Details
Duration: c.75 minutes
Music & Text: Jennifer Walshe & Philip Venables
Commissioned by Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in association with Festival Musica
Produced by Festival Musica Strasbourg.
Co-Production Partners: Deutsche Oper Berlin, BOZAR Bruxelles, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ Amsterdam, Ultima Oslo, New Music Dublin, Music Biennale Zagreb, Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Oxford, with the support of the Irish Cultural Centre.
Original Production:
Cast: Andreas Borregaard, Diamanda La Berge Dramm, Loré Lixenberg, Oskar McCarthy, Vanessa Porter, Adam Starkie.
Stage direction: Jennifer Walshe & Philip Venables
Design, Costume, Lighting: Aedín Cosgrove
Sound: Romain Muller
Video: Ragnar Árni Ólafsson
Press
…fleetingly poetic in its observations on life, love and loneliness. […] There are moments of ethereal beauty, too: quiet drones, gentle humming, disjointed suspensions on the accordion, timpani sliding in unison with a single voice, a brief six-part chorale. Above all, though, The Alonetimes is funny. Not because of the contemporary references and the jokes about dating apps – but because these six performers brought to life people we’ve all been or met with absolute care and conviction. […] Sometimes baffling and often bonkers, this was also an exhilaratingly enjoyable piece of contemporary music theatre. — The Guardian
“The musical composition explores a wide range of worlds, and this is the strength of The Alonetimes. Energetic polyrhythms, extended playing techniques, traditional folk tunes, nightclub atmospheres, chorales, vocal solos: the creators move with ease across this spectrum […] The music impresses through its evocative power, like the superimposition of an old sailor’s festive tune onto the obsessive rhythm of a nightclub, a wild swing beat, a seniors’ gym class, a vast and tranquil musical breath accompanying the story of a character who has never had a fight with their partner. […] one cannot help but welcome the creation of a work such as this — exploratory, daring and, above all, a collaborative effort. The narrative structure, the transitions from one fragment to the next, the variety of storytelling, and the type of graphical care taken with the projections — all of this constitutes a coherent and confident dramaturgical and interdisciplinary vision.” — Bachtrack
“Unclassifiable in terms of genre (neither chamber opera, musical nor performance), The Alonetimes is equally so on an aesthetic level. Trance-like sequences (where folk blends with baroque, pop and Jennifer Walshe’s unique vocal style) alternate with interludes of frenetic rhythm (in the ‘clash’ style so dear to Philip Venables).” — Le Monde
“an enticing work at the crossroads of performance art and social commentary, a rather rare proposition in both the musical and theatrical spheres. […] an unstoppable crowd-pleaser using the tools of contemporary classical theatre, whilst painting a scathing portrait of our private lives under late capitalism.” — Mouvement
“To carry this fragmentary text, full of life and death and at times strikingly raw, the sonic material of the music is both highly colourful and very direct, almost like a musical comedy about first experiences. Yet there are also countless layers and immense complexity within this music, embracing the flamboyant personalities of the six performers.” — Cult