Opera Explodes on Kentish Beaches

With two performances this Sunday, Xenon Act II sees three sopranos, actors depicting soldiers and acrobats join together to produce a visual exploration of the rights of man. To a backdrop of a live recitation of the Declaration of Human Rights, from memory, by artist Monica Ross; the participants in the piece will be confronted by a “Death’s Ferryman” character who will challenge the other characters and audience members themselves in a thought-provoking exploration of the darker side of life.

On Sunday 4 July, the Death’s Ferryman character will take to the Whitstable beach front to challenge festival-goers with their own perception of death and dying, to create an arresting moment on the festival’s finale day.

Speaking ahead of the event, Sue Jones, Whitstable Biennale Director comments: “Whitstable Biennale is delighted to be hosting the second act of Mikhail Karikis’ new work, Xenon: an exploded opera. The Whitstable Biennale has a reputation for supporting ambitious and risk-taking new works, and this is set to be one of the most exciting and ambitious events taking place in the UK this summer. All six acts of the innovative “exploded opera” at six festivals across East Kent in 2010 are going to be must-see events.”

Xenon will play out across Kent’s Arts offering throughout the summer, before being performed in all its constituent parts for the first time at Canterbury Festival in October.  The performances are at Sounds New Contemporary Music Festival (which took place in May), Whitstable Biennale (19 June – 4 July), Deal Festival of Music and the Arts (4 – 17 July),
Strange Cargo (July), Broadstairs Folk Week (6 – 13 August) and Canterbury Festival (16 – 30 October).
 

Xenon is the key commission from the East Kent Festival Cluster project. The East Kent Festival Cluster project is being managed by the Kent Arts Development Unit, with funding from SEEDA and Arts Council England.