In 19th century Japan, a young Frenchman travels to Japan to learn about the secrets of silk production. While visiting a rich man, he observes a young girl with her eyes closed. She suddenly opens her eyes, looks at the Frenchman and points silently to a tea cup in front of her. Out of this single glance, the two protagonists become entangled in a moving and wonderful story.
Inspired by the 1997 novel Silk, by Italian author Alessandro Baricco, Secret Kiss is one of Peter Eötvös‘ last compositions and it is receiving its English-language premiere in November when BCMG (Birmingham Contemporary Music Group) perform it at the CBSO Centre and Wigmore Hall. Geoffrey Patterson conducts, with soprano Alice Rossi and Meg Kubota as the Reciter. The programme also features music by Rebecca Saunders, Julian Anderson, Lisa Illean and Sir Harrison Birtwistle including his final ensemble work, …when falling asleep.
The melodrama Secret Kiss was composed for the Japanese singer and performer, Ryoko Aoki and the work was first performed in 2019, in a Japanese translation, by Aoki conducted by the composer
The same week as the performances of Secret Kiss, BCMG returns to Wigmore Hall as part of the hall’s Daniel Kidane focus day when, conducted by Gabriella Teychenné, BCMG perform a programme of Kidane’s music with tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas and guitarist Pétur Jónasson including Cradle Song, a setting of the poem by William Blake for tenor and ensemble, commissioned through BCMG’s Sound Investment Scheme and premiered in 2023, plus Winged for electric guitar and string quartet, and Pulsing based on a poem by Zodwa Nyoni
Full details from the BCMG website.
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