Brisbane Festival and ELISION present

Holy and obscene: Liza Lim's ritual street opera pulls out all the stops of modern music theatre.

" . . .  Here one really experiences street theatre in its most explosive form  . . .  The work unfolds magic and mystery. The piece is by turns mysterious, funny, aggressive, mystical, rude, expressive, obscene, in short uncompromising. Especially the mezzo soprano Melissa Madden GRAY (as Queen Mother of the West and Demon Goddess) and the baritone Orren TANABE (the Archer Hou Yi and Monkey King) let loose an explosive performance energy. Both their physical and vocal performances are acrobatic and virtuosic. Their voices mutate from spoken word, through classical and Chinese song to screams. Their shrill costumes and hairstyles contain a mixture of secrecy and obscenity. The beautiful, tranquil and almost contemplative moments, especially towards the end are retained for the Moon-Goddess Chang-O, performed by the soprano Deborah KAYSER, who also transforms herself into a vampiric spirit-being".
--Thomas MEYER Tages-Anzeiger 24.08.2002, Zürich

Following successful seasons in Adelaide, Melbourne, Berlin, Zürich, and Tokyo, Liza LIM's riotous, radiant `Chinese ritual street opera' Yuè Lìng Jié is about transgression and transformation.

Artists include:

Liza LIM composer
Beth YAHP libretto
Deborah KAYSER Chang-O, the Moon Goddess
Orren TANABE Hou Yi, the Archer/Monkey God
Melissa Madden GRAY Queen Mother of the West
ELISION Ensemble, Simon HEWETT conductor

7:30pm, 28 and 29 July 2006
2:00pm, 30 July 2006
Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts
420 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane

Tickets $25, concession $18, groups of ten $18 each
Bookings (07) 3872 9000 (12pm to 4pm) or online

These performances are proudly presented by Brisbane Festival 2006.

ELISION, Australia's national new music ensemble, gratefully acknowledges the acknowledges the assistance of the Commonwealth of Australia through the Australia Council, it arts funding and advisory body, the State of Queensland through Arts Queensland, and the The University of Queensland through the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Professor John HAY