2022: Song in Sign | formidAbility

top of page

hotspur - pierrot lunaire show image.png

A female singer in pink jumpsuit, and a female sign artist rehearse with a male pianist. Photo courtesy Helen Murray

Song in Sign

The Happy Prince

Music by Rylan Gleave

Libretto by Max Chase

Two singers, two D/deaf actors and a pianist collaborating in a merging of art forms that spans the D/deaf and hearing experiences

A photograph of a female B.S.L. artist in rehearsal wearing a white teeshirt and black spectacles, smiling over her music stand, with a black curtain behind her. Photo courtesy Helen Murraymurray88.jpg

A photograph of a bearded male pianist in a white shirt and spectacles, sitting at a grand piano with his back to the photographer and looking towards the right-hand frame of the image, smiling. on the music stand is an ipad. Photo courtesy Helen Murray

A female singer in a pink jumpsuit, with long, curly blonde hair, looking over her music stand and smiling at her colleagues outside the frame. There is a black curtain covering the wall behind her. Photo courtesy Helen Murraymurray8.jpg

A composer and B.S.L. sign-artist in a white teeshirt, with short hair against a black background, signing in rehearsal. Photo courtesy Helen Murray.jpg

A male singer with a grey and white beard, wearing a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up above his elbows. His music stand is low, in front of him, and there is a black background. Photo courtesy Helen Murray.jpg

A sign-artist with short hair, wearing a white teeshirt and black shorts, standing, smiling, next to a bald, bearded colleague sitting at a desk working on a laptop. The sign-artist is looking towards their colleagues outside the image frame, and the man at the keyboard has his chin in his hand, and is concentrating on the laptop screen, Photo courtesy Helen Murray

A photograph of a male, bearded pianist in spectacles, taken through the raised lid of a grand piano. There is a black background, and the pianist is concentrating on the music in front of him. Photo courtesy Helen Murraymurray38.jpg

A female singer in a pink jumpsuit, with long, curly blonde hair, looking thoughtfully toward the right frame of the photograph, with her hands raised in front of her in an expressive gesture. There is a black background, and a music stand in front of her. Photo courtesy Helen Murray

A photograph of a bearded male pianist in a white shirt and spectacles, sitting at a grand piano with his right hand raised in a conducting gesture, looking towards his colleagues to the left of the photo frame, smiling. Photo courtesy Helen Murray

A female singer in a pink jumpsuit, with long, curly blonde hair and a B.S.L. sign artist in jeans and a white teeshirt. They are singing and signing in rehearsal, and both have music stands in front of them. Photo courtesy Helen Murray

Rylan Gleave and Max Chase's new work The Happy Prince, commissioned by formidAbility, will receive its premiere in a tour of conservatoires around the UK in 2024. The work will be the centrepiece of a semi-staged concert bringing together art song and sign, presented by a stellar team of creatives.

Details coming soon!

All photos courtesy of Helen Murray

We gratefully acknowledge support from

lottery_logo_black rgb.png

bottom of page