Samon Presland

Lullaby

Lullaby - An opera thriller

Will you raise your voice for the future? And what song will it be?

A mother struggles to find the right song to lull her baby to sleep, her attempts lost in the protest chants coming through the window. Her restlessness grows as the uprising swells. Can she bring her child peace in the midst of a fight for his very future? And who’s fight is it anyway?

Lullaby follows a woman caught between a turbulent inner and outer world, singing her way from isolation to connectivity. On a quest for a song to soothe herself and her baby, they venture out into the night and what unfolds is a confronting and unexpected journey. Her path intertwines with others unexpectedly, delivering the lullaby she needs and her own evolution in the process.

Lullaby is an original piece of music theatre written for acclaimed soprano Laura Bohn. Composer Kamala Sankaram's score deftly weaves the voice with virtuosic viola and keyboard over a kaleidoscopic soundscape in a meditative lullaby, protest anthems, and jazz-inflected rhythms. Guillermo Calderón's writing evokes a struggle between the inner and outer world, which is playful, at times absurd, hopeful, and unflinchingly honest. Co-creator and director Sjaron Minailo translates the dramatic monodrama into a thriller opera with his distinctive atmospheric minimalist signature. Lullaby celebrates the interconnectivity of humanity with a global message; whether you are protesting in the streets or bringing a baby to sleep, you are never singing alone.

Soprano/co-creator Laura Bohn “an amazing blend of vocal splendor and physical virtuosity” (San Francisco Chronicle), “a brilliant tour de force triumph” (Gramophone)

Composer Kamala Sankaram "a strikingly original artist" (New York Times) “a rousing composer” (LA Times)

Librettist Guillermo Calderón "There's a freshness and forcefulness to Calderón!s work, which marries the urgency of politics to the playful joy of theatre-making” (American Theatre)

Co-creator/director Sjaron Minailo “Thus (Minailo) proved that it is possible to build a bridge connecting the past and centuries-old tradition with a contemporary interpretation. It is exactly the golden mean: unobtrusive perception, not transposed, reflecting the artistic values of the work.” (Krakow Times)

Viola Gijs Kramers, Piano Charlie Bo Meijering, Sound Petra Rendewijk, Light Samon Presland, Costumes Raphael Jacobs, Production Lalí Rullens

Lullaby is created in collaboration with DOOR Foundation

Website: www.lullabyopera.com

Follow Lullaby on Instagram: @lullaby.opera