting, beneficial change. One of our core aims is to improve cultural understanding, including through initiatives to promote Lusophone culture in the UK.
www.gulbenkian.org.uk

For more information and high-res images please contact:
Ali Fletcher at London Sinfonietta, 020 7239 9340 / ali.fletcher@londonsinfonietta.org.uk
www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk