Ujima Radio are proud to announce becoming an official patron for Carleen Anderson’s groundbreaking project, the blended-roots Opera MELIOR Opus Griot.
Carleen Anderson is a US American born/UK Resident Music Artist respected for her singing and songwriting. Her professional career began in 1990 as the vocalist, composer, arranger and recording artist for the Young Disciples. After six acclaimed solo albums and a multitude of collaborations she began developing her style of dramatic music storytelling for the theatre. This long-held creative passion of hers was supported by Arts Council England for her first theatre production, CAGE STREET MEMORIAL, in 2014, which was nominated for an Innovation Award. Since 2020, Arts Council England supported her most recent work she labels as a blended-roots Opera, MELIOR Opus Griot, which had a preview produced by Hall for Cornwall in November 2022. Current plans are in the making for further music and theatre production developments, as financial provisions surface.
The Story of MELIOR Opus Griot
MELIOR Opus Griot is an ocean-floor, time-travel fantasy conceived, written and composed by Carleen Anderson. Performed in the dramatic theatre format of an Opera, it blends Gospel, Soul, Jazz, and Classical music for a fresh staging of theatrical storytelling.
A little girl is thought to be lost at sea. She is rescued by a mystical water spirit and guided to the seafloor society of MELIOR. It is a tale of surrealistic humans who use their gifts to advocate people choosing to behave better with each other in the midst of chaos and global destruction.
To help reach the goals of covering the costs of studio recordings for a Double Album release of the MELIOR Opus Griot music, as well as the expenses for staging a theatre production premiere, a variety of fundraising events are being considered. Updates will follow as they surface.
So far, the £4K+ monies raised by this crowdfunding website campaign has paid for the studio recordings of three MELIOR Opus Griot music scenes. To studio record the remaining nine music scenes would cost upwards from £12K, (Twelve-thousand British Sterling Pounds/GBP).
Further expenses, such as marketing and distribution, are in addition to visual media film projection and audio equipment hires to coordinate the music storyline and soundscapes within the narrative of this blended-roots Opera, to be expressed in the performances of a Chamber Music Quintet, an Opera Chorus and Interpretive Dancers, alongside Carleen in the leading role.
This Folk Opera style is rooted in Carleen’s early childhood memories of her Grandfather’s theatrical productions. His church members created costumes from rags and scraps to actualise Biblical themes he directed for their performance participation. From the age of seven Carleen would composed music for her Grandfather’s adult choir. Influenced by the combined-genre vocal stylings she listened to from the voice of her classically-trained Juilliard Scholar Aunt, Bettye Faye Anderson, who was also a much sought after Gospel singer during the 1960s Civil Rights movement before her death in 1970, this work blends generations of music art and literature.
Fast forward to now, she brings to life her vision of a fresh approach to dramatic music storytelling.
The ultimate goal of this work is to expand upon traditional music genres to create a combinational platform that existing and future music storytellers can use to express their creative artistry.
The outlook of this aquatic-themed fantasy is to extend the creative space for artistic vision in the world of music art for the stage.
Carleen Anderson has a goal of establishing a ‘blended-roots’ Opera genre for existing and future music artists to express their styles on a broader dramatic storytelling platform. She aims to build upon the traditional Opera format with an eclectic unit of musicians, an Opera Chorus, digital imagery projection and interpretive dancers for audiences to enjoy this aquatic-themed fantasy.
The results from this crowdfunding campaign so far has financed the studio recordings of three MELIOR Opus Griot music scenes. The remaining nine music scenes and the delivery of a world theatre premiere is what this fundraising promotion is for.
Explore the many gift rewards on this portal to support this new music artwork to be realised.
To find out head to the website: https://www.melioropusgriot.com/
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