Pegasus Opera Company: The Open Fund for Organisations
Windrush, the opera will be a celebration of the joys and tribulations of the Windrush Generation, an intrepid group of West Indian folk that travelled to UK between 1948-early 1970s. The work commemorates the 75th year of the SS Windrush arriving with passengers from the West Indies, seeking new lives in Britain, ‘the Motherland’.
The work reflects on the anticipation of the journey by the adventurers and highlights the significant contribution of the Windrush Generation who came to Britain, purposed with helping to rebuild a broken nation. The music, a mix of classical orchestral, gospel and 1950s/60s Jamaican & West Indian popular music, ends with the hope that the generations following will be afforded the opportunity to build upon strong legacies created. The Windrush story needs to be told and this will be the first time the narrative is encapsulated in this artistic form. The project will be led by a Black female composer, librettist and director.
We see a real opportunity to highlight the culmination of three black, female artistic voices to create a vital piece of work that highlights and showcases the vibrancy of a Caribbean culture and its contribution to life in Great Britain. Pegasus Opera Company has been working for over 25 years to champion and support diverse talent and to present work that will welcome both established opera audiences and new audiences of all generations and backgrounds. – Pegasus Opera Company