Preview: In Our Manner of Speaking – ReClaimed Lands by The Opera People

It’s been a year since The Opera People last had a live performance, with their previous offering being an operatic film based on Mozart’s Idomeneo. But this March, the contemporary opera company are back on stage to deliver the third edition of their In Our Manner of Speaking recital series, taking on the Wild Rice Studio at Funan to tackle poetry and music once again.

“ReClaimed Lands maps out the places we go to in search of better lives, the lands we are forced into, desperate for a sense of hope.”

This time around, the recital shines the spotlight on issues of migration and alienation through contemporary song and poetry. Titled ReClaimed Lands, the theme was Inspired by the xenophobia that arose from fear over the spread of the coronavirus both within our borders and from overseas, and explores the stories of those who migrate in search of a better life and the feelings of otherness that arise, as well as the nostalgia for a lost land that can no longer be.

ReClaimed Lands maps out the places we go to in search of better lives, the lands we are forced into, desperate for a sense of hope, and the countries we exile ourselves in when we have none to return to, inviting audiences to reflect on what it means to belong.

ReClaimed Lands also features the most number of commissions of any programme presented by The Opera People thus far.

ReClaimed Lands also features the most number of commissions of any programme presented by The Opera People thus far, with the world premieres of Impian by Syafiqah’ Adha set to the poetry of Mohammed Latiff Mohammed, Bird With One Wing and Lines from Batu Ferringhi by Jonathan Shin set to the poems of Goh Poh Seng, and Songs for Mukul by Chen Zhangyi, a cycle of song set to the poetry of migrant worker poet Md Mukul Hossine. The remainder of the programme will feature songs by André Previn, Leslie Adams, Karim Al-Zand and English pop songstress Des’Ree.

Performed by Azura Farid, Moira Loh, Akiko Otao and Ng Jingyun, accompanied by pianist Pauline Lee, and featuring flautist Alvin Seville Arumugam, join The Opera People as they go forth and conquer, or rather, take back and reappropriate what is rightfully theirs through song, in the hopes of finding a place we belong.

In Our Manner of Speaking: ReClaimed Lands plays from 13th to 14th March 2021 at the Studio @ Wild Rice, with a video-on-demand version to be available at a later date. Tickets available from Peatix