Here be monsters: Music in the Round presents Jonathan Dove’s The Monster in the Maze

Jonathan Dove’s The Monster in the Maze was commissioned and first performed in 2015 by the Berlin Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle. A modern re-telling of the myth of the Minotaur (there is no Ariadne in this version) for actor, soloists, adult, youth and children’s choruses and orchestra, the work was due to get its second outing at the Grange Festival in 2020 with the Grange Festival Community Chorus, however this performance was cancelled.

The Monster in the Maze will now be receiving its second UK performance in Sheffield on 1 and 2 November 2024 as part of Music in the Round’s 40th anniversary celebrations. At the Crucible Theatre, people of all ages from Sheffield will be coming together with Ensemble 360, Consone Quartet, Bridge Ensemble, Sheffield Music Hub Senior Strings, Sheffield Youth Choirs featuring Junior Voices, Youth Voices & Concordia and singers from across Sheffield.

This will be a new arrangement of the opera in collaboration with Jonathan Dove and the music director, John Lyon. The original score has no upper strings, but parts have been created so that the whole of Sheffield Senior Strings can take part, making it a world premiere of this arrangement.

This opera is just one aspect of Music in the Round’s Learning & Participation programme, which engages over 10,000 people around the country each year. It presents storybook concerts for young people aged 3-7, Close Up concerts for 7 to 11-year-olds and ‘Relaxed’ concerts, which are adapted to suit people who may prefer a more relaxed environment when attending an event. Another project is ‘Bridge’, which supports young musicians from backgrounds under-represented in chamber and classical music as they embark on their professional careers. This has recently focused on string players, and the current group is a wind quintet that will perform in The Monster in the Maze.

Full details from the Music in the Round website.