Award-winning OperaUpClose make their debut at Kings Place with the world premiere of fun, feisty, family-friendly Ulla’s Odyssey. Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, this production hopes to bring a new family audience to opera who may never have thought it was for them.
Fourteen year old Ulla is attempting to become the youngest person to sail the world single-handedly in her trusty boat ‘The Homer’, with only her cat Binnacle to keep her company as she navigates the high seas.
The show is inspired by Homer’s Odyssey and uses five professional opera singers, live music and puppetry to tell Ulla’s story, which includes playful modern updates of Homer’s monsters. It is suitable for children aged 7+, families and any adult with a sense of fun and wonder.
This new opera was the winner of the 2014 Flourish competition, an annual opera writing competition run by OperaUpClose to find the hottest new composing talent emerging in the opera world. It has music by Anthony Young (from New Zealand) and words by Leanna Brodie (from Canada), so it is an international team!
OperaUpClose is dedicated to making opera a democratic artform, so we are very excited to be producing our first opera specifically for families. Ulla’s Odyssey will run for four performances throughout October and November this year at the beautiful Kings Place in London, with plans underway to tour the production in Spring 2016 to theatres and schools around the UK.
We are an arts charity and receive no regular funding, therefore we rely heavily on our friends and theatre-loving public to help make our ideas a reality. So help us make Ulla’s Odyssey the magnificent adventure it deserves to be by donating towards our crowdfunding campaign!