My Secret Heart

MSH publicity image - credit Flat-e
2008 - My Secret Heart
World premiere at Royal Festival Hall in December 2008
International tour during 2009 and 2010

Winner of an RPS Music Society Award 2008 and a British Composer Award 2009

About this production

A world premiere by composer Mira Calix and video artists Flat-e

Previews in Lucerne, Switzerland (October 2008); World premiere at Royal Festival Hall (December 2008); International tour during 2009 and 2010

WINNER of an RPS Music Society Award 2008 and a British Composer Award 2009

My Secret Heart is a music and film installation written by electronic composer and warp artist Mira Calix, video artists Flat-e and sound designer Dave Sheppard. They worked with around 100 Streetwise performers from across the UK to create a unique work that has been shown around the world.

My Secret Heart was inspired by Gregorio Allegri’s 17th-century choral work Miserere Mei, a piece so protected by the Vatican that they put an embargo on it. The work exists as an immersive installation on a purpose-built 360 degree screen with surround sound and as a seven minute film. Following its premiere at the Royal Festival Hall, The work then toured to galleries, festivals and cinemas across the world including the Sydney Biennale, Superdeluxe Tokyo, Edinburgh International Film Festival and San Francisco Creators’ Project, reaching an audience of over 200,000.

Credits

Composer Mira Calix
Video Artists Flat-e & Memo (Mehmet) Akten
Sound Designer David Sheppard
Director Emma Bernard
Musical Director Simon Fidler
Producer Matt Peacock
Technical Project Manager Laura Thatcher
Company Managers Susie Gorgeous and Karen Richardson
Streetwise performers from Crisis Skylight, London and Newcastle, Queen Mary Hostel, Connection at St Martins, The Passage, NOAH Luton, Byker Bridge Housing Association, Ron Eager House, ECHG Wellington St and ICC Nottingham
Professional choir Angela Henckel, Matthew Venner, Tom Raskin, Nigel Brookes
Cello Oliver Coates
Viola Xandi van Dijk
Sound Engineer Jonathan Green
Performing edition Ben Byram-Wigfield
OpenFrameworks Programming Memo (Mehmet) Akten www.msavisuals.com
Screen by GaiaNova

Streetwise Opera streetwiseopera.org
info@streetwiseopera.org
020 74953133

Flat-e www.flat-e.com
Mira Calix www.miracalix.com
Screen built by Gaianova www.gaianova.co.uk
Performance edition by Ben Byram-Wigfield www.ancientgroove.co.uk

Project Partners:
Warp Records www.warprecords.com
Southbank Centre www.southbankcentre.co.uk
British Council www.britishcouncil.org
Aldeburgh Music Residency www.aldeburgh.co.uk

Supporters

Streetwise Opera acknowledges the kind support of principal supporters Macquarie Group Foundation and Arts Council England. Also the British Council, Ida and Albert Flersheim Stiftung, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Northern Rock Foundation, Westminster City Council, Newcastle City Council, Nottingham City Council, Big Lottery Fund, Platform Arts, PRS Foundation, StreetSmart, Westminster Arts and Hyde Park Place Estate Charity.

Reviews

‘Mesmerising… inspired and inspiring’

★★★★
The Guardian

‘Reminding us that we turn our backs on the homeless.’

★★★★
The Evening Standard

Videos

Photos

Photos: Asa Westerlund