{"id":6100,"date":"2013-08-08T14:13:08","date_gmt":"2013-08-08T13:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=6100"},"modified":"2013-08-08T14:19:58","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T13:19:58","slug":"international-line-up-delivers-tenors-tension-and-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2013\/08\/international-line-up-delivers-tenors-tension-and-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERNATIONAL LINE-UP DELIVERS TENORS, TENSION AND TRANSFORMATION"},"content":{"rendered":"

-Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s announces first shows for 2013-<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The 2013 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s has announced the first of its shows for this year\u2019s event with an international mix of tenors, tension and transformation.<\/h2>\n
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Tenor Jos\u00e9 Carrerras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Opening this year\u2019s event on 17th October is an international double-bill with the unveiling of Ireland\u2019s largest land-art portrait created by acclaimed Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada<\/strong> followed by a performance by world renowned tenor Jos\u00e9 Carrerras<\/strong> at The Waterfront Hall<\/strong> in the evening.\u00a0 Roger Bernat\u2019s theatrical experiment in political engagement Pending Vote<\/strong> makes its Irish premiere as does Rob Drummond\u2019s \u2018edge of your seat\u2019 performance of the infamous magic trick Bullet Catch<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Add to the mix world-class, home grown talent with a new major production of Samuel Beckett\u2019s Waiting for Godot<\/strong> and an epic closing concert from the Ulster Orchestra <\/strong>and the stage is set for Festival 2013.<\/p>\n

Ellvena Graham, Head of Ulster Bank Northern Ireland says: ” The strength of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s is not only that it brings to Belfast new experiences but that it presents these in unusual venues making it more accessible as well as more exciting for all to enjoy. It connects audiences and artists in a unique and memorable way, while also providing a welcome boost for Belfast business.”<\/p>\n

An epic opening day will witness the unveiling of Ireland\u2019s largest land-art portrait piece which will be created by The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s first artist in residence, Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada<\/strong>, in collaboration with volunteers and community groups from all over Belfast.\u00a0 Measuring a staggering five acres this piece will transform part of the Titanic Quarter and be open for all to view – free of charge. From a classical music perspective this year\u2019s opening concert brings a touch of glamour to the programme with the legendary tenor, Jos\u00e9 Carreras<\/strong> making his Belfast Festival debut joined by Irish Soprano Celine Byrne<\/strong> and pianist Lorenzo Bavaj<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Throughout the eleven days from 17th – 27th October a strong theatre programme will be presented in partnership with the Lyric Theatre including; the Northern Irish premiere of Beckett\u2019s theatrical masterpiece Waiting for Godot<\/strong> presented by the highly acclaimed Gare St Lazare Players Ireland, Rogers Bernat\u2019s Irish premiere of political theatre Pending Vote<\/strong> – a show with no performers and where the audience become politicians for the night and vote to determine the direction of the performance and the Irish premiere of Bullet Catch<\/strong> – a tense \u2018edge of your seat\u2019 performance of a stunt that has claimed the lives of at least 12 people since its inception in 1613 and was deemed so dangerous that Houdini refused to attempt it.<\/p>\n

Noirin McKinney, Director of Arts Development, at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland commented, \u201cThis year\u2019s impressive festival programme brings the best and most sought-after arts from home and abroad.\u00a0 The Irish premieres of \u2018Bullet Catch\u2019 and \u2018Pending Vote\u2019, are great examples of the festival bringing new and interesting theatre talent to Northern Ireland, offering a world-class experience for audiences, which is within the reach of everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sir James Galway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From international stars to world-class homegrown talent as Sir James Galway<\/strong> joins the Ulster Orchestra <\/strong>with A Musical Journey from Rodrigo to Tchaikovsky<\/strong>. Taking festival into unusual venues the UK\u2019s leading historical performance ensemble La Serenissima<\/strong> will perform Vivaldi\u2019s Four Seasons at Clonard Monastry<\/strong>. Festival will draw to a close at The Ulster Hall with a performance by the Ulster Orchestra entitled The Swan Songs of Strauss<\/strong> \u2013 featuring The Four Last Songs for soprano and orchestra which were the final completed works of Richard Strauss, composed in 1948 when the composer was 84.<\/p>\n

Festival Director, Richard Wakely enthuses. “\u201cThis year\u2019s programme expands the possibilities of presenting great works of art from home and abroad throughout the city and bringing audiences something that they cannot see elsewhere. We aim to provide the people of and visitors to our city with new ways to experience, engage and participate in a unique menu of artistic works that seek to both enlighten and entertain\u201d.<\/p>\n

The 2013 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s would not be possible without the continuing support of various public and private sponsors, including Ulster Bank, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the EU and the British Council. Plus the many venues, performers and partner organisations, whose commitment and passion bring the arts to life for all to enjoy.<\/p>\n

The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s will deliver an eclectic mix of world-class theatre, music, dance, film, literature and talks in venues all over Belfast from 17th – 27th October 2013. More shows will be announced over the coming weeks and to find out more and book tickets visit www.belfastfestival.com<\/a> or call box office on 00 44 2890 971197. #BelFest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

-Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s announces first shows for 2013- The 2013 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s has announced the first of its shows for this year\u2019s event with an international mix of tenors, tension and transformation. Opening this year\u2019s event on 17th October is an international double-bill with the unveiling of Ireland\u2019s … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6100"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6100"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6111,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6100\/revisions\/6111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}