PRESS RELEASE
THE BALD SOPRANO DOESN’T SING

In the past two years, Genesis has funded Tête à Tête.  This has enabled them to fulfil the following projects:

·       Blind Date, 2007 –London première and national tour of six new operas

·       Tête à Tête: the Opera Festival - Riverside Studios, in both 2007 and 2008

·       The Cumnor Affair: An Elizabethan Murder-Mystery, November 2008

During that time we have enjoyed a good working relationship with them:  “It is a particular pleasure and privilege to be working in partnership with the Genesis Foundation to develop emerging artists and to build audiences for new work” – Bill Bankes Jones, Artistic Director, Tête à Tête, June 2008

Our relationship with Tête à Tête began in 2006 when the company co-produced David Bruce’s funny, profound and moving opera about six women’s childbirth experiences, Push! This was part of the Genesis Opera Project.  According to Bill Bankes Jones, Artistic Director of Tête à Tête, “with substantial support from Genesis, we were able to deliver a London run and national tour to a critically acclaimed standard, using some highly playful and successful marketing to attract a diverse audience.”

In November 2009, Genesis was to have supported Tête à Tête’s proposed production at the Riverside Studios in London of The Bald Soprano, Jean- Philippe Calvin’s opera from Eugene Ionesco’s landmark play.  This was initially developed through a Genesis Foundation initiative and then workshopped at Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival. Genesis subsequently commissioned Jean- Philippe Calvin to complete the opera. A French production of La Cantatrice is still being performed in Paris from 30 April to 3 May 2009.

“The Genesis Foundation has had protracted legal negotiations, on behalf of Tête à Tête, since 2007 trying to obtain the licence for UK performance of this work”, says Harriet Capaldi, managing director of the Genesis Foundation.  “Because this licence is still not secured at a time when Tête à Tête has to begin incurring substantial costs to gear up the production, we sadly can no longer risk the support of this London production.”

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For further information contact:
Simon Millward
Director,
Albion Media
10Stratford Place,
London, W1C 1BA

020-7629-3252~ 07990-507310          

www.albion-media.co.uk