Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and Painter Glenn Brown CBE perform with the English National Opera at Printworks in London, September 3rd, 2022.
GLASS HANDEL
Anthony Roth Costanzo Visionaire Cath Brittan and the English National Opera
Printworks as part of the BBC Proms, London
September 3rd, 2022 , Two performances
World-renowned countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo says: ‘Finding ways for classical music to tell new stories and to engage more people has become my mission. What if I asked some of the world’s greatest artists in the visual fields to show us the music of Handel and Philip Glass through their lens? Dance, painting, film, and fashion might reveal new facets of this sound world that I couldn’t imagine on my own, and which might entice new audience members in the process. There are an endless number of possible stories contained in the capacious room of Printworks. Promenade between different art forms and become immersed in how dancers, filmmakers, a painter, a sound artist, and a fashion designer hear this music, and you may find their visual world colors how you hear it yourself.
Glass Handel had its premiere in the US in 2018 in partnership with Opera Philadelphia, the Barnes Foundation, National Sawdust, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. This production has been re-imagined for a London audience and the vast space of Printworks, usually used for club nights and marked the first time that the BBC Proms have staged a concert in a nightclub. Costanzo’s aim is to attract new audiences who might not have engaged with classical music before through collaborations with other art forms including dance, art, film, and fashion.
Created and co-produced by Grammy-award winning countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, Cath Brittan, Visionaire, and the English National Opera in collaboration with Printworks London, Glass Handel combines music by Handel and Philip Glass to create a unique operatic experience featuring dance, live painting, fashion, film, and soundscapes.
Grammy-award winning countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo
Philip Glass, presenting the world premiere of No More, You Petty Spirits
British Artist Glenn Brown, CBE, painting live during the performance
Conductor Karen Kamensek
The English National Orchestra
Nature beatboxer Jason Singh, mixing soundscapes
Choreography by Justin Peck, Tony award-winner and Resident Choreographer with the New York City Ballet
Costumes by Fashion Designer Raf Simons
Opera music videos by James Ivory & Pix Talarico, Daniel Askill, Mark Romanek, Rupert Sanders; Toiletpaper Magazine’s Maurizio Cattelan & Pierpaolo Ferrari; Tilda Swinton & Sandro Kopp; painter Mickalene Thomas; artist collective AES+F; James Kaliardos & Marisa Tomei; and a new video by artist Jacolby Satterwhite which will accompany the live recording of the Glass premiere.
All images by @baurheqd.