 | Goran Bregović: Margot, Diary Of An Unhappy Queen
featuring Lisa Dwan
UK premiere of legendary Balkan musician Bregović’s new music drama
Barbican Hall, London UK,
Friday 6 July 2012, 8pm, Tickets £20 – 35 Produced by the Barbican
Commissioned by Festival de Musique de St. Denis, France
Celebrated Balkan composer and bandleader Goran Bregović brings his new project Margot, Diary Of An Unhappy Queen
to the Barbican on 6 July. Combining music and drama, Bregovi ć weaves
together the stories of two women living centuries apart but
intrinsically linked by their experience of war, loss, love and life.
Performers joining him for the evening include a Gypsy brass band, a string quartet, a six piece Bulgarian choir and the Irish actress Lisa Dwan.
Developing material he wrote for the Patrice Chéreau film La Reine Margot (1994),
Bregović sets his story in war-torn Bosnia, where a young girl (the
daughter of a general) finds a diary she believes was written by Queen
Margot, a woman trapped in an arranged marriage during the raging
Protestant-Catholic conflict of 16th century France. It
transpires that the diary is an invention of the girl’s mother who tells
of her own sufferings through Queen Margot’s story. Whilst drawing
obvious parallels between their lives, this emotionally-charged
production reflects Bregović’s own meditations on the personal
experience of war. The performance interweaves his infectious, Eastern
melodies with dramatic monologue inspired by early Baroque opera and
delivered by actress Lisa Dwan. Despite its premise, Margot, Diary Of An Unhappy Queen ends with a message of optimism, embracing music and life.
The Balkan’s greatest exponent of modern gypsy music, Goran Bregović began his career with the Yugoslav prog-rock band Bijelo dugme
(White Button) and had started a fruitful collaboration with Bosnian
film director Emir Kusturica before being exiled to Paris during the
Yugoslav wars. During his time in France, he achieved acclaim for his
film soundtracks, notably La Reine Margot. The late 1990s saw
Bregović return to composing and performing his own music, which he has
continued to do worldwide with his Weddings and Funerals Orchestra. More
recently, his work has also encompassed opera, theatre and ballet,
drawing influences from popular and classical music, traditional music
from the Balkans, tango, reggae and Gypsy brass band music. In Margot, Diary Of An Unhappy Queen, Bregović has united these elements to create a work that will both challenge and entertain.
Read more about the performance here: http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=12839
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Barbican Box Office: 0845 120 7550
www.barbican.org.uk
Press Information
For any further information, images or to arrange interviews, please contact the Barbican’s music media relations team:
Annikaisa Vainio , Media Relations Manager
t - +44 (0)20 7382 7090
e - avainio@barbican.org.uk
Sabine Kindel, Senior Media Relations Officer
t - +44 (0)20 7382 6199
e – sabine.kindel@barbican.org.uk
Naomi Burgoyne , Media Relations Officer
t - +44 (0)20 7382 6196
e – naomi.burgoyne@barbican.org.uk
Rob Severyn-Kosinski, Media Relations Assistant
t - +44 (0)20 7382 6138
e – robert.severyn-kosinski@barbican.org.uk
About the Barbican
A world-class arts and learning organisation, the Barbican
pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film,
music, theatre and visual arts. Our creative learning programme further
underpins everything we do. In 2012 we celebrate the Olympic year with
many of our projects forming part of the London 2012 Festival – it is also our 30th
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