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Preview: A magical way to link opera and visual arts
The connection between the visual arts and opera continues with another impressive exhibition at Opera North's gallery. Nick Ahad reports.
When the construction began to give Leeds Grand Theatre a much needed refurbishment, and Opera North a new home, the city lost the theatre for a while. What it gained, however, was a tiny art gallery which is doing much to complement the cultural life of visitors
to the theatre.
42 New Briggate Gallery sits amid the construction work and the latest exhibition, like previous ones at the venue, is directly linked to the work being staged by Opera North.
The new season features Shakespeare's Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet and the exhibition features the work of three artists – and tells the story of the Cottingley Fairies. Matter of Fact explores our willingness to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good story. Inspired by the timeless quality of Shakespeare's plays, this exhibition takes as its starting point the relationship between eyewitness account and fiction. The exhibition is curated by artist Yvonne Carmichael, who also contributed to the exhibition with a piece jointly created with Eva Rowson. She says: "I thought the Cottingley Fairies story would sit perfectly in the latest exhibition with Opera North staging A Midsummer Night's Dream, which talks about the collision of the fairy and the human world.
"We've been really lucky to get prints of the original photographs and we're also showing a video of the interview the two girls at the centre of the story, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, did for Yorkshire Television in 1973 and drawings and writings by the two of them." Alongside these existing photographs are two new commissions.
Shipley-based artist Giuseppe Lambertino's photography is displayed under the title Distant Relatives. Lambertino travelled to Scotland to document actual sites relating to the real 11th century Scottish king,
who may have been the inspiration for Shakespeare's Macbeth.
The final piece in the series is Love Capital, which displays the results of artists Eva Rowson and Yvonne Carmichael's trip around locations in Verona associated with the famous lovers. The installation will present their souvenirs, with an artist's book exploring the commercial opportunities created by Romeo and Juliet's tragic but everlasting love.
Carmichael said: "The work on display gives people a deeper insight into the operas being staged. They give opera lovers a chance to experience visual art, and people interested in the art can get a small taste of the work of Opera North."
Matter of Fact Apr 24 to May 21, open Tues-Sat 12pm to 7pm. Parent and Child Art Activity with Tim Curtis, Saturday May 3, 3-5pm. Artists Talk with Eva Rowson, Giuseppe Lambertino and Yvonne Carmichael, Thursday May 8, 6-7pm.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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