On Friday 10th November the world premiere of a new opera/oratorio by Stephen McNeff based on a libretto by Charles Causley will be performed at Launceston Town Hall and on the following day 11th November  in the Guildhall, St Ives.   The   new opera/ oratorio has been commissioned by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra  based on Causley’s The Burning Boy, a libretto written some years before his death that remains one of the most important, but as yet unperformed, Causley texts. BSO ensemble Kokoro, which specialises in promoting the works of twentieth and twenty-first century composers, will perform the new opera in two Carn to Cove promotions in Cornwall.  This follows BSO and Carn to Cove’s highly successful residency day which takes place every year when the orchestra performs three sectional concerts across Cornwall in Carn to Cove’s village network.

The Burning Boy tells the story of the prophet Elisha and the raising of the boy from the dead after he has been struck down in the field by the heat of the sun. The source is biblical but Causley transposes it to the West Country at an unspecified time and blends it with the ritual of the harvest and the myths of the corn spirits.  

The performance will bring together both amateur and professional musicians, as well as local Cornish school children. BSO Associate musicians in Cornwall, Patrick Bailey and Matt Harrison, are working with local schoolchildren to form a children’s chorus for the project.  Paul Carey Jones the Welsh baritone who made his Royal Opera House debut last year takes the role of Elisha. For many of the children involved, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Talented music students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance are also included in the company working with the BSO training programme.
Stephen McNeff has worked exclusively as a composer for over 40 years and is one of the UK’s most successful composers of works bringing professional and amateur talent together..
Talking about the BSO commission, Stephen McNeff said, “I am delighted to be working on The Burning Boy in Charles Causley’s centenary year, Charles and I had a long and fruitful working relationship over many years and The Burning Boy was a libretto he wrote especially for me.  I am also thrilled to be working once again with the BSO and Kokoro, and having my new work premiered fittingly in this centenary year on the Carn to Cove Cornwall rural touring network”.   
10th Nov @ 7:30pm
Launceston Town Hall| tickets from £5 - call 01566 772321|www.carntocove.co.uk/events
11th Nov @ 7:30pm 
St Ives Guildhall |tickets from £5 - call 01726 897500|www.carntocove.co.uk/events
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