Arts and Gardens: The Open Fund for Organisations
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GIANT: An Open-Air Children's Opera For Trees
GIANT is an extraordinary new open-air opera project for children, presented by Arts and Gardens, with new music by critically acclaimed composers Hannah Conway and 11 year old Alma Deutscher, developed with Mahogany Opera Group and climbing logistics from The Great Big Tree Climbing Company. The opera is inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant; the story of children banned from playing in a beautiful garden owned by a giant, only for him to find it becomes a permanent winter without their presence.
With a 20-minute work-in-progress performance this October 2016 from tree canopies in Alexandra Palace, the next stage will be to develop GIANT into a free hour-long opera performance in 2017-2018, sung by a cast of 8-12 year old children, alongside professional singers, from the low and high branches of mature beech, plane and oak trees. This is their chance to develop a relationship with and learn about arboriculture, through music.