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Friday Drama: Y.T. and the Soprano

Y.T. and the Soprano

28/01/2011

BBC Radio 4 - Friday Drama, Y.T. and the Soprano

Hip hop and high notes collide when rapper Y.T. falls in love with a young soprano.

Y.T. and the Soprano by Penny Woolcock. Hip hop star Sway plays a rapper who sets out to woo a soprano by stealing her Puccini aria and setting it to his beats. Will it work?

Film maker Penny Woolcock makes her radio writing and directing debut in this romantic comedy set in the contrasting back stage worlds of grime rap and opera. She brings international hip hop artist Sway together with rising young soprano Claire Watkins. 

Sway plays rapper Y.T. sent to collect a debt from a conductor at the opera house. He hears Gabrielle sing the beautiful aria 'Signore, ascolta' from Puccini's Turandot and falls in love. But she's fixated on the conductor and is appalled when Y.T. pursues her down the street, rapping to beats on his phone. 

Desperate, he steals a recording of her aria and mixes a club tune that becomes a huge underground hit. Clubbers demand more opera! He persuades her to sing on his radio show, and as their music collides, Puccini never sounds quite the same again. But gangster brother Honey Monster casts a long shadow over the young lovers. He wants his money back, and he's not choosy about his methods. 

Penny Woolcock is a Bafta-award winning writer and director of documentaries, TV drama, feature films and opera. She has been awarded a Grierson Trustees Award in recognition of her outstanding documentary film-making - most recently On the Streets about homeless people in London. Claire Watkins' latest operatic roles include Leila in The Pearl Fishers for English National Opera and Micaela in Carmen for Scottish Opera. 

Acclaimed producer and one of the UK's most sought after rappers, Sway has received twelve major awards, sold over 100,000 albums, and released seven mixtapes. His third studio album is out in early 2011. 

Y.T. and the Soprano was recorded on location, with a specially composed soundtrack by Sway, featuring the voice of Claire Watkins. 

Cast: 
Y.T. ..... Sway
Gabrielle ..... Claire Watkins
Scoobs ..... Ashley Gerlach
Honey Monster ..... Mark Monero
Lily ..... Claire-Louise Cordwell
Adam ..... Marc Warren

Sound design by Eloise Whitmore. 


Producer: Melanie Harris
Director: Penny Woolcock
A Crosslab Production for BBC Radio 4.

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