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The Space

Ross MacGibbon

Janie Valentine

Helen Spencer

Penny Woolcock

Harry Christophers

Johann Sebastian Bach

James MacMillan

Streetwise Opera

The Sixteen

The Passion

Religion & Ethics

Music: Classical: Opera

27/03/2016

BBC Four - The Passion

Contemporary retelling of Jesus's last days by Streetwise Opera and The Sixteen.

Critically acclaimed charity Streetwise Opera and world-renowned ensemble The Sixteen present a bold and contemporary retelling of the last days of Jesus's life.

BBC Four and The Space partner to bring a landmark re-imagining of The Passion to UK audiences this Easter. Critically acclaimed charity Streetwise Opera and world-renowned ensemble The Sixteen present a bold and contemporary retelling of the last days of Jesus's life.

The opera, based on Bach's famous 1727 oratorio the St Matthew Passion, is a fully-immersive promenade production in Manchester's Victorian Campfield Market.
 
Award-winning British filmmaker and director Penny Woolcock (Going to the Dogs and One Mile Away) directs an ensemble cast from Streetwise Opera - including performers who have experienced homelessness - and The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers. The production features a new 'resurrection' finale which has been jointly written by Streetwise Opera's performers and celebrated composer Sir James MacMillan.
 
Shot live on Easter Saturday, it is introduced by BBC presenter Mark Radcliffe.
 
The Space is a commissioning and development organisation which supports greater digital access to the arts, using technology to reach wider audiences and create new artistic experiences. The Passion marks the latest in a series of live productions, including Complicite's sold-out show The Encounter and Northern Ballet's new work 1984, which The Space has captured using digital technology so that wider audiences can enjoy world-class arts online, on TV or on demand.

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