Joshua Bloom to premiere solo opera for bass; Role debut at Bluebeard

Joshua Bloom (Photo: Kim Hardy)

There aren't many solo works for bass, so we were thrilled when we learned that Joshua Bloom would be starring in the world premiere of Richard Ayres' The Garden at the Gaudeamus Muziekweek opening on September 5th. The work will be paired with two musical compositions, William Kuo's In flieht wie ein Schatten and William Dougherty's The new normal.

The one-man, semi-staged opera with video is a cyclical tale about a man who, dissatisfied with his life, starts digging from his garden down to the center of the earth. He then climbs a tree and is transported through clouds and flocks of birds, ever higher up into the heavens, only to land up in the very same tree in his garden. 

Tickets are available online.  

After The Garden, the Australian singer will head to the Irish National Opera for a piece with double the cast, Béla Bartók's two singer masterpiece, Bluebeard's Castle. This will be Bloom's role debut in the one-act opera based on the French literary tale "La Barbe bleue" by Charles Perrault. Bloom will be joined by soprano Paula Murrihy as his ill-fated wife Judith.

The piece didn't receive its U.K. premiere until 1957 at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre, which was 39 years after the opera debuted.

Performances are on October 12, 13 and 14 and tickets are available online.