![]() ![]() Elsewhere, ‘The Divided City’ captivates and intrigues while ‘Only Strings and Their Supports Remain’ and ‘There Is One of Which You Never Speak’ are bold roars for survival before the choral ambience of ‘Desires Are Already Memories’ and piercing drones of ‘Total Perspective Vortex’ bring down the curtain on a spectacular and incredibly emotive body of work. The ominous soundscapes of ‘The Dead Outnumber the Living’ contrast with the new beginnings that are presented in ‘Every Solstice & Equinox’, while the jagged and uneasy ‘Thirteenth Century Travelogue’ is one of tension and dread. Transformed into 45 minutes of breathtaking beauty, ‘Invisible Cities’ opens with the numinous ‘So That the City Can Begin to Exist’, as Wiltzie and O'Halloran draw breath from distinctively enthralling and vastly expansive worlds. Described by The Sunday Times as “a beautiful frenzy of movement”, ‘Invisible Cities’ was originally conceived as a touring project with its last performance in Brisbane, Australia before COVID-19 changed the world as we know it. Centered on the tense relationship between Kublai Khan, the volatile head of a vast empire, and explorer Marco Polo, ‘Invisible Cities’ brings to life a series of fantastical places and disparate worlds through the medium of theatre, music, dance, design and visuals. Premiering at Manchester International Festival in July 2019, Wiltzie and O'Halloran were commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Rambert, Brisbane Festival, Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival, Sadler’s Wells, SMG Live, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Centre (JACC) and Karl Sydowto to compose the music for the 90-minute multimedia stage show adapted from Italo Calvino’s 1972 novel. composer Dustin O'Halloran release new album ‘Invisible Cities’, the stunning score to the critically acclaimed theatre production directed by London Olympics ceremony video designer Leo Warner and produced by Manchester International Festival, Rambert, 59 Productions and Karl Sydow. Clarke’s author introduction to 2001: A Space Odyssey Total Perspective Vortex is lifted straight from The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.Limited edition indies-only 'Ultra Clear' coloured vinyl.Ī Winged Victory for the Sullen, the composer collaboration between Stars of the Lid founder Adam Wiltzie and L.A. ![]() The Dead Outnumber the Living comes from Arthur C. Imagination is at the core of any version or interpretation of Calvino’s novel, from the conversations between the protagonists to the titles of the tracks here. Invisible not so much to the naked eye but invisible to the minutiae that bring a city to life.Īs a fan of reading in general, science-fiction specifically, I am reminded of James Blish’s Cities in Flight collection of short stories of cities physically leaving the Earth behind to wander the cosmos and find their destinies (note to self – dig that particular book out again) The title itself conjures images of silhouetted skylines, monoliths striking up the canvas of the sky’s background. Though I am without sight of book or show, I have done some research prior to writing this out as such, I will try to balance everything together – interpreting here, extrapolating there the intentions of Calvino and his character’s imaginary scenarios, and what Wiltzie & O’Halloran are attempting to convey. One assumes that, as Wlitzie states:Įarly on in discussions with director Leo Warner it was realised that the human voice would take a central role in the score as it was essentially the only instrument we could see evolving over 600 years with a storyline that would not have the listener screaming “its Zimmertime”…,” the removal of the human voice has resulted in the halving of the original score. ![]() After premiering at the 2019 Manchester International Festival the 90-minute score has been transformed into an LP of roughly half the length of the multi-media performance. ![]()
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