The Trinity Boys Choir is enjoying a remarkable term of music-making, with eight of our singers recently returning from Paris after performing in a major avant-garde opera cycle that had the French capital buzzing. The project, part of Stockhausen’s vast seven-opera cycle, is a rare cultural event and we were privileged to be involved.
The boys first tackled this extraordinary work in January and were invited back following their standout contribution. Director of Trinity Boys Choir, Mr Mulroy, explained how demanding the production has been. He said, “It’s genuinely hard to exaggerate how difficult this music is. The cycle totals 38 hours across seven operas. Our boys performed in Monday’s instalment, which alone was over four hours long. The composer was a real character – he thought he was an alien – and the boys were required to memorise this crazy music, a wide range of unnatural movements and gestures, and hold the stage for over an hour. I don’t know of anything written for children that is more challenging than this.”
Despite the challenge, the boys have risen to the occasion. “They remembered everything brilliantly. I can’t think of many choirs who could manage something like this,” Mr Mulroy added.
The choir has also had to battle seasonal health challenges, with a couple of the choir taken ill ahead of the performance and an understudy stepping brilliantly in.
The opera recently caught the attention of the New York Times, and reviews following the performance have been overwhelmingly positive, Bachtrack.com said, “the child actors portraying the days of the week deliver fantastic performances…all the children’s choirs…deserve high praise for their flawless musical quality and for their memorization of this lively score.”
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