Oban and Islay distilleries get into the spirit of opera
A new opera entitled Navigate the Blood will be performed at distilleries in Oban and Islay.
Sian Evans has written a story set in a small family distillery about a couple whose son has disappeared in mysterious circumstances.
Performed against an industrial background, touring to regions where there is no accessible opera house, Navigate the Blood will give many people an opportunity to see live opera for the first time.
In a powerful new partnership, top Scottish indie-folk band Admiral Fallow have joined forces with composer Gareth Williams, pushing their collaborative boundaries in new creative directions to create the music for this opera.
Working with Gareth and
Sian and classical opera singers, they have embraced an intense writing process, resulting in an exciting first new work of modern opera by these talented and versatile musicians.
Distilling is an industry that employs, directly and indirectly, 41,000 people in Scotland. The past 10 years have seen a growth not only in the distilling of whisky but also a massive increase in the production of gin, with 70 per cent of the gin being produced in the UK now being distilled in Scotland. Two million tourists visited Scottish distilleries last year.
Told against this background of industry and employment, this new production of singing, music, theatre and storytelling has been created to reflect the lives of the distillery community in Scotland.
Touring to the traditional distilling regions, it is designed to be relevant to the people living there and to welcome, engage and entertain new audiences for opera in Scotland.
Navigate the Blood will be performed at Oban Distillery on Thursday November 8 and Ardnahoe Distillery, Isle of Islay, on Sunday November 11.