Lately, pop musicians have taken a surprising interest in ballet, as Paul McCartney, Sufjan Stevens and Pet Shop Boys have all embarked on projects that set their music to dance. Now, veteran outsider-music genius Scott Walker has followed suit by penning music for a new dance piece.
Entitled Duet for One, it's a re-imagining of writer Jean Cocteau's monologue of the same name. Aletta Collins arranged the piece for dancers, and Walker composed an original score. In an announcement through 4AD, the musician issued the following statement:
I must admit to not really being an admirer of Cocteau. I am, however, an admirer of Aletta Collins and her work. So when Aletta asked me to collaborate with the intention of deconstructing the original script for dance, I was grateful for the challenge to help take what is essentially, in my humble opinion, an antiquated piece of misogyny (in this case, woman as willing victim) and try to turn it on its head and use its traces to create something new.
Duet for One was commissioned by ROH2, and it will run from June 17 to 25 at the the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio Theatre in London. The evening also includes a performance of the opera La Voix Humaine by Francis Poulenc, with a libretto by Cocteau.
Hopefully, this piece makes it way to our side of the Pacific before long. In the meantime, get more information about tickets over at 4AD.
This isn't the first time that Walker has composed for a dance piece. In 2007, he was commissioned to write And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball? for a contemporary dance performance. In 2000, he also penned the score for a work called Thimble Rigging.
Entitled Duet for One, it's a re-imagining of writer Jean Cocteau's monologue of the same name. Aletta Collins arranged the piece for dancers, and Walker composed an original score. In an announcement through 4AD, the musician issued the following statement:
I must admit to not really being an admirer of Cocteau. I am, however, an admirer of Aletta Collins and her work. So when Aletta asked me to collaborate with the intention of deconstructing the original script for dance, I was grateful for the challenge to help take what is essentially, in my humble opinion, an antiquated piece of misogyny (in this case, woman as willing victim) and try to turn it on its head and use its traces to create something new.
Duet for One was commissioned by ROH2, and it will run from June 17 to 25 at the the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio Theatre in London. The evening also includes a performance of the opera La Voix Humaine by Francis Poulenc, with a libretto by Cocteau.
Hopefully, this piece makes it way to our side of the Pacific before long. In the meantime, get more information about tickets over at 4AD.
This isn't the first time that Walker has composed for a dance piece. In 2007, he was commissioned to write And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball? for a contemporary dance performance. In 2000, he also penned the score for a work called Thimble Rigging.
