Melbourne's Alta Collective will present a world-first choral arrangement of Sarah Kirkland Snider's acclaimed song cycle "Penelope" this month at the Wesley of Warragul, bringing new theatricality and emotional depth to the modern reimagining of Homer's epic.
Stepping into myth and modernity, "Penelope" explores war, memory and the unravelling of love. A soldier returns after 20 years away in an unnamed war. But neither he or his wife are who they once were.
Through Ellen McLaughlin's evocative libretto and Snider's haunting score, fragments of "The Odyssey" collide with folk, indie-rock and classical sound worlds to reveal a story that is both ancient and startlingly relevant.
In a new choral arrangement by Melbourne composer and conductor Juliana Kay, the work expands into layers of harmony and movement.
The bold voices of Alta Collective join forces with a string ensemble, percussion, electronics and Melbourne Youth Chorale.
Juliana said the addition of choir unlocked the work's full expressive power.
"From the first listen, I was captivated by the sense of yearning throughout "Penelope", its contemporary sound blended with something otherworldly I couldn't quite place," she said.
"As a choral conductor and composer, the only thing I thought was missing was a choir. Choirs bring a palette of texture and movement that can heighten the storytelling in extraordinary ways".
For Renee Heron, artistic director of Alta Collective, the piece resonated on a deeper level.
""Penelope" reframes the Odyssey through the eyes of a woman, giving voice to a perspective too often left in the margins of classical storytelling," she said. "For Alta - a collective deeply invested in women's voices in contemporary music - bringing this cycle into a choral setting for treble voices feels like a natural and powerful extension of its vision."
Guided by Juliana's arrangement, Renee's vocal direction and Marjorie Butcher's movement design, the performance will lead audiences through a fractured psyche, asking the ancient question: after war, can we ever truly come home?
Alta Collective will present "Penelope" at the Wesley of Warragul on Saturday, November 8 at 7:30pm.
Tickets can be purchased online at https://events.humanitix.com/alta-collective