CAVE by Tansy Davies and Nick Drake – Reviews
“Vocalist Elaine Mitchener is an aptly mesmeric presence…” The Guardian
“Elaine Mitchener pushed towards an improvisational, at times almost shamanic utterance that threatened to stretch the boundaries of bel canto to breaking point.” The Evening Standard
“Elaine Mitchener also compelling” The Times
“Elaine Mitchener embodies the daughter’s spirit with mercurial subtlety.” The Telegraph
“As Hannah and the ‘Voice’ which echoes through the cave and in the man’s memory, mezzo-soprano Elaine Mitchener demonstrated vocal versatility, smoothly stretching across registral leaps, her enunciation of the short, often speech-like melodic fragments fluent and natural.” Opera Today
“both tenor Mark Padmore and experimental vocalist and movement artist Elaine Mitchener give performances of exceptional range and expressive power.” The Stage
With tenor Mark Padmore, Elaine premiered a new work CAVE by composer Tansy Davies and writer Nick Drake, directed by Lucy Bailey within the cavernous spaces of The Printworks, Canada Water (London). This new music theatre work follows a grieving father’s quest for survival in a world devastated by climate change. Desperate to connect one last time with his daughter, he enters a dark cave, triggering a journey into an underworld of spirits.
Wednesday 20 – Saturday 23 June 2018, 7.30pm
The Printworks (London)
More info: www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk
Mark Padmore tenor
Elaine Mitchener mezzo-soprano
Geoffrey Paterson conductor
Sound Intermedia sound design
London Sinfonietta
Creative team
Tansy Davies composer
Nick Drake libretto
Lucy Bailey director
Mike Britton designer
Jack Knowles lighting designer