Streetwise Opera is today launching Re:sound, a year-long festival that will encourage artists and audiences to rediscover the cities they live in, through the eyes – and voices – of people who’ve been homeless.

Cities have innumerable layers of sounds, sights, music and experiences, very often unique to each inhabitant. As we reveal and explore these layers, we will dive into new connections with each other and the cities where we live.

The festival brings together composers, choreographers, designers, filmmakers, singers and people with experience of homelessness in London, Nottingham and Manchester, to create a collection of nine micro-operas that will be performed live and on digital media.

Alongside this, we will be inviting audiences to follow our work through our year-long Digital Festival, providing a window into the process of creating the nine micro-operas.

Martin Constantine, Artistic Director of Streetwise Opera, said:

“I cannot wait for the extraordinary Streetwise Opera performers and participants to begin the journey of creating new opera with the brilliant and diverse group of artists working with us on Re:sound. These are artists with the ambition to reimagine the boundaries of opera and co-create work that aims to invite audiences, especially those who may think that opera is not for them, to rediscover their cities through a different lens.”

Rachael Williams, Chief Executive of Streetwise Opera, said:

“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Streetwise Opera, we are exploring the new model of a year-long festival that allows us to extend our reach as a national company and to establish partnerships with a greater number of front-line organisations in the homeless sector. We’re excited by the creative possibilities that this opens up as well as the opportunity to work with new partners.”

Denise Alison, a participant in Streetwise Opera’s weekly workshops at the Southbank Centre, said:

“Taking part in projects with Streetwise Opera is always exciting, as you get to stretch your wings and include new people in our work. That’s one of the great things about Streetwise, that it keeps producing new ideas and moving forward with the times. Staying creative is very important when you are recovering from homelessness, because it lightens your heart and inspires you to achieve more.”

Find out more about Re:sound and follow our digital festival at resound.streetwiseopera.org.

Streetwise Opera is an opera company that enables people who’ve experienced homelessness to find inspiration and empowerment while they rebuild their lives and identities. We support participants to develop as creative people and, as we amplify their voices, change how society views homelessness.

We engage world-class artists, both established and emerging, to co-create bold new work and reimagine traditional repertoire. We create opera that is for everyone and, by bringing together diverse voices, change how society views opera.