Magic Realism
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Friday, 2 May 2025
8:00 pm
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The Street Theatre
15 Childers St, Canberra ACT 2601
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General Admission $70,
Concession $65
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In Association with
Presented in association with The Street Theatre and TURA
Magic Realism takes the listener through a theatrical and mystical sonic journey traversing medieval Europe and contemporary Australian Indigenous culture. Three master musicians steer us through two profound works: Hildegard von Bingen’s O Spectabiles Viri is magically reinterpreted by Erkki Veltheim with soprano Jane Sheldon.
And Mark Atkins and Erkki Veltheim’s epic Mungangga Garlagula, an immersive auditory journey that blurs the lines between dream and reality, day and night in the musical collaboration blending breath, voice and sound to create a deeply visceral experience.
Performances at 8pm Friday 1 May and repeated at 8pm on Saturday 2 May.
Duration 100 minutes including interval
PROGRAM
Hildegard von Bingen – O Spectabiles Viri arr. Veltheim for soprano, violin and electronics.
INTERVAL
Mark Atkins and Erkki Veltheim – Mungangga Garlagula
ARTISTS
Jane Sheldon – soprano
Mark Atkins – yidaki (didgeridoo)
Erkki Veltheim – composer and performer
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Jane Sheldon photo credit – Shaya Bendix Lyon
Mark Atkins and Erkki Veltheim photo credit – Kristian Gehradte
Details at The Street Theatre web page. Run time 105min including interval.
Click here to BECOME A MEMBER.
Accessibility information – www.thestreet.org.au
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Friday, 2 May 2025
8:00 pm
-
The Street Theatre
15 Childers St, Canberra ACT 2601
-
General Admission $70,
Concession $65
ARTIST Learn more about the artist
Artist Erkki Veltheim - composer/performer
Erkki Veltheim is an Australian/Finnish composer and performer. His practice spans noise, audio-visual installation, improvisation, notated music, electro-acoustic composition, pop arrangements and cross-disciplinary performance. Erkki has been commissioned by the Adelaide Festival, Vivid Festival, Australian Art Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Musica nova Helsink and composed the orchestral works for celebrated Australian indigenous musician Gurrumul’s posthumous album Djarimirri.
Photo by Aaron Chua
Artist Mark Atkins - yidaki (didgeridoo)
Acknowledged as one of Australia’s finest Yidaki (didgeridoo) players, Mark Atkins is also recognised internationally for his collaborative projects with some of the world’s leading composers and musicians. A descendant of Western Australia’s Yamitji people, as well as of Irish/Australian heritage, Mark is known not only for his masterly playing, but also as a storyteller, composer, percussionist, visual artist and instrument maker. Mark has performed alongside and composed with artists such as Led Zeppelin, JimmyPage and Robert Plant, Sinead O’Connor, Philip Glass, Donald Lunney, Ornette Coleman, Peter Sculthorpe, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Gondwana, Jenny Morris, John Williamson, James Morrison, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). He is a founding member of Black Arm Band.
Photo by Kristian Gehradte
Artist Jane Sheldon - soprano and composer
Jane Sheldon is a soprano and composer who has established an international reputation for highly specialised, groundbreaking art music for voice. Jane’s compositional output includes electronic music, chamber music, opera installations, works for dance companies and large-scale sound installations for museums. Described as “riveting” (New York Times) and “gripping” (Limelight Magazine), Jane’s compositions focus on the experience of altered or transformative states. Her latest album is I am a tree, I am a mouth (“conceptually brilliant… a vocal and compositional triumph, beautifully realised with splendid restraint” – Limelight Magazine). The release was listed in the New Yorker’s Notable Recordings of 2022. Her next album, Flowermuscle, is due out late 2024.